The Art of Lionel Trains: Toy Trains and American Dreams (Hardcover) by Roger Carp. When it came to electric trains, no retail catalog could match the excitement generated by the latest Lionel catalog. Lionel’s staff artists created images of shining streamliners racing across the Great Plains to the West Coast and smoking steam engines heroically dragging mile-long strings of freight cars from one city to another. The wonder of it all is that these amazing train renderings, though incredibly realistic, were still identifiable as toys. The Art of Lionel Trains features the grandest examples of Lionel catalog and advertising art along with captivating text on how the artwork reflected the culture and values of the times. It’s a fascinating story, a delightful trip down memory lane, and a wonderfully colorful look at America’s premier toy train manufacturer. The perfect reference for nostalgia buffs, antique lovers, and toy train fans everywhere!

Collectable Lionel Classics (Paperback) By Roger Carp. In his new book, Collectible Lionel Classics, toy train expert, Roger Carp, provides detailed information on 100 popular postwar Lionel locomotives (steam, diesel, and electric), motorized units, rolling stock, and accessories.

The book provides:

A detailed description of each collectible including its history, common variations, and buying advice.
A full-color photo and sidebar highlighting additional product features.
An in-depth introduction to each product category (steam locomotives, diesels, etc.)
From experienced collectors and operators, to customers new to the hobby, this 128-page book will appeal to anyone with an interest in toy trains and accessories.

I Never Met a Train I Didn’t Like: The Art and Enjoyment of Collecting Toy Trains (Paperback) By Lou Palumbo. Toy collectors are like a group of fifth graders on a scavenger hunt. If you notice the expression on the faces of the guys as they walk around a train show or first enter a train store you’ll see the excitement and anticipation of a great "find." I refer to them as fifth graders because that time of life impressed me as an age of innocence, when nothing else was on your mind but what you were searching for.

Collectors all but revert to that time of life when they search for a new item for their train world. This wonderful feeling and sense of care free enthusiasm captures the essence of this book. It includes many stories related to these times of collecting enjoyment and also reminiscent of days gone by, and when all was good with the world and we were all just kids. Keep searchin’

Back in the Day: Growing Up in the Fifties: I Still Haven’t Met a Train I Didn’t Like (Paperback) By Lou Palumbo. BACK IN THE DAY…a young boy’s interests may have focused on the enjoyment of toy trains. But those interests would have surely changed in the teenage years to cars and girls. It’s not until their later years that these boys, now grown men, come back to collecting toy trains as a link to their childhood. The 1950s brought the introduction of sports cars to American culture, and to the excitement of teenage boys everywhere. General Motors produced the Corvette in 1953, and Ford quickly followed with the Thunderbird in 1955. "I was one of those teenage boys that had grown up enjoying toy trains, but had shifted that joy to cars (and girls!). The ’55 Thunderbird holds a special memory for me. My sister, Anarose, had purchased a red 1955 T-Bird in like-new condition a few years after they came out. I was the luckiest teenage boy around because she let me drive her T-Bird to my high school senior activities for one week in June of 1962. I do not have to explain how great it was to drive that beautiful red car." "Back in the Day—Growing Up in the Fifties: I Still Haven’t Met a Train I Didn’t Like" takes its readers back to a young boy’s perspective during the 1950s, but also shares with them the magical world of collecting toy trains, uniting the passions of bygone youth and collectors today. Lou Palumbo is a treasure in the world of toy train collecting, and shares with his readers not only his passions of the past, but his continued commitment to his own collecting, and helping others with theirs as well.

Lionel Trains Accessories (Paperback) By Roger Carp. This special 100 page issue from the publishers of Classic Toy Trains features popular and exciting accessories shown in dozens of new full-color photographs and vintage catalog art. The accessories have enhanced the realism and interest of the minature rail empires for more than a century while entertaining collectors and their audiences with astonishing life-like action.

Animated classics from the pas 100 years.

Most innovative freight loaders.

Entertaining towers, freight handling, and space-age items.

Stories hehind ingenious signals and cargo loaders.

Lionel Trains The Golden Years 1950-54 (Paperback) By Roger Carp. Lionel toy trains from the postwar years are coveted for their innovative design, precision scale detailing, smooth operation, and eye-catching colors. Classic Toy Trains Senior Editor Roger Carp has compiled a definitive look at these popular steam and diesel locomotives, freight and passenger cars, and thrilling accessories in Lionel Trains: The Golden Years, 1950–54.

This new special issue also looks back at Lionel moments on classic television shows, motion pictures, and even a Broadway musical. Includes loads of new photos and beautiful original artwork.

Paperback: 100 pages
Publisher: