Thanks to everyone for their kind words about Classic Toy Trains, which is about to start its 25th year of publication. We on the staff appreciate your support and contributions.
So now let's start a thread in which you select your all-time favorite articles in CTT. We'll pay close attention and publish something in an upcoming issue on the articles you like most and your reasons why.
Thanks,
Roger Carp
Senior Editor
The Retro Railroad construction series was the impetus to backdate my layout. It was not so much the specifics as it was it's general appeal and yet it had a certain simplicity about it that made the trains themselves the stars, and accessories.... rather than realistic scenic details.I suspect this article was influential to others as I see more of these layouts being produced as affordable and fun..
Another was the essay on the Lionel Electronic Set, which was really a revelation to me.
In my view the educational aspect of the magazine is it's bedrock. Whether it's wring as appreciated by Dennis or it is the history that incites us explore expanding aspects of the hobby. From there, everything falls into perspective. The layout pictorials are the icing on the cake..
Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.
You're kidding me, right? There's way too many to just pick "one."
Too many good ones to choose from, but the one I re-read the most is "Chuck Brasher's Standard Gauge Layout" in the Spring 1989 issue. The "retroness" of the controls is just so cool! And the trains are magnificent!
Second place is a tie. "Build Lionel's Disappearing Layout" in the November 2001, and "Wire Track Switches For Quick Routing" in the October 2005.
I didn't get into O gauge toy trains until 2007, when I got a Polar Express set to run around the Christmas tree, but that didn't stop me from picking up the magazine occasionally when the local magazine store started handling it. Childhood memories of my American Flyer set and my buddy's Lionels kept me interested, somehow.
Until I read that 2005 article I had no knowledge of the non-derailing feature of O22 switches or that it could be used for automatic train routing. Now I'm making a small postwar display type layout in the garage with classic tubular track, still my favorite, and as many action accessories as I can fit.
Thanks for the magazine and the inspirations.
Pete
"You can’t study the darkness by flooding it with light." - Edward Abbey -
It would be very difficult to pick my favorite article, there are many. Where I go to first when I open up the magazine is the Photo Album. I always enjoy looking at other folks layouts.
Bill T.
Roger,
My favorites now are anything that deals with Lionel Postwar or old Marx.
Several years ago when I was dreaming about setting up a small layout I came upon the January 2003 CTT . The cover photo and article are the inspiration for my current layout. So if I had to pick one issue of the magazine, this would be it.
I'll go with the 12/95 Automatic Gateman's 60th anniversary article. That one is the one that made me pick up this new to me train magazine called "Classic Toy Trains" for the first time.
I can't wait to see what some of the other replies are. There have been a lot of great articles through the years.
J White
There are many subjects to choose from, all are interesting and informative, but I mostly enjoy Lionel articles and products reviews.
Ralph
I liked the Cascade and Timber Trail project layout series. One of the reasons I enjoyed this series was because the logging themed layout began with a train set (Lionel Cascade Range), similar to the way my mining themed layout started with a train set (Copper Range). I also like how the names of the railroads on the CTT project layouts "Cascade and Timber Trail" and the latest "Coal and Turbine Technologies" on the Reader's Choice layout have the initials "CTT".
Karl
I've loved at least 99% of everything that I've read over the years. I particularly love articles about display layouts. But I also love in depth looks at variations and the Collectible Classics feature.
But if I had to pick one, I'd have to say the article I enjoyed the most was the story about Chuck Brasher's layout because it was the first issue of CTT I ever saw. I've subscribed on and off over the years mostly based on wether or not I was getting to my LHS monthly. But I always tried to get CTT magazine even if I couldn't afford anything else.
Becky
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
The Richard Kuhn interview/article (way on back) is the one most memorable to me. At the time, he was breathing new life into LIONEL (and O-gauge as a whole). To me, that is where things turned the corner to where our hobby is today.
Happy 25th CTT!
"Aug. 90 Dallee electronic reverse reverse unit."
Wouldn't that be an electronic forward unit?
Texas Pete "Aug. 90 Dallee electronic reverse reverse unit." Wouldn't that be an electronic forward unit? Pete
Pete,
Ive had a few reverse-reverse units although I dont think that was intended.
With, some of these new fang dangled, electronic contraptions, the darn things may shoot vertically straight up, never mind double reverse!
And, I enjoy all of the bells, horns, lights, motors, sounds, steam, voices and whistles, but............!
Bill Noles Plasticville Layout, Bob Boards All Aboard Flyer Layout, Stan Roy's Lionel Layout, and a few others........
Mark
If I had to pick one, it would be the article on Lionel's Turbines that was in the Feb. 98 issue. That article made me get a 681, and I lost control after that.
Really, anyhting by Roger Carp, Terry Thompson, and John Grams/Ray L. Plummer were must reads for me. That's not say that other authors weren't great, but these are the ones that really inerested and ultimately influenced me.
I'm a charter subscriber, so there's a lot of articles over the years that fascinated me. There was a HUGE Plasticville layout that had everything that was ever made. The trains were merely running on the outside of the layout. This must have been back in the 90's. Brad Nelson's Flyer layout was another favorite, the operating accessories I've always loved were used in a realistic setting. Neil Young's layout was another eyecatcher. The Collector's Corner articles are the first thing I look for (why did you move them from the last page?). And of course the repair articles have always come in handy. Whew! 25 years, huh? One of us must be getting old!
Anything on American Flyer.
A.C. Gilbert
Alton Junction
The article was titled something like Is This the World's Greatest Marx Layout? I actually photocopied it to read by the layout. I'll have to lookup the issue and date.
Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
cnw1995 The article was titled something like Is This the World's Greatest Marx Layout? I actually photocopied it to read by the layout. I'll have to lookup the issue and date.
What!?..Good grief ! I missed that one..I may have to renominate my choices.
wallyworld cnw1995: The article was titled something like Is This the World's Greatest Marx Layout? I actually photocopied it to read by the layout. I'll have to lookup the issue and date. What!?..Good grief ! I missed that one..I may have to renominate my choices.
cnw1995: The article was titled something like Is This the World's Greatest Marx Layout? I actually photocopied it to read by the layout. I'll have to lookup the issue and date.
Oh my gosh what is this world coming to when walleyworld has missed an article about Marx trains
Me there so many I can't start but we could go with some that our fellow forum members have been part of. It kinda gets us to be able to know a little more about some of the ones we talk to on a weekly bases in here if not daily. Hopefully one of these decades I can be one of them lol.
Life's hard, even harder if your stupid John Wayne
http://rtssite.shutterfly.com/
I really enjoyed the article by Dennis Brennan on scenery, think it was the first one of the bunch. Also, I liked the December issue we just got that had the photos of maint. on a steamer....those side rods can be intimidating! Lastly, I used to like the articles Kent and his Dad wrote....reminded me of working with my dad on the layout I had as a kid.
Dennis
TCA#09-63805
Good evening all,
As several others have noted, the Chuck Brasher article was a real game changer for me. The Children's Museum at the time had a large static display of several standard and wide gauge trains, but the article on Chuck's trains showed that people could and did run the originals. I later got a video of him running trains on the layout as well. Out of the ones I was privileged to write, the one on the Knowles collection was my favorite as it concerned pre-war trains as well. There have been several others as well. The two part article in the early 90s on a classic postwar layout will be my inspiration for my permanent O-gauge layout whenever I get it built.
Keep on training,
Mike C. from Indiana
Certain standard gauge articles by Mike C. also come to mind as favorites!
Wallyworld, I can't access the main index to find that Marx article issue.
cnw1995 Certain standard gauge articles by Mike C. also come to mind as favorites! Wallyworld, I can't access the main index to find that Marx article issue.
It isn't a big deal somehow, after you mentioned this, I had a vague memory of a fellow in Illinois who had a layout that seemed to have "it all" but that was quite a while ago and I may have read it elsewhere for all I know. The early issue of CTT seemed to have a lot more standard gauge material in them, which was another learning curve for me..all of this was followed by MTH wading into reproductions at that time..The other folks who mentioned Chuck Brasher's layouts triggered my memory as well. I like Lionel but at times , the issues seemed to be very slanted toward Lionel this..Lionel that..it got sort of monotonous for me inasmuch as what is more documented, more illustrated then Lionel? I understand demographics as well as those who love Lionel exclusively..but I would love to see at least one article on Standard gauge as well...just one would do, although I am into Marx..
There must be a gazillion tubular and Fastrack O layout plans..how about a standard gauge plan for a reasonable sized layout? I see that Lionel makes a standard gauge Fastrack..so this would not be a tough assignment..I don't want to sound disparaging..but a little more variety in the future would be nice,,,
I tend to agree as I'd love to see more Standard Gauge. But also S gauge maybe some articles on the "periphery" manufacturers like Hafner and Fandor.
Penny Trains I tend to agree as I'd love to see more Standard Gauge. But also S gauge maybe some articles on the "periphery" manufacturers like Hafner and Fandor.
Penny
Fandor? Here I go again..now you have my curiosity tweaked..off I go to "Google" the name..I would add Unique Art Trains, which Louis Marx considered at one time, a threat..One thing in reaction to the dearth of information on these trains, that I did do was to join the TCA. On their website, they have a huge catalog of their magazines to download going all the way back to the beginning..I have spent a lot of time pouring over them..just fascinating stuff. It will take me several weeks to read them all..Another "new" standard gauge line I had not heard of before is McCoy Trains, a postwar manufacturer, now defunct.
Fandor was the name of Dorfan while it was still in Germany. The Forcheimer brothers, Julius and Milton (the company was named for their sisters Fanny and Dora), and John C. Koerber moved Fandor to the US in 1923 and switched the names to prevent confusion.
Also as a charter subsciber there are too many to list and not possible for me to call a favoriite.
Articles I have liked:
1. Have to agree the Chuck Brasher layout is my favorite Standard Gauge article.
2. I really liked the Angela Trotta Thomas article where their home layout was shown - sort of like a train store setup. Thus I also really liked the Hobby shop in a Basement layout in the recent Jan 2012 issue.
3. I really liked the Dennis Brennan layout build series for the realistic look and also the early issues classic layout build by Jim Bundt (sp? - whatever happened to Jim?) for the classic Lionel layout look.
4. I always enjoyed the articles on the Lionel showroom layouts and obviously really enjoy Roger's new book that rolls all these articles into one place.
5. I enjoy articles on the various series/variations of rolling stock and locos.
6. I enjoy articles on accessories.
And my favorite issue? The Premier Issue!
Regards, Roy
I think my favorite layout feature was Brad Nelson's (I still look at that article from time to time for inspiration as I work on the family layout). But top honors overall has to go to "Ray L. Plummer" and his 5-part series on repairing Lionel steamers (appeared in 1991). I grew up in the Kughn era and received modern-era trains as a child; but all that time, I mostly "dreamed out of" my dad's old 1958 catalog. Those articles planted a seed, and many years later I was able to refer to them as I began purchasing and servicing my own trains. It's no overstatement, to say that "Ray" was responsible for fulfilling some childhood dreams--my dad's and my own--because those articles gave me the confidence and know-how I needed to enter the world of postwar (and even prewar) Lionel.
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