JeffPo's Model Trains Page
Last update: 11/23/09
I received a toy train set when I was 7 or 8 years old. It was a Southern 2-4-0 steam engine and tender, with a consist of 4 cars (hopper, gondola, flatcar, and caboose). The track was a simple figure eight, that could also be arranged in an oval. I played and played and played with that train, with adventures fueled by my imagination. I use to dream of expanding it into a larger layout, but lack of money and living in a small town that didn't have hobby stores pretty much nipped that dream in the bud. But that didn't stop me from having fun. I built tunnels and trestles for my simple track. I had a pretty good supply of plastic cowboys, Indians, and horses. I can't count how many times that train got robbed. I built train depots out of my Lincoln Log set. And of course, every now and then we'd have a major "earthquake" that would slide the depot onto the track, only to be "destroyed" by the next passing train. My imagination made up for the lack of track. I'd pretend each transit around the layout represented so many miles.
A thousand years later, my interest in model trains was rekindled by finding some track and rail cars at a yard sale, and the discovery of a flea market vendor that sold used model train stuff. As an adult, I've been able to indulge in the model train hobby and realize some of my childhood dreams. And I get to share those dreams with my kids. I now own quite a bit of track and a good number of locomotives and railroad cars. Below you'll see various pictures from our train adventures. At the bottom of the page I have some links and information to model train resources.
Layout.
This is my current fixed layout . It has changed quite a few times, but this one seems to be the most versatile. The train can travel on the outer loop (in the direction indicated by the red arrows), or it can also come inside to travel on the modified figure eight. There's a spur off the figure eight for parking cars. There's also a spur off the main loop, that trains can back into for "fueling". My son Jonathan really likes spurs with bumpers, and I like the way they light up. From other layouts I've attempted, I've learned that kids need some "green space" to play in. To be honest, this is probably more complex than it needs to be. A large oval with a passing siding and a couple of spurs with bumpers would probably satisfy just about any kid.
Trains for Kids
First of all, buy your kid a train! They are great to play with and really foster the imagination. Pair it up with some other building toy, like Lincoln Logs, some blocks, or Legos, and the fun will never stop. However, do NOT buy a HO scale train for a child! It is just too small and flimsy and aggravating for small hands. Buy an O gauge train instead, like the ones from Lionel, K-line, or Mike's Train House (MTH). At about 1:48 scale, O gauge trains are big and rugged. They are made to be played with. While a little more costly than HO scale, they more than make up for it in how they stand up over time and what can be done with them. With this larger scale, you'll notice that your kids incorporate their other toys into the play. Before long you'll notice various other toys will be catching a ride in the hopper or boxcar, as it speeds around the track.
Chessie Diesel Train Set
Here's an image of my...uh...Jonathan's Lionel Chessie Diesel engine. It has dual motors and a horn.
Here you see a Lionel box car and a Lionel hopper from my Chessie line of rail cars.
Here you see a Lionel coal dumping car and a Lionel tanker from my Chessie line of rail cars.
Here you see a Lionel searchlight car and the Lionel caboose from my Chessie line of rail cars. The caboose is lighted.
Santa Fe Steam Train Set
Here's an image of my Lionel Santa Fe 4-4-2 steam locomotive and tender. The engine smokes and there's an air whistle in the tender.
Here you see a Lionel Santa Fe boxcar and a Lionel Santa Fe flatcar (with a truck trailer).
Here you see a Lionel Santa Fe log dumping car and a Lionel Santa Fe flatcar (with a two car load). The log dumping car is a fun to use.
Here you see a Lionel Santa Fe searchlight car and a Lionel Santa Fe caboose (lighted).
Polar Express Train Set
Here's an image of my Lionel Polar Express 2-8-4 steam locomotive. It's a very heavy engine and nicely detailed. The classification lamps glow on it. There's an air whistle in the tender. It runs very well and the wheel action can be mesmerizing. The engine also smokes..
Below you'll see the rail cars that belong to my Polar Express line train. The set came with three illuminated passenger cars. Lionel also made a couple more passenger cars for the set.
Here you see the Lionel baggage car and the Lionel coach that contains the toys and marionettes.
Here you see the Lionel dining car and the main Lionel coach car.
Here you see the last Lionel coach car with observation deck.
