As if melamine in cat food wasn’t enough. Two weeks ago, the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission issued a recall of wooden Thomas and Friends toy trains that the toymaker’s Chinese manufacturers painted with lead paint despite instructions to the contrary. The New York Times points out that “[u]ntil a few decades ago, lead-painted toys […]
Model Railroader senior editor Carl Swanson is the new editor of Classic Toy Trains, Kalmbach announced last Friday. Via OGaugeWatch.com. Previously: Besougloff Is New MR Editor.
Classic Toy Trains editor Neil Besougloff will take over as the editor of Model Railroader on June 1, the magazine announced this week. Kalmbach is as a result looking for someone to replace Besougloff as CTT editor. Current MR editor/publisher Terry Thompson will remain as publisher of MR and four other magazines. Via OGaugeWatch.com.
Steven Brenneisen, a manufacturer of track for Lionel trains, wants to buy a 107-year-old railroad storehouse in Packerton, Pennsylvania, renovate it, move his operations there, and open what he envisions would be “the world’s largest indoor miniature train layout.” (In your face, Hamburg.) But Carbon County commissioners, nonplussed by his proposal (and others), have already […]
If you’re interested in running a toy train at Christmastime, particularly of the O scale, three-rail sort (like Lionel), be sure not to miss OGaugeWatch.com‘s guide to building your first Christmas layout: part one deals with some of the basics in terms of getting started; part two talks about the starter sets from the various […]
The November/December issue of American Heritage magazine has an interesting article on the early history of Lionel, including its origins and how it established itself in the marketplace, endured the Great Depression and switched to O scale. Via OGaugeWatch.com.
Iron Ponies is an 11½-minute film released in 1952 by Lionel. It’s your standard promotional short film from the 1950s, but it’s an interesting look at what was then the state of the art in toy (as opposed to model) trains. Via OGaugeWatch.com.
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