Will there ever be articles on toy HO trains in CTT?

Well, that’s a start, okiechoochoo. I really don’t know much about RR-oriented magazines outside of the Kalmbach fold.

Model Railroader is a sister publication of CTT focused primarily on HO and smaller gauges with some occasional references of O gauge, usually relating to rolling stock and such products.

Poppyl

To all,

I think a good way for CTT to “test the waters” is to write about items that were made in both O and HO, such as some of the military cars and some of the Alaska Railroad items. I scan eBay for Lionel Alaska items and occasionally see some HO items appear in the search results. As with Standard and O before WW II, Lionel made some accessories for HO and O, such as the missile launcher base, and the HO helicopter was used as a load for the non-operating O flat car at one point, I think.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

Can’t believe nobody’s mentioned Hornby Dublo yet - this was one of the first RTR OO scale systems (4mm=1ft on 16.5mm gauge track), built from the 1930s to the 1960s (with a break during the war years). It has a strong collector following over here, many of whom build “period” layouts to run them on. I’d say it’s worthy of an article or two.

I hope not.

Model Railroader is for HO, N and ignores O. That’s why I never read it and only read Ogauge and Classic Toy Trains Mags. I had the same frustration with Model Railroader and O, but realized I was reading the wrong mag. Now I read the two that apply to my interests and ignore the others

I’ve requested Model Railroader be re-named “HO Railroader.”

Dan V
Indiana

I agree that there are some HO train lines that fit the “toy” category and belong in CTT. Is it possible Neil and Bob have some sort of hidden agenda with HO because they got bad grades in school and were given HO instead of O gauge?
With exception of RMC’s collector column, you rarely see them published in model magazines focused on HO and N scale. CTT seems to use S gauge as their break line.

My N scale layout has the “toy” look. A grassmat on a doorslab with Kato Unitrack and prebuilt structures, trees, telephone poles, etc on their own sceniced bases. The feeling of this layout is tinplateish and it’s intentional. However, you would never see a layout like it published in a modeler’s magazine. They would loose half their readers and get all sorts of nasty mail.

Tyco, Lionel, American Flyer, and Marx HO of the 50’s and 60’s has an interesting history. These trains came in sets and were what many modelers started with and they do evoke fond memories. If people decided to take the HO seriously, they moved on to more serious brands. Because modeler magazines aren’t in to the history of train manufacturing or toy like brands, you don’t see many stories about these trains.

Gee, and I thought I was the only one to have a “toy look” N layout. I use “Liberty Falls” buildings. I have to admit, though, that I’m starting to go a bit overboard with some of the detailing. Joe

Nothing wrong with the “toy” look. At least you have a layout while my stuff is boxed up.

My [2c]

As an “older” ex-HO guy, I would tend to agree. When I was into HO (50 + years) I considered myself a Model Railroader rather than a Toy Train Railroader. True “classic” HO trains (toys if you will) are higher valued pieces by Rivarossi and Varney et al. and I think would be found in collector’s media.

I guess I have two toy HO scale steam engines, one is a TYCO Chattanooga Choo Choo 0-8-0, and the other is a TYCO Southern Railroad 0-6-0. The Southern engine ran the best of the two but I took it apart like a DUMMY and lost some parts and it never ran again!!! Stupid stupid stupid!!![banghead]

TM Books and Video has done two segments on HO and Double Trains. The first one was a 40 minute tape/dvd Lionel Action Part 3 (which you can purchase the all 4 Lionel Actions dvds for a really good price) and the second is A Century of Lionel Trains.

+1

For what it is worth, I agree with Poppyl, it seems to me Model Railroader magazine is mostly dedicated to HO. I have difficulty finding anything written on old S guage with the exception of CCT.

Thanks for listening,

George

Ogaugeoverload I was very happy to read your response. Also while on this topic in my opinion, you contribute much to this hobby and I appreciate your work. I collect and operate American Flyer, Marx and Lionel. I have small layouts at home and in two of my offices.

Will there ever be articles on toy HO trains in CTT?

I hope not!!! [:D]

I agree completely as others have said and seems to be the majority CTT is for O, S, And Standard scales/gauges Yes some HO or n might fit the description of classic toy trains but modeling n and HO is a diferent breed as O, S, and Standard. Model Railroader is for the n and HO and is a good mag for but as a whole the feeling is keep HO and n in it and we’ll keep our O,S, and standard in CTT

While there are a few folks who may look upon pre-war and post-war O and S as toys unworthy of any special attention, it seems there are many who likewise have the same feeling toward any and all early HO stuff that they call junk. Recently, there was a thread in the Model Railroader forum where folks were asked to voice their feelings toward Tyco products. Many responded with the usual negative blather but a surprising number related “warm, fuzzy feelings” toward the trains that at least got them started in some phase of this hobby. It would seem to be a natural progression that at least some early HO would carry the mantle of “classic” at some point in the future. I recently sold off all my old and new HO stuff to concentrate on O and I’ll probably regret it in the long run. Could this be a case of seller’s remorse?

If you have HO, then MRR is the place for you. That’s all that’s need to be said. It’s bad enough that the premiums Kalmbach offers with a renewal is 101 Model RR Track plans and the majority is HO with token O & N thrown in. I’m not up to converting the measurements, so, how about 101 Track plans for O guage and THEN you can throw in some token HO layouts.

What say you, Mr. Keller?[bow][:-^]

PS I am up for renewal this month… [swg]

“Classic HO Toy Trains” is an area that falls between Classic Toy Trains and Model Railroader. Aritcles like “Classic HO Accessories for O Scale Layouts” and “Repowering the Lionel HO GP-7” would fit into Classic Toy Trains. However, articles like “History of the Atheran F-7” and “The Tyco Mikado and Pacific” would be a better fit for Model Railroader. Other related topics, like Tri-Ang’s attempts to enter the U.S. market and Model Power’s reruns of Marx HO cars, would be a better fit elsewhere.

That said, there’s little market for articles like “Gee, did you know that Marx made HO and that it ran better than Lionel HO?”. The internet has eliminated the need for that kind of article. But there is a market for the “compare and contrast” article, like a comparison between Lionel O and HO operating cars. There’s also a market for truly weird items, like the Marx Santa Fe GP-7 (in Union Pacific yellow and gray) and the Tyco “GG-1” (which had C-C trucks).

So, if you want this kind of article, write it.

In my humble opinion, vintage Marklin and Flieschman HO belong in CTT as there is a lot of collector interest in it. It is probably just as popular amongst TCAers as Marx and Flyer S is.