From the editors: a CTT blog - Classic Toy Trains Magazine

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Christmas (special issue) is coming soon!

Posted one month ago by Rene Schweitzer

Most regular readers know that most years CTT publishes a stand-along special issue. Topics have varied from track plans, Lionel showroom layouts, Electric Trains from A to Z, and more. This year's special issue is one near-and-dear to most of your hearts, Christmas and Electric Trains. I've come to realize in working for CTT that many of you strongly associate toy trains with the holidays. During the past months, Roger Carp has been hard at work to find the best and most amazing Christmas-re...

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Holy cow! Another new structure!

Posted 2 months ago by Rene Schweitzer

Farmers, hold onto your cows, because the Greater East Martian Cow Abduction Co. has landed! If you attended the International Toy Train Expo, you will have seen this structure already. Menards has released something different--a UFO scene! This scene comes with the UFO, a shed, trees, figures of a farmer, cows, and aliens, and of course Jack the German Shepherd. The UFO has colorful LED lights on the top and around the perimeter of the ship. There is also a "tractor beam" light unde...

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Loco Lookback 5: Williams New Haven Rectifier electric (Nov 1999 CTT)

Posted 3 months ago by Bob Keller

I bought my first Williams diesels some time before coming to Classic Toy Trains. They were a pair of GP9s and a New York Central Alco PA A-B set. It was awesome when I got them and they are still pretty impressive, though they shy more than a few of the bells and whistles even the most basic engines have today. What impressed me about Williams in the mid-1990s, was the firm’s drive to make new, well-running basic models at decent price points. You also could find...

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ON THE TEST TRACK: The new Williams by Bachmann Amtrak F59PHI

Posted 3 months ago by Bob Keller

These days it is really unusual to receive two new locomotives within a day or so of each other. Last week it was the Atlas O Trainman line Dash 8-40C. This week it is the Amtrak F59PHI passenger locomotive from Williams by Bachmann (WBB). Our quick lubricate and run showed a good performer. A conventional locomotive, it operated well above 6 volts and was smooth running.The steady engines sounds were nice and the horn was superb. The F59PHI has become something of a design icon for both Amt...

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ON THE TEST TRACK: The new Atlas O Trainman Dash 8-40C

Posted 3 months ago by Bob Keller

Behold the no. 20032007 (TMCC) Union Pacific Atlas O Trainman line Dash 8-40C. The model is offered in conventional ($269.95) and TrainMaster-equipped ($429.95) version. The model requires O-36 diameter curves. The Command-version includes TrainMaster, Improved RailSounds, Cruise Commander speed control, remote couplers, and a smoke unit. The conventional version has operating horn and bell sounds and ditch lights that oscillate the the horn is blown. First, the model looks g...

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More train-themed music from The Railbenders

Posted 3 months ago by Rene Schweitzer

I listen to Amazon music, and it will recommend music to you based on what you've listened to in the past. When it suggested an album by a group called The Railbenders, I'll admit the name caught my eye. I pressed play and found myself liking the album. I found their website and discovered that not only did they have a train-themed name, several of their album covers have trains on them, AND they have recorded a number of train-themed songs! And their band logo has a steam locomotive running on...

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Five-O in O gauge: A modern Police station from Menards

Posted 4 months ago by Bob Keller

I could be wrong, but believe that in the world of O gauge trains that only Plasticville and MTH have made police stations. This that being noted, Menards had released another rock your world structure with the no. 279-4435 Police Plaza building. This is a modern structure that will look right at home with the World Headquarters, York Hotel, and Starbucks. The building is a brick structure with columns in the front and tinted windows in the modern style. Strip off the police signage and the s...

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Its Friday and the weekend is almost here

Posted 4 months ago by Bob Keller

Just a couple of shots of the Western Maryland VO-1000 rolling around the test layout this morning. I hope you all have a great weekend! ...

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Loco Look Back 4: K-Line's USRA 2-8-2 (October 2003)

Posted 4 months ago by Bob Keller

Loco Look back 4: K-Line’s USRA 2-8-2 Mikado October 2003 CTT First, a prototype note: The US Railway Administration (USRA) was for formed in December, 1917. It was an attempt to streamline control of railroads and their operation for the First World War. One project was to create a group of standardized locomotive designs from switchers to mallet locomotives. This was to steer railroads toward proven designs and avoid wasting wartime resources on experimental types. There wer...