New York Central Steam Train "Set"
Here's an image of my Lionel New York Central 0-6-0 dockside switcher. This is a nice little engine selling for about $100. It's diecast, has operating couplers on the front and back, smokes, and has an electronic whistle (pitiful sound). The only flaw is that horrible sounding whistle, which sounds more like a buzzer. Otherwise this is a gem of train.
Below you'll see the rail cars that belong to my New York Central line train. This is not really a set, but rather my own creation of associated cars (hence the quotation marks around set).
Here you see a Kline NYC boxcar and a Lionel NYC searchlight car. Searchlight cars add a lot of fun to train.
Here you see a Kline NYC caboose. The caboose is lighted.
Here you see a MTH NYC searchlight car. The searchlight rotates automatically.
Southern Steam Train Set
Here's an image of my first locomotive, the Lionel 2-4-0 Southern steam engine. The body is plastic, but it has a nice motor in it (although in recent years it hasn't ran that well). The plastic bell has broken off and I've been meaning to replace it. The tender has a wheel that contains gravel or something similar in it. It rolls along the center rail of the track and gives a "chugging" kind of sound. It does NOT have a whistle and the engine does NOT smoke.
Below you'll see the rail cars that belong to my Southern line train. They came with the set, although they represent other lines. They originally had plastic trucks with plastic wheels (what was Lionel thinking?!) but have been replaced with diecast trucks.
Here you see a Lionel Canadian National hopper and a Lionel Republic Steel gondola with containers.
Here you see a Lionel Union Pacific flatcar (stakes lost many years ago) and a Lionel Southern caboose.
Plymouth PRR Diesel Switcher Train Set
Here you see a K-Line Pennsylvania (PRR) Plymouth switcher train set. It's a cute little train that has prototypical couplers. The size of the cars are a little too small to use with normal O scale (and they don't have O scale couplers anyway), but the locomotive will work (it comes with spare scale couplers).
The locomotive is diecast and has illuminated marker lamps. It also had directional lighting and a smoke unit.
The freight includes a box car and a tanker.
An illuminated caboose brings up the rear.
Pennsylvania Passenger Train "Set"
The reason I have "set" in quotation marks is because this is a set I created by purchasing the passenger cars and the engine separately, then putting them together. The engine was made by K-Line while the streamline passenger cars are from MTH.
This is the K-Line GG-1 Pennsylvania electric locomotive that pulls the consist of passenger cars. It has a diecast body and is quite a hefty piece. It is a very strong puller.
This is the MTH Pennsylvania baggage car.
This is the MTH Pennsylvania coach car.
This is the MTH Pennsylvania vista dome car.
This is another MTH Pennsylvania vista dome car. While the other passenger cars were purchased as a set, this one was purchased separately at a train show. It is slightly darker, with a slight difference in the lettering font and the pen striping. But it's still a good match to the other cars and adds length to the train.
This is the MTH Pennsylvania coach car, that brings up the rear of the train.
Other Locomotives
I picked up this Industrial Rail trolley at a local model train show. When the train hits a bumper, it switches direction. That means I can setup a straight length of track with bumpers at each end, and it will travel back and forth automatically. It also has a "reversing unit" (i.e. forward, neutral, reverse) in it which means I can run it on my layout like a normal train.
Here's a Southern line diesel switcher that is made by Ready Made Toys (RMT). It has dual motors and directional lighting. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a diesel horn.
This is the before image of a used Lionel New York Central 4-4-2 steam locomotive that I picked up at a local model train show. I've been wanting a cheap, diecast steam engine similar to my Santa Fe, but I wanted it in a Southern Railway green color. The only Southerns I've been able to find are the higher price models. So I decided to buy this one and paint it myself.
This is the after image. This is now my Lionel SOUTHERN 4-4-2 steam locomotive. I painted it with enamel green paint. It actually looks pretty nice. I wanted the SOUTHERN letters on the tender to be smaller, and in gold, but that didn't work out. I ended up using some stick-on vinyl letters. This engine is for playing, so I didn't put that much work into it. It smokes and has an air whistle in the tender.
Here's an Erie line 4-6-4 steam engine by Lionel. It has good hauling power. The tender is equipped with an air whistle and the engine smokes. It's a good smoker and will blow smoke rings at times. I think this engine is from the "Riding the Rails" set by Lionel, given the hobo stick/sack painted on the front.
