Polar Express layout tips: We at CTT had a lot of fun building our recent Polar Express layout. Despite building several project layouts over the years, I learned new techiques and ideas during the five days we spent working on this project. Perhaps one of these tips will inspire you too. Happy holidays! Polar Express […]
One piece of rolling stock I can bet almost every model railroader owns is a caboose. These cars are a staple in both real life and the model form, to the point where many people who don’t know much about trains at all know what a caboose is. Along with the existence of the word […]
Name: Bob Davies’ O gauge layout Dimensions: 5 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ feet Track: GarGraves (diameters range from 42 to 54 inches) Motive power: Lionel, Wiliams by Bachmann Rolling stock: Lionel, Menards Controls: Lionel GW-180 transformer Accessories: Z-Stuff for Trains Structures: Mattel, MTH Vehicles: Mattel Download the track plan for this layout. […]
10 tips for a better holiday toy train display With the holidays on the way, we at Classic Toy Trains wanted to share ways to have a better holiday toy train display. Here are 10 tips from hobbyist David Smith. 1. Traditional O-27 tubular track allows for more varied track plans in a small space. […]
The Mandy Patinkin Lionel layout collection is loaded with realistic scenes packed with details. Trains, accessories, structures, and more from the post-World War II and Modern eras of Lionel production fill every square inch of an outstanding model railroad that fills much of a 17 x 42-foot room in the Patinkin household. Visiting Mandy and […]
I recently wrote “Burlington Northern locomotive one-offs” featuring five Electro-Motive Division diesels, including unique paint schemes, rebuilds, and test subjects. This time, I dug through my negative collection and found eight Burlington Northern freight car one-offs. Most of the photos are from family travels throughout northwest Minnesota and northeast North Dakota between the early 1980s […]
Model an enginehouse scene. Last year, I wrote about an old 40-foot insulated boxcar being used as a storage shed on the Sisseton Milbank RR (SMRR) in Milbank, S.D. I thought it would be fun to take another look at the 38-mile line, a subsidiary of the Twin Cities & Western RR, this time focusing […]
Five modeling ideas from a General Electric Dash 9-44CW: In late June 2022, my wife, kids, and I visited my brother- and mother-in-law in Milbank, S.D. The parsonage they live in conveniently overlooks the BNSF Railway Appleton Subdivision, which runs between its namesake in Minnesota and Aberdeen, S.D. When I woke up on the morning […]
A small S gauge layout can give a lot of play value. For proof, check out John Mansueto’s layout in the November-December 2022 issue. It’s like many of the compact O and S gauge layouts spotlighted in Toy Train Layouts for Small Spaces, the 2021 special issue from Classic Toy Trains. Spare bedrooms, garage stalls, […]
Electro-Motive Division’s NW5 history Electro-Motive Division’s NW5: Steam was still king when Electro-Motive Division (EMD) produced the NW5 diesel locomotive. However, railroads were taking note of the economy of performance offered by the various yard diesels entering the marketplace. This led railroads to approach EMD about the possibility of constructing low-cost diesels that could be […]
Name: Richard (Al) Phillips’ O gauge layout Dimensions: 11 x 12 feet Track: GarGraves, Lionel (diameters range from 27 to 72 inches) Switches: Lionel Motive power: Lionel (all eras), Marx Rolling stock: Lionel (all eras), Marx, MTH Electric Trains, Williams Controls: Lionel types KW and ZW transformers Accessories: Lionel (postwar), Marx Structures: Lemax, Lionel, Plasticville, […]
Name: John Mansueto’s S gauge layout Dimensions: 7 x 11½ feet Track and switches: Gilbert American Flyer (maximum diameter is 54 inches) Motive power: American Models, Gilbert and Lionel American Flyer, S-Helper Service Rolling stock: American Models, Gilbert and Lionel American Flyer, MTH, S-Helper Service Controls: Lionel types RW and ZW transformers, MTH nos. Z-750 […]
