Classic Toy Trains February 2018

accidental scenery

You might call it a train enthusiast’s dream come true! I have collected O gauge toy trains since I was four. I have added to them throughout the years until my layout now fills my large basement. I’ve worked on creating a variety of realistic and scaleappropriate scenes including an airport, a space saucer with crop circles and aliens, a seaside resort, and a haunted house complete with a flying witch and Bigfoot among many, many others. Looking over my layout, I decided my next scene would be vertical cliffs with a water drainage pipe and a mountain lake with boats, a dock, and fishermen. I planned out my method of attack, never dreaming that a moment of forgetfulness, a “senior moment” perhaps, would work to my advantage and result in the life-like…

relive frisco memories

Once upon a time, in a country not so long ago, railroads laid tracks along highways and through industrial and farming areas in every section of the U.S. Standing near a grade crossing as a freight went by provided a lesson in geography. If you’re of the right age, close your eyes and remember reading the names of fallen flags like the Atlantic Coast Line; the Boston & Maine; the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio; the Spokane, Portland & Seattle; and the Minneapolis & St. Louis. Watching boxcars and gondolas roll past taught you about America. Another of those once-thriving regional lines boasted an impressive name: the St. Louis – San Francisco Railway. Truth be told, as O gauge modeler Roger Wasson knows, the Frisco, as it was nicknamed, never reached the Pacific…

lionel sets for 1948

Executives at the Lionel Corp., with two full years of production and sales under their belt since World War II, felt ready to introduce to a growing population and expanding market many new products in 1948 – mainly, yet not exclusively, electric toy trains. They were optimistic consumers would respond positively; after all, Lionel had recorded profits exceeding $1 million for 1946 and 1947. Lawrence Cowen, president of the toy train manufacturer, expressed the prevailing mood on May 12, 1948: “The demand for Lionel trains and accessories, etc., is at an even higher level than last year.” He went on to promise plenty of great new items, including “models of the General Motors F3 diesel locomotives, switching engines, passenger rolling stock, four transformers and several ingenious automatic accessories.” In spite of the…

photo album

BRIAN INCH’S O GAUGE LAYOUT A short Maine Central freight train prepares to pick up a refrigerator car at a brewery early in the 1950s. Motive power from a different New England railroad occupies the lower line on the 4 x 16-foot O gauge display Brian Inch built with his son, Riley, in Hallowell, Maine. Their detailed tribute to Maine is one of the compact layouts featured in the March issue of Classic Toy Trains. STEVE NELSON’S O GAUGE RAILROAD The October 2014 issue of Classic Toy Trains profiled Steve Nelson and his large, realistic O gauge railroad. Sadly, what readers saw in that magazine no longer exists. Steve loves to construct immense layouts, and his next one is approaching completion, ready to be featured in CTT. Between the two O gauge displays,…

vp perks for ctt readers

I’ve read that on average, a person changes jobs 12 times during his or her career. But when my most recent job change required me to swap my CAB-1 controller for an HD video camera, I never imagined parting from the endearing collective of CTT readers would leave such a void. So when Editor Carl Swanson proposed a new CTT column, one that would allow me to reconnect to the devoted readers I’ve missed since becoming a producer for MRVideoPlus.com (MRVP), I immediately jumped at the opportunity! Just as quickly, I began tallying all the helpful, inspiring, fun, and even funny video efforts that have keep me engrossed with the video-streaming website since its launch in 2013. And yes, scores of the site’s 1000+ instructional videos are very much relevant to…

hot rod!

In the world of streamlined steam-powered locomotives, it would be fair to say the goal was a visual statement of something akin to a bullet passing through air. Some designs achieved this end: the New York Central 4-6-4 Dreyfuss Hudson, the Norfolk & Western J-class 4-8-4 Northern, and the Baltimore & Ohio Royal Blue 4-6-2 Pacific. Other locomotives varied from this premise, including the Pennsylvania RR’s T1 (axe head), the New York Central’s Commodore Vanderbilt (overturned wash tub), and the Union Pacific’s 49er (getaway car). Yes, I said getaway car. The 49er looks fast and built for rugged use, like the New York Central’s Mercury. I can envision William Bendix at the throttle as he and Humphrey Bogart pull off a heist of a Railway Express Agency car full of gold.…