Miscellaneous Rail Cars
Here you see Kline Union Pacific flatcar with pickup trucks, and a MTH Conrail searchlight car. The searchlight on this one automatically turns.
Here you see a Lionel Gulf tanker and a Kline Missouri-Kansas-Texas boxcar.
Here you see a Kline Reading tanker and a Kline Nickel Plate Road boxcar.
Here you see a Lionel Seaboard boxcar and a Lionel Midget Mines coal dumping car. Coal dumping cars add extra action to a layout.
Here you see a Kline Central New Jersey crane and tender car set. The other side of the crane car has two hand wheels that turn to lower/raise the boom and hook.
Accessories
Below you'll some accessories that make playing with trains a bit more fun.
This is a before image of a birdhouse I bought from a local craft store.
This is the after image once I turned it into a water tower for my steam engines. Although a little too big for O scale, it still fits enough for imaginary play. The ladders and the supporting pilings with crossbeams are scratch built. You can also manually lower and raise the water funnel.
Various Model Railroad Scenes
Here's an image of the Chessie passing some cars parked on the siding.
Other Railroad Related Pages On My Site
Model Trains (current webpage)
Wax sealers, telegraph, whistle
Model Train Resources and Information
Local stores:
Nick's Trains, Oak Park Shopping Center, 5202 Holly Ridge Drive, Raleigh, NC 27612, Phone: (919) 881-1010. Nick is the flea market vendor that really got me back into model trains. He has since opened up his own store. The store has various railroad items, from antique to modern. Nick can also take care of your repair needs. He's a great guy to talk to and can offer you advice on your railroading needs. Email: NicksTrains
Todd's Train Depot, 3169 Wendell Boulevard (US Business 64 Wendell, NC), Phone: (919) 365-5006. Edna runs the place. Excellent place to buy Lionel and K-line stuff. Mostly O-gauge with a sprinkling of G-gauge. Great prices! It's internet priced stuff without the shipping costs (for local people).
Tom's Train Station, South Hills Shopping Center, 1239 Buck Jones Road, Raleigh, NC 27606, Phone: (919) 388-7246. Tom runs the store. Good place for all your train needs. Good service and dedication to the hobby. His charges catalog prices, though occasionally will have stuff on sale. Website: http://www.tomstrainstation.com
Model trains and supplies:
Lionel Trains Toy trains. The name brand leader in O gauge trains.
K-Line Trains Toy trains. Another maker of O gauge trains. Great quality. Update: Sadly, now out of business!
MTH (Mike's Train House) Toy trains. Another maker of O gauge trains. Great quality.
Industrial Rail Toy trains.
Ready Made Toys Toy trains. Nice little diesel.
Williams Electric Trains Toy trains.
Wholesale Trains.Com Toy train dealer. Good prices.
Charles Ro Supply Company Toy train dealer. Good prices.
Train simulation software:
Microsoft Train Simulator An excellent train simulator from Microsoft. Unfortunately it has been discontinued. The website offers lots of information and some downloads and updates.
Train Artisan Maker of add-ons for train simulator software. They sold an add-on for Microsoft Train Simulator and offer a few free downloads of locomotives and rolling stock on their website
Maple Leaf Tracks Maker of add-ons for Microsoft Train Simulator. Looks like they do more modern locomotives (i.e. diesels) and rolling stock. They also have new routes. They use to maintain a forum that is now located at: http://65.75.159.161/main/index.php
Auran Maker of the Trainz Railroad Simulator. This is basically Microsoft's competition and they seem to be the only major player in the game at this point, given that Microsoft has discontinued its product. It looks cool.
Train-Sim.com Website dedicated to train simulators with information, forums, files for download, etc.
Other train resources:
Forum: Classic Toy Trains magazine Great forum for talking about toy trains.
http://www.traincity.com/price_guide Prices for used trains.
North Raleigh Model Railroad Club Also lists local area train shows.
All-Gauge Model Railroading Page
http://www.aorailroad.com Awesome O-scale layout. Very realistic.
http://www3.sympatico.ca/larry.lajambe Another awesome O-scale layout.
Directory of World Wide Rail Sites
Golden Spike Enterprises Lists some of the bigger trains shows and events on the east coast.
