Classic Toy Trains November 2021

I WISH I COULD SHOW YOU THE LAYOUT that’s on the cover this month. It’s really a spectacular piece of model railroad construction. Unfortunately it doesn’t belong in the magazine, because it’s N scale. Now and again I like to “break the fourth wall” as it were and show people how we do some of the things around here. In that spirit, here’s how the cover came together. When I heard the cover subject would be a set of Lionel Canadian Pacific F3s, I immediately thought of some of the great travel posters CP produced during the golden age of rail travel. Many of them depicted Rocky Mountain scenes. They really made one want to visit Canada by train! The engines are similar to the ones belonging to George Schmid in his desirable Lionel…

THE PANDEMIC HAS LIMITED MANY OF OUR normal activities, and idle time can weigh heavily on you. I recently found a great way to enjoy some of that extra time and get more satisfaction from my Lionel trains. I’ve been building an O and S gauge layout for the past 22 years and generally dismissed the Lionel Scout steam engines as not being worth my attention. “You see one Scout and you’ve seen them all,” was my typical observation. Well, my opinion has been changed. Not long after getting our second Covid shots, a friend and I headed to Milepost Hobbies, a favorite store located in Amsterdam, N.Y. Walking in, we noticed a large box of vintage trains. Right at the bottom was an old Lionel locomotive, a Scout engine badly in…

WANT TO CONTRIBUTE? Please send your best pictures to CTT Photo Album, 21027 Crossroads Circle, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612 or email them to photoalbum@ClassicToyTrains.com. Digital photos must be taken with the camera set at the largest possible file size. Include your name, address, and daytime telephone number; a description of each image, including the gauge and make of the train; and the name of the photographer or layout owner if he or she is someone other than you. If your photograph is published, we will pay you $50 as long as we have not previously bought the photo. For more on photos specs, please go to trains.com/ctt/magazine/contributor-guidelines/…

OTHER THAN LOCO-MOTIVES, the largest expense you may have getting into this crazy hobby is the cost of the track for your railroad. You can drop $600-$700 in no time at all, and still not be near finishing the job. I know, because after many years of indecision, I finally got around to re-tracking my O gauge railroad! I had a plan, but as you might guess, it was a “living document” that seemed to change every few days. My original layout was roughly 16 x 24 feet and had three loops. Two of them had a connection simply for switching out trains. The inner loop was connected to a yard that, while track-powered, was used only for car storage. I originally used one brand of track on the inner loop and yard…

The chill of autumn air will trigger the layout-building or the layout-changing gene in many model railroaders. As we enter prime layout-building season, here are six great tips and ideas to keep in mind as you try to avoid insanity – unlike yours truly. 1. Come up with a simple track plan. 2. Get a catalog and price out your project at full (not retail) price. Then set a budget (or at least a spending cap). 3. Switches, powered or unpowered, are pricey and will be the most expensive sections of track you install. 4. If you’re using a more modern modular track system, such as Lionel’s FasTrack, MTH’s RealTrax, or Atlas O’s 21st Century, you can save some money by transitioning to tubular track in areas unseen by viewers. 5. With tubular track, you’ll…

A DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY. The Milwaukee Lionel Railroad Club is offering this Milwaukee Road/Delafield (Wis.) Brewhaus double-sheathed refrigerator car to celebrate its 75th anniversary. The O gauge model, based on the Lionel milk car, features Milwaukee Road and Delafield Brewhaus graphics, die-cast metal trucks, operating couplers, a removable roof, and tanks inside the car. Only 200 models will be produced, with an estimated delivery of December 2021. The reefer is priced at $85 plus shipping ($12 for one car, $6 for each additional car, no shipping if car is picked up at the club). Wisconsin residents add $5 tax. Check or cash to Milwaukee Lionel Railroad Club, Club Car no. 27, 2721 S. Calhoun Rd., New Berlin, WI 53151. Online orders may be placed at milw-lrrc.org HOW MUCH IS IT WORTH? The…