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Loco Look back 3: PRR S1 6-4-4-6s by Sunset Models (1999) and MTH (2004)

Posted 5 months ago by Bob Keller

If you had to pick a single locomotive that I would have bet never would have been made in 3-rail, it would be the Pennsylvania RR S1-class 6-4-4-6. Size wise, it was pretty impractical and during its brief operational life, it was exiled to the flatter and straighter lines of the Pennsy in the Midwest. But that was okay, the locomotive was designed to be a test bed for some advanced steam locomotive concepts and designs. The S1’s first notable accomplishment was wowing the crowds at th...

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Loco Lookback 2: The K-Line B&A 2-8-4 (October 2004 CTT)

Posted 5 months ago by Bob Keller

K-Line B and Albany A-1 Berkshire (K3670-1407CC) When I write a review for Classic Toy Trains, I don’t write the reviews to a word count. I write the review to write the review. The whole shebang. Every prototype factoid I think important, musing on the paint job or the rivet heads, and whether or not the backhead gauges and valves are painted. Unfortunately, gut-check time comes when we reach the copy fitting part of the production cycle and I have to cut ...

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Loco Lookback 1: Lionel New Haven 4-8-2 (Oct 2001 CTT)

Posted 5 months ago by Bob Keller

Loco Look back 1 To keep adding posts for the Classic Toy Trains Blog, I kick around a lot of ideas, some good, some bad, some not really workable. One notion I played with went something like: Which locomotives had I reviewed that, in retrospect, I wish I had bought. So I began to flip through back issues to explore. Price point is the most immediate discriminator. If it is close to $1,000 my eyes skip right past to the next engine. Roadname is the next consideration. New York Centra...

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York photo Batch 3 (odds and ends)

Posted 5 months ago by Bob Keller

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Photos from York – 2

Posted 6 months ago by Bob Keller

TW Trainworx is an amazing business building custom layups, repairing trains, or offering unique kits to help you make your layout YOUR layout. They had some terrific new products on display at York. ...

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Photos from York - 1

Posted 6 months ago by Bob Keller

This is the first batch of some photos I took with my phone roaming around the Orange Hall at last week's meet held by the Eastern Division of the Train Collectors Association. These are in no particular order and there were more that I show, but were too poor I composition (or were too jiggly) to post. ...

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York on the horizon

Posted 6 months ago by Bob Keller

The semi-annual meet held by the Eastern Division of the Train Collectors Association at York, PA is next week.Once more the toy train world will orbit around the county fairgrounds where there will be deals, steals, rarities, and all the major players in this crazy hobby. Stop by our booth in the Orange Hall!...

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HAD YOUR VO TODAY? Baldwin VO-1000 from MTH Electric Trains

Posted 6 months ago by Bob Keller

I think the most interesting diesels in railroading were the so-called First Generation models – locomotives that came out before the appearance of switchers, road engines, and passenger diesels were more or less settled upon. Diesels could be square like shoe boxes, slab-sided, or even have a cab in the center. The VO-1000 is a 1,000 horsepower diesel produced between 1939 and 1946 at a key point in US railroad history. Many railroads had a positive experience with the cost savings of ...

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A refreshing pause: The stand-alone Starbucks from Menards

Posted 7 months ago by Bob Keller

Menards is improving the quality of life in your Traintown with the release of the no. 279-4325 Starbucks coffee shop. Few brick and mortar businesses have changed people's beverage habits than has Starbucks. If you wanted a frilly double mocha caffeine bomb or just a cup of plain old Joe, you can get it in place with a convivial atmosphere. If you model post-1990s railroading, this is a natural fit for your layout. The O gauge building has a see-through roof, six tables, 12 chairs, sa...

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A major industry: The Vetter Sash & Door Co. from Menards

Posted 7 months ago by Bob Keller

Menards will help your Traintown prosper with a new industrial structure: The no. 279-4324 Vetter Sash & Door Co. Vetter Sash & Door Co. The four-story O gauge structure has two rotating exhaust fans, 25 windows, a backlit sign, workers, Jack the German shepherd, detail pieces, and a weathered exterior. More than 11 inches tall, 6 ¼ inches wide the building has a run-through for trains as well as a small drive through for dump trucks to pose below the sawdust catcher and ...

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Wow, a new train show!

Posted 7 months ago by Bob Keller

We just received our advanced copies of the May issue from the printer (It ships to subscribers on March 17th, and the official on sale date is April 3rd) and what a surprise on the back cover! A brand new, first-time-ever train show! What a cool idea!...

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On the Test Track: MTH Premier Line SP Daylight Alco PA

Posted 7 months ago by Bob Keller

MTH sent us two locomotives in bright spring colors: The nos. 20-20843-1 Alco PA and the 20-20843-3 Alco PB in the famed colors of the Southern Pacific Daylight passenger train. The Coast Daylight provided daily service between San Francisco and Los Angeles from 1922 to 1974. When the six-axle PA's entered Southern Pacific service and they may have been the most distinctive appearing diesels appearing on the point of the streamliner. The MTH PA-1 features two can-style motors, smoke uni...

