Lionel expert Joe Algozzini visits Classic Toy Trains

There have been many changes at Classic Toy Trains since the magazine released its premier issue in the autumn of 1987. Editors have changed, and the contents have varied, with emphasis on the great trains of the past becoming more balanced as the magazine has showcased layouts using contemporary models.

One constant over the years has been the different contributions from Joe Algozzini. Among the most knowledgeable experts on Lionel trains from the post-World War II era, Joe has shared his outfits, locomotives, rolling stock, accessories, and more with our readers from the beginning of publication in 1987.

I have worked with Joe since joining the magazine staff in February of 1988. Besides writing articles with him on collectible trains and historical surveys of Lionel trains in specific years, I have benefited from the visits Joe has regularly made to our offices to have various postwar trains photographed for articles.

Joe recently made the drive from his home in Indiana to our building in Wisconsin, bringing with him about a dozen large boxes filled with the specific items needed to illustrate articles he and I were writing. The day was, as is typical, long and tiring, but exhilarating because we spent time talking about Lionel trains.

The day began not long after I pulled into the parking lot, with a box of fresh doughnuts packed with me. Joe is very easy to entertain. He requests only a couple of chocolate doughnuts with his coffee after he arrives and we’ve finished unloading his spacious van. The two of us put the boxes on wheeled carts from our Distribution Department and then head upstairs to the quiet Photo Studio.

Joe has organized the various trains and knows exactly what to take out first. He brings extensive lists of what he packed and when they should be shot. Head photographer Bill Zuback has arranged a large table with a white backdrop so we can shoot the train sets and groups of O gauge freight and passenger cars.

And so it went on Joe’s recent visit. Over eight hours, with only a short break for lunch at a nearby burger restaurant, we photographed outfits from 1946 and a number of stunning F3 combinations. We don’t always need to picture the boxes the Lionel trains came in, but sometimes Joe will bring them to show us.

Along with talk about the trains and the articles being prepared with them, Joe and I gab about favorite music from the postwar decades and the sports stars of those years. Opinions about the best-looking Lionel model of a Fairbanks-Morse Train Master diesel raise as much interest as who was better: Willie Mays or Henry Aaron in baseball and Elvis Presley or Chuck Berry in rock ‘n’ roll.

As much as I enjoy the laughter and all the stories Joe has to tell about how he obtained certain trains, the experience of seeing the finest Lionel items from the postwar era is what makes each photo shoot so special. That and Joe’s warm and friendly personality and his kindness in sharing his collection with our readers set apart each visit. We are CTT consider Joe our most valuable player.