Classic Toy Trains May 2021

lots of fun per square foot

I CAN’T TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES I’ve been approached at shows, via email, or any other way readers can get hold of me, and told, “Yeah, I love the layouts in the magazine, but could you run some smaller ones?” The fact is, we love layouts of all sizes here at Classic Toy Trains. Heck, we even like track laid on the floor. Anything where trains are running! But we all seem to have a special affinity for bedroomsized railroads and their smaller siblings. They’ve been a part of the hobby as long as there have been toy trains. What, you think the first layouts filled a basement? A virtue is they can usually be constructed relatively quickly. Take the Lionel D-189 layout on page 46, for example. If you wanted to replicate…

your magazine team

Editor Hal Miller hmiller@ClassicToyTrains.com Senior Editor Roger Carp rcarp@ClassicToyTrains.com Production Editor Rene Schweitzer rschweitzer@Kalmbach.com Copy Editor Steven Otte sotte@Kalmbach.com Group Technical Editor Cody Grivno cgrivno@ModelRailroader.com Contributing Editor Bob Keller editor@ClassicToyTrains.com TO SUBMIT AN ARTICLE and photos, email manuscripts@classictoytrains.com, or send materials to Classic Toy Trains, 21027 Crossroads Circle, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53186. Write the words “Manuscript Enclosed” on the envelope. Before preparing an article, contact us to determine interest. Article/photo guidelines are available at CTT.trains.com. Classic Toy Trains assumes letters, new product information, and other unsolicited materials are contributed gratis. We assume no responsibility for the safe return of unsolicited material.…

no plungers for bossy

I READ WITH INTEREST THE ARTICLE on Lionel’s milk cars in the February 2021 issue of Classic Toy Trains. There was a confusing point, and on this point the article contradicts itself. The operation was first mistakenly described as similar to that of the operating boxcars: with a plunger being pulled by the magnet of the remote-control track. But the milk car never had a plunger. Instead, the car was operated with an RCS track, which had the control rails, but no magnet. When the no. 3462 milk car came out in 1947, there was no such thing as a magnetic track or UCS track. The no. 6019 magnetic track for O-27 cars came out in 1948. Lionel brought out the O gauge version (the UCS) in 1949. – Bill Schmeelk, Hillsdale,…

cleaning a big layout

After having my O gauge layout shown in the March issue of CTT, I enjoyed hearing from readers. They asked how I keep it clean. I use four track-cleaning cars from North East Hobbies in Peabody, Mass. Just about every time I run trains, I put two of the cars in front of the engine with track fluid on the pads. The other two have dry pads and go in back of the engine. I run this train four or five times, and it seems to keep the track clean enough to have no running problems. I also wipe all the accessible track with a rag and track fluid. – Fred Laubie, Delaware, Ohio…

passenger or freight?

MOST PEOPLE IN THE HOBBY probably embrace the romanticism of the passenger train. Climbing aboard a streamlined consist, sitting in comfort with the prospect of a superbly prepared meal, and whether in coach or sleeper looking out the window and watching America roll past. Passenger trains have a wonderful heritage in O, S, Standard gauge, and large-scale modeling. That said, I was recently swapping emails with someone new to the hobby. He asked which I ran more, freight or passenger trains? I didn’t hesitate to answer “freight.” Why? Because you can pack in a lot of color from paint schemes and arrange a wide variety of car styles even in a fairly short train. Let’s face it: A passenger train, no matter how attractive, is a group of similar cars. There’s not much…

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/…