Great Toy Train Layouts of America contains heart-warming stories of spectacular layouts and the men who built them. Trains of almost every era and manufacturer are featured. Also includes building tips, operating accessories, and great action. Most of the stories were inspired from the book
Great Toy Train Layouts of America, first published in 1987 by Tom McComas and James Tuohy. Includes:
Volume One: Ward Kimball, two-time Academy Award-winning animator, sparkles as he shows off his multi-gauge layout and collection. Prewar trains are the order of business, manufactured by companies from around the world. Ralph Johnson's layout suffered water damage and his health was declining. So a group of his friends got together and put in hours of volunteer time to build Ralph a huge new layout to run his Postwar and Modern era equipment. Michael Primack's exciting postwar O gauge layout recreates real railroad operations amid realistic scenery.
Volume Two: Stan Roy's famous O gauge layout features 32 Lionel trains operating simultaneously on three different levels. Stan has every Postwar accessory, and prefers the crisp and colorful decorations of Modern era Lionel. Also featured are Chuck Brasher's amazing Standard gauge layout which includes one of the most impressive Classic Period collections in operation. This video made People magazine's Top Ten Videos of the Year list.
Volume Three: Phil Klopp's spectacular Postwar Lionel collection runs over and under impressive scale detailed bridges and through mountains. Free-spirited Bruce Manson's American Flyer S gauge layout features huge towns and vintage Flyer accessories. Many of the scenic vignettes were inspired from real experiences in Bruce's life.
Volume Four: Barry Leonard highlights Postwar and Modern Era Lionel, including the 5340 Scale Hudson with Rail Chief cars. Barry has a carnival, circus, animations, and loads of accessories on his layout. Brad Nelson's exquisite American Flyer S gauge layout shows scale-length Flyer passenger sets in a realistic setting. Also included is Fritz von Tagen's 1905 Carlisle & Finch layout, which requires a special line of light bulbs to control the speed of the train.
Volume Five: Ron Zweig's Postwar Lionel layout features an impressive operating scale catenary system. Ron combines scale scenery, structures, animations, and exquisite stonework to create a miniature world as realistic as any you will find in the High Rail facet of this hobby. Broadway set designer Clarke Dunham created the layout at Doug's Train Museum in Iowa. It is a magical world of giant clouds, massive sky-scrapers, and five levels of toy train action -- the signature features of a Dunham-designed layout. The proprietor, Doug DuBay, commissioned Dunham to created this artistic masterpiece.
Volume Six: EnterTRAINment features Modern Era Lionels operating on nine levels with eight-foot bridges and 17 trains in action. EnterTRAINment was a popular attraction at the Mall of America in Minnesota. Frank Petruzzo has both a great Standard gauge layout and collection featuring eleven different State and Blue Comet sets. Frank's collection also includes many variations of accessories from the Prewar era.
GREAT TOY TRAIN LAYOUTS is widely credited by collectors for peaking their interest in O gauge model railroad collecting. Featuring over 6 hours of tips from builders, train layouts and interviews with hobby train enthusiasts.
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