When I was a child in the mid-late 1980s, my parents purchased two magazines for me in addition to my usual Model Railroaders. Both were titled “Toy & Model Trains” magazine, and they were for a kid the most amazing magazines money could buy. There were articles on many simple starter train layouts in HO, O, and G scales, and train set reviews, and other basic articles. I distinctly remember the covers as if they were in front of me today:
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Red background cover with a father and son looking at a LGB Mogul, lettered D.S.P.& P.R.R. pulling a yellow coach. They were only about a foot away from the engine. I spent a lot of time as a kid trying to imagine how one tender could have so many letters, and what they represented.
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Green background cover with Santa Claus by a Christmas tree, with a Lionel train set featuring a Lehigh Valley high-nosed Geep pulling a train set (I think I later researched and found out it was a “Black Diamond” train set) in I think a figure-eight track layout.
I had contacted Kalmbach publishing and spoken to two different people who are very “up there” and knowledgable about eight years ago asking about these publications, and neither remembered what I was talking about. I wondered if I was imagining them until a friend pulled out the RED one and photocopied the cover and inside index page. The magazine cover said “Display until February 1, 1987,” which gives it a date of the 1986 Christmas season.
I have never seen these since at any train shows I have been to, and random EBay listings turn up nothing. Does anybody have any extras that they would be willing to sell me? I will pay ANYTHING to have these cherished magazines again. Also, does anybody know if there were more then the two I mentioed produced?
As I said, I only have PDFs of the one, and don’t know how to post a PDF. I am willing to email it to someone if they know how to