Related Links & Sources
Websites
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Most of my O gauge trains are from:
Lionel - A great tradition to the hobby since 1900.
MTH Electric Trains - Founded in 1980, Mike's Train House offers a delightful variety of both O-31 gauge and O scale trains along with other sizes such as G gauge, S gauge, HO scale, and prewar tinplate (Standard gauge and O gauge).
Check out other useful links such as:
A Brief History of the Texas Railroads - Whether you live in Texas or anywhere else, this is a well-written source about railroads of the Lone Star State.
AltoonaWorks.info - A clever website that basically preserves the history of the famous railroad shops in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It also explains data on locomotives that were built, completed, and rebuilt in the same location.
American-Rails.com - A very well-written site about North American railroads by Adam Burns, who did a fabulous job on his research. Most of my locomotive blog postings feature this site as a reliable source.
Classic Trains - A fantastic magazine that represents stories and photos of vintage railroading since 2000. Subscribed in early April 2020.
CSX Photo Archives - A TrainWeb member site that shows lots of photos by different diesel models as well as different paint schemes in both CSX and its predecessor railroads.
Engine House Hobbies - A good train store in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Owned by Ken Ferlic. That's where I buy mostly MTH trains.
Eric's Trains - An O gauge modeler, Eric Siegel, inspired me to do lots of product reviews and everything else. I find it useful.
Kalmbach Hobby Store - A useful online shop for books, videos, and other railroad merchandise from Kalmbach, the parent company of Trains Magazine and Classic Trains.
Lionel Collectors Club of America - Established in 1970, the LCCA is an excellent club for Lionel enthusiasts, whether they are train collectors or operators. Also has an elaborate digital library of Lionel catalogs beginning from 1900! I joined the club on New Year's Eve 2019.
NSDash9.com - This website comprehensively explains the Norfolk Southern locomotive roster, both current and historical. Although it is not associated with the NS Corporation, I find this site very useful.
NS Locos - While similar to CSX Photo Archives, this Norfolk Southern diesel photo collection is divided into road number classes. This site includes active and retired locomotives as well as some identical units before and after renumbering in the NS roster.
RailfanDepot - An absolutely wide variety of railroad videos and has an excellent rewards program for great discounts!
SiF - The Sodor Island Fansite is a "Really Useful" website that shows pretty much everything about Thomas & Friends: history, behind the scenes, characters, and much more.
TM Books & Video - That's where I order most TM DVDs from. They produce the best train videos, in my opinion.
Train Video Depot - A very large dealer that offers an enormous variety of videos on trains!
Trains Magazine - Very excellent news magazine for train enthusiasts since 1940. I subscribed to Trains in early November 2019.
Trains.com - A new and more elaborate Kalmbach website combining Trains Magazine, Classic Trains, Model Railroader, Classic Toy Trains, and Garden Railways. Launched in 2021, it includes the fabulous magazine archives from all the five railroad publications. Available for Unlimited Members. I joined the membership in March 2021.
Books
Here are some railroad books that I recommend for further reading:
Allen, Jacqueline C. A Toy Train Story: The Remarkable History of M.T.H. Electric Trains. M.T.H. Electric Trains, 2000.
Borkowski Jr., Richard C. Norfolk Southern Railway. Voyageur Press, 2008.
Byron, Carl R. and Heimburger, Don. Guide to North American Cabooses. Kalmbach Media, 2021.
Drury, George H. Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, Revised Edition. Kalmbach Media, 2015.
Erk, Karl. Diesel Demonstrators. Weekend Chief Publishing, 2007.
Fostik, John A. Amtrak Across America: An Illustrated History. Enthusiast Books, 2012.
McComas, Tom and Tuohy, James. Great Toy Train Layouts of America. TM Books, 1987.
Oroszi, Dave and Reynolds, Kirk. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Voyageur Press, 2008.
Osterhoff, Robert J. Inside the Lionel Trains Fun Factory. Project Roar Publishing, 2008.
Simpson, Walter. Turbine Power. Kalmbach Media, 2020.
Solomon, Brian. CSX. MBI Publishing Company, 2005.
Solomon, Brian. Field Guide to Trains: Locomotives and Rolling Stock. Voyageur Press, 2016.
Solomon, Brian. GE and EMD Locomotives: The Illustrated History. Voyageur Press, 2014.
Wilson, Jeff. Guide to North American Diesel Locomotives. Kalmbach Media, 2017.
Wilson, Jeff. Modern Freight Cars: Rolling Stock from the 60's Through Today. Kalmbach Media, 2017.
Wilson, Jeff. Piggyback & Container Traffic. Kalmbach Media, 2017.
Wilson, Jeff. Railroading & the Automobile Industry. Kalmbach Media, 2019.