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Tampa Towers high-rise under construction from Menards

Posted 8 months ago by Bob Keller

Businesses are booming, new industries have revitalized Traintown, new folks are moving in and the housing market is tight. What is a town to do? Build a high-rise apartment building. The latest addition to the Menards line of O gauge structures is the no. 279-4432 Tampa Towers. The pre-assembled structure simulates the incomplete concrete shell of a modern apartment building. Construction, however, is hot and heavy with no less than 19 O scale worker figures glued throu...

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Get the mail: A small town post office from Woodland Scenics

Posted 8 months ago by Bob Keller

Forever stamps rock and the place to get them in Traintown is the no. BR5864 Letters, Parcels & Post post office from Woodland Scenics. This latest entry in the firm's Landmark Structure line is a wonderful rendition of a rural or small town post office. Woodland has styled it as a wood structure with a shingle roof and stone base. The design will fit in from New England to Portland. There is a great covered porch (I can see someone setting up a gaggle of town folk sitting outside, readin...

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Got nukes?

Posted 8 months ago by Bob Keller

Behold the no. 279-4433 Oak Point Nuclear Power Facility. While I suppose that nothing should surprise me when I open a large box from Menards, I can assure you the “Wow” factor is still in play. I would not have thought of a new structure to harness the power of the atom for your layout. A nuclear power plant is a great idea. It is a natural fit, though. I have a handful of Lionel Atomic Energy pieces, including radioactive waste cars, an AEC switcher, and even a clear AEC tank...

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Navigating the trains.com events database

Posted 8 months ago by Rene Schweitzer

Did you know that you have access to a free database that list model-train events of all scales? And, if you or your club are hosting an event, you can list it for FREE? Note: Click on any image to enlarge. At the upper right-hand side of the CTT website is a tab called "Resources." Mouse over it to see a list of options. The second item says "Coming Events." Click on that to be brought to the trains.com event database. You'll see a bunch of options here. Click on a category if you want a s...

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Introducing a new column in CTT

Posted 9 months ago by Carl Swanson

It's not often Classic Toy Trains adds a column, but the February 2018 issue marks the debut of Kent's Johnson's Video Plus column. Kent, of course, was Senior Editor of Classic Toy Trains before he moved down the hall to the Model Railroader Video Plus initiative. There he has been very busy adding O and S gauge video content to the hundreds of hours of informative and entertaining railroading videos already on the site. Here's the text of Kent's first column, with a link to a free preview p...

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Comin' 'round the mountain: The RailKing C&O 2-6-6-6 Allegheny from MTH

Posted 9 months ago by Bob Keller

I received some new gear from MTH for review, and the first box opened revealed one sweet steamer: The no. 30-1728-1 RailKing Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-6 Allegheny When the history for O gauge in the modern era is written, the RailKing line will be recognized for giving tighter-diameter operators a variety of different and well-detailed locomotives that their pre- and postwar kin could have never envisioned. One such model is the Lima-Hamilton 2-6-6-6 Allegheny built for the Chesapea...

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Wrapping up my 2017 buying year with a boom!

Posted 9 months ago by Bob Keller

Wrapping up the 2017 buying year, I scored my fifth AMT passenger car and a trio of locomotives. On the rolling stock front, the final car of the year was an AMT New York Central baggage car. It is in great shape (better than the second rear observation car I bought). While I don’t intend to build two complete train sets, well, I will have a few extras for two small trains. Cough, cough. But you know how this stuff can spiral out of control. In the everything realm of “everythi...

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Gas up at Wally’s station (from Menards)

Posted 9 months ago by Bob Keller

While engaging in some idle office chatter, speculating about what building Menards might come up with next, someone said “They need a gas station.” I discounted that, since there was a run of Menards gas station made for the home improvement chain by Woodland Scenics few years back. Well, I was wrong. Behold the no. 279-4431 Wally’s gas station! The model represents a mid-century service station with some Art Deco curves on the Shell signage on the left and right corn...

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It's that time of year: Toy-train Christmas videos!

Posted 10 months ago by Rene Schweitzer

Toy trains and Christmas--they go together! Here are some neat Christmas videos our readers have shared with us lately. First, Becky Chestney loves Disneyland and has submitted videos over the past several years. This year's video features her 2017 Christmas display and has "stop action" techniques for movement. Who doesn't like a trolley, especially a Christmas trolley? This trolley from Neal Mayer's layout serves both downtown and the countryside. The Pioneer Valley Model Railro...

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