I Love Toy Trains

Tom McComas became involved with toy trains by accident and with reluctance. It was 1970. McComas ran his own film production company in Chicago. He produced documentaries and commercials. He also produced a promotional film for a friend who had invented a new toy. The toy failed. "He wanted to leave town," recalls McComas, "but he felt bad about the money he owed me so he offered me three boxes of old trains." McComas was single, living on the North side of Chicago and had no use for the trains. "The last thing I needed was three boxes of old trains." But the friend insisted, so McComas took the old trains. A year later, McComas had some guests over for dinner. One guest was a train collector. McComas told him about the trains. After di

  • Episode 37
    Christmas Train Spectacular - pt 2

    More Christmas layouts featuring Lionel trains, Dept. 56 buildings, and original music that will make you remember.

    Episode 36
    Lionel Christmas 2B

    More Christmas layouts featuring Lionel trains, Dept. 56 buildings, and original music that will make you remember Christmases past.

    Episode 35
    Christmas Train Spectacular - pt 1

    Christmas layouts featuring Lionel trains, Dept 56 buildings, and original music that will make you remember.

    Episode 34
    Lionel Christmas 2A

    Christmas layouts featuring Lionel trains, Dept 56 buildings, and original Christmas songs that will take you back to Christmases long ago.

    Episode 33
    Half City / Half Mtn. Layout

    Half city, half mountain layout with O and S gauges. Modern era featuring unit trains.

    Episode 32
    Scratch-Built Lay; Scenery

    Incredible scratch-built O scale layout. How to create and add scenery.

    Episode 31
    Hi-Tech Train Control

    How hi-tech train control works, Lone Star Club layout, and Modern Era layout.

    Episode 30
    Post-War Lay with Lighting

    Postwar Lionel layout and Hi-Rail MTH with fabulous lighting.

    Episode 29
    Multi-level Lay; Mtn. Lay

    Multi-level high-rail layout, how to build a layout and build mountain.

    Episode 28
    Post-war Trains/Fast Trains

    Postwar trains by Lionel, Marx and American Flyer. Fastest trains – the 999 Steamer & Turbo Train.

    Episode 27
    Lionel Collectors

    An in-depth look at the LCCA: Lionel Collectors Club of America, and their love for Lionel toy trains.

    Episode 26
    Tinplate 4B

    Exciting layout action featuring Lionel trains from the 40s and 50s.

    Episode 25
    Tinplate 4A

    Exciting layout action featuring Lionel trains from the 40s and 50s.

    Episode 24
    Golden Age of Toy Trains 2B

    More interviews with Baby Boomers who remember Lionel, American Flyer, and Marx.

    Episode 23
    Golden Age of Toy Trains 1A

    Interviews with Baby Boomers who remember Lionel, American Flyer, and Marx.

    Episode 22
    Lionel Nation 8C

    Lionel’s operating cars, a Christmas layout, and Lionel’s latest scale trains in action.

    Episode 21
    Lionel Nation 8B

    Layouts featuring lots of accessory action (Milk car, etc.), intro to Lionel’s Legacy control system, and more new locomotives.

    Episode 20
    Lionel Nation - 8A

    Giant layout built by Milwaukee Lionel Club, a 50s dealer display, and more.

    Episode 19
    Hi-Rail Layouts - 3C

    More New York Central's Museum and a scale layout in San Francisco.

    Episode 18
    Hi-Rail Layouts - 3B

    New York Central's Museum and a scale layout in San Francisco.

    Episode 17
    Hi-Rail Layouts - 3A

    New York City Central Museum features many vintage railroad items and a large scale detailed layout.

    Episode 16
    Tinplate Legends - 3B

    Magnificent scale layouts from both coasts. Prepare to be dazzled.

    Episode 15
    Tinplate Legends - 3A

    The world's finest Standard Gauge collection including a history and trains in action.

    Episode 14
    Lionel Nation 7 - pt 1

    Features a realistically detailed layout and a 1950's toy train layout.

    Episode 13
    Tinplate Legends 2 - B

    More from the New Jersey Hi-Railers plus the Nassau Society of Engineers, another club who has built an impressive train layout.

    Episode 12
    Tinplate Legends 2 - A

    The New Jersey Hi-Railers Train Club boasts a gigantic layout where members can run their trains plus Tom Snyder's Standard gauge layout.

    Episode 11
    Railroads On Parade - B

    Craig Chidester has an impressive collection of Lionel trains made in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. Plus a look at real New York Central trains and the model versions made by Lionel.

    Episode 10
    Railroads On Parade - A

    George Werderich shares his impressive toy train layout and collection with his son and grandson. Learn about the Ferdinand Magellan, the official presidential railcar used before the days of Air Force One.

    Episode 9
    Hi-Rail Layouts - 2B

    More great Lionel train action. Trains from the 50s and the latest from Lionel.

    Episode 8
    Hi-Rail Layouts - 2A

    More spectacular Lionel train action - operating accessories, steamers, sleek diesels - new and old.

    Episode 7
    Lionel Nation - 6B

    Railroads on Parade, Part 2, features an HO gauge train display of Prince Edward Island, a giant O gauge layout, and an exhibit of the New York Subway system.

    Episode 6
    Lionel Nation - 6A

    Broadway set designer Clarke Dunham and his team have created Railroads on Parade, a 5,000 square foot museum of various operating train layouts and displays.

    Episode 5
    Tinplate Legends - 1

    Bob Irnscher is in the landscaping business. He incorporated his trade into building an impressive and realistic train layout.

    Episode 4
    Hi-Rail Layouts - 1B

    Dennis Peffer grew up with toy trains but today he prefers running scale trains made by MTH. Carl Tuveson runs realistic looking 2-rail S gauge trains.

    Episode 3
    Hi-Rail Layouts - 1A

    Lionel has made many whimsical animated cars to add action to a layout; also featured is the multi-level multi-era train layout of Wayne Koebel.

    Episode 2
    Lionel Nation 5 - pt 2

    Largest World Class O Gauge model train layout in America plus operating tips, amazing realism.

    Episode 1
    Lionel Nation 5 - pt 1

    Tinplate trains are works of art from the days before World War II. John Pisano and Paul Carlisle are two collectors of these types of trains.

Cookies

RFD+ uses cookies to improve your experience on our website.

We use cookies that help the site to work properly and also track how you interact with it and what types of content you enjoy. If you consent to the use of these cookies, please click on Accept All.

Learn More
Customize

Cookies

Click Save Settings to save your selected cookie preferences. For more information please review our Cookie Policy.

Technical cookies help make the website usable by enabling basic functions like page navigation and access to secure areas of the website. The website cannot function properly without these cookies.

These cookies collect information that can help us understand how our websites are being used. This information can also be used to measure effectiveness in our marketing campaigns and to share our website's content through third-party social networks and other websites.

Learn More