train layout Archives - The Silicon Underground

Skyline tin buildings

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 08 May 2020 12:00:06 +0000

In the 1940s and 1950s, Skyline of Philadelphia manufactured and marketed a line of toy train-oriented building kits. Actually, there were two lines: One was a line of building kits made of cardstock and wood, and one was a smaller

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Tootsietoys and lead paint

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 11:00:47 +0000

When it comes to old toys, a lot of people forget about lead paint. It’s not a bad idea to be concerned about Tootsietoys and lead paint. That said, we also have to be realistic and reasonable. There’s no reason

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Restoring Tootsietoys and other early diecast vehicles

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 12:00:48 +0000

Restoring Tootsietoys can be a fun and satisfying way to enjoy old toy vehicles. Whether you want your childhood toys to look nice again or just enjoy bringing new life to neglected examples, it can be as easy and as affordable

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Londontoy: Canada’s answer to Tootsietoy

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 12:00:57 +0000

Years ago at an estate sale in St. Louis’ Central West End, I bought a number of Tootsietoy vehicles. When I got home, I noticed some had only the word “toy,” a number, description, and “Made in USA” inside. That

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Tin buildings for train layouts

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 27 Dec 2016 12:00:52 +0000

When it comes to trains, I prefer older ones made of tin, rather than plastic. And I like tin buildings too. Any time I open a magazine featuring someone’s train layouts, the buildings all look the same. I want something

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Vintage tin litho buildings

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 26 Dec 2016 12:00:46 +0000

Years ago, I decided I wanted to take a different approach with my trains. I heard about a guy in Springfield who has a traditional toy train layout with no plastic on it. I wanted to see if I could

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What scale are Hot Wheels cars?

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 11 Oct 2016 11:00:37 +0000

What scale are Hot Wheels cars, you ask? Unfortunately it varies a bit. They tend to be a bit less than 1:64. But scale isn’t Hot Wheels’ objective. Fitting in the package is. That means the size of Hot Wheels cars is between

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6 options for removing paint from model trains

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 12:00:37 +0000

It’s not uncommon to find model trains with unwanted paint on them, or original paint that’s damaged beyond the point of being able to rehabilitate it. Fortunately, the price is usually low on these trains, and there are numerous household

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Specs for the Lionel 6-12053 accessory wire–and how to make your own

Dave Farquhar — Sat, 12 Dec 2015 12:00:01 +0000

A question the other day caught me off guard–how long is the Lionel 6-12053 accessory wire for Fastrack? I know a lot of random stuff off the top of my head, but I had to do some digging to find

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Using PC ATX power supplies on a train layout

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 11:00:13 +0000

PC power supplies are exceptionally cheap and plentiful these days. If you’ve noticed and wondered whether you can use PC ATX power supplies on a train layout, wonder no more. You can. Thanks to the miracle of mass production, even the

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