Revisit the heyday of Lionel's Postwar Toy Trains!

This collector's issue features new stories of Lionel's innovative O gauge trains and accessories, plus favorites from Classic Toy Trains, special issues, and subscriber-only website exclusives. You'll also take a fond look back at Lionel moments on classic television shows, in motion pictures, and even in a Broadway musical. Loads of new photos and beautiful original artwork are included.

"Toy train enthusiasts will have, for the first time, a full, comprehensive look at the trains, sets, accessories, and more offered by Lionel during this peak part of its memorable post-World War II era."
- Roger Carp, Senior Editor, Classic Toy Trains

Your Favorite Special Issues Now on DVD!

Brand New! Get more than 6,000 pages of model railroad information never before offered on DVD-ROM.

Includes:

• 21 issues of Great Model Railroads (1991-2011)
• 17 issues of Model Railroad Planning (1995-2011)
• 11 special-interest issues including the entire "Build a Realistic Layout" series (2005-2011)
• 3 modeling booklets from the 1940's and 50's
• 100+ archival stories by Linn Westcott, Al Kalmbach, and Andy Anderson from Model Trains magazine

Plus, you'll receive a bonus movie disk featuring nearly two hours of fun hobby films from 1938 to 1983!
Updated software provides easy navigation and it's fully searchable by issue, keyword, contributor, and more!

Follow the expert advice in How to Build a Model Railroad and you’ll be able to complete any of the 12 inspiring layouts in this special issue from start to finish! Useful articles collected from Model Railroader and Classic Toy Trains offer you:

• SIX basic lessons for beginners that cover the facts on track, modeling scales, control systems, scenery techniques, and rolling stock maintenance

• THREE in-depth start-to-finish how-to’s for N, HO, and O scale railroads

• NINE additional layouts, including one for G scale, with a wealth of useful tips and inspiration for track plans, setting, scenery, and more

With How to Build a Model Railroad there’s no need to put off building your layout any longer. Roll up your sleeves and let’s get started!

12-ALL NEW track plans!

If you're looking for workable solutions to tricky track plan challenges. Model Railroad Planning 2013 is for you.

From tips for tucking wyes into compact areas to designing a layout with photography in mind, 12-ALL NEW TRACK PLANS show you creative ways to solve dilemmas that can derail your layout's success.

Learn how to:

• Create space-saving classification and staging yards
• Use scenic techniques to disguise turnback curves
• Build a modular layout that accommodates lots of switching in minimal space
• Design a large scale layout indoors
• Balance iron ore traffic from the marshaling yard to the docks
• And so much more!

Plus, get an exclusive BONUS planning booklet with your copy of Model Railroad Planning 2012.

Great Model Railroads 2013 travels across North America to bring you 10 outstanding layouts. You'll finds loads of inspiration, fully illustrated track plans, and helpful tips from the builders in each story.

• See Jack Burgess' now-completed double-check HO scale Yosemite Valley Railroad and discover the lessons he learned along the way.

• Don't miss Pat Lana's N scale coversion of the Cedar Rapids & Iowa City Railroad into a regional common carrier and his spot-on modeling of agricultural crops.

• Check out Andy Rubbo's amazing 1950's-era double-deck, multi-track electrified Pennsylvania Railroad layout featuring renowned GG1 locomotives.

How to Operate Your Model Railroad gives you 34 operator-focused stories from the last 10 years of Model Railroader magazine compiled into one convenient issue. You’ll learn to:

• Route your freight cars
• Develop realistic freight yard operation
• Replicate passenger terminal operations
• Understand the roles of the engineer, dispatcher, yardmaster, and more

Get inspired by realistic operating sessions on the mid-sized Santa Cruz Northern and Model Railroader’s own Beer Line layout. Expert advice from Andy Sperandeo and three track plans are also included!

Take an innovative approach to model railroad planning with the creative design ideas, expert advice, and thought-provoking tips for small to large HO, N, and O scale track plans in this all new annual issue.

Plus, get an exclusive BONUS planning booklet with your copy of Model Railroad Planning 2012.

To create this DVD set, the actual printed pages of Model Railroader magazine were digitally scanned and captured in a PDF format. Each of the more than 100,000 magazine pages is shown on your computer screen in its original format, exactly as it was originally printed on paper. The pages include all stories, photos, drawings, advertisements, and even the original page numbers. Not only will you be able to follow the hobby of model railroading through 75 years of development, you’ll also see firsthand the advances in printing and publishing technology through the decades. The pages have been organized into 900 issues that can be browsed and any page or group of pages in the collection easily can be printed on a home computer.

Great Model Railroads 2012 is an enthusiast's dream come true. Among the 10 remarkable layouts included in this oversized annual issue are:

• a scenic HO scale B&O layout built for realistic operation at the close of the steam era
• a large-scale shelf layout of a Miami industrial spur
• a 54 x 70 feet home layout, one of the largest ever presented in Great Model Railroad's
• and much more!

Each feature includes crucial how-to information and fully illustrated track plans.  Beautiful, full-color photos, many taken by expert model railroad photographers Paul Dolkos and Lou Sassi truly bring these realistic layouts to life.

Discover the design benefits of the most innovative and inspired track plans to ever appear in past issues of Model Railroad Planning.

Build your best model railroad yet with the experience and insight in Great Model Railroads 2011! This year's annual includes examples of layouts in HO, N, S, and O scales.

Find creative solutions to your challenges by seeing how accomplished modelers have worked around their own space limitations-and how their ideas can work for you.

Get the all-new special issue of How to Model Railroads of the 1950s, and you’ll have the expert insight you need to recreate an accurate re-creation of a bustling 1950s railroad.

• Go back to when steam was departing and diesel arriving
• See an N-scale Rock Island layout in all of its bustling glory
• Get the lowdown on delivery trucks that competed with railroads
• Understand ‘50s rail operations
• Learn to model 1950s trailer-on-flatcar equipment
• Take a close look at architectural details of the era

Enjoy a fantastic variety of exciting track plans and layout design ideas for all scales in this popular annual edition. - 12 all-new plans for HO, N, and O scales - Ken Lehman's L-Shaped bookcase layout - Modeling a Maine harbor town - Distinctive layout themes by Paul Dolkos - Introduction to British 4 mm-scale modeling - Dozens of full-color photos and hands-on help - Plus many more exciting layout ideas and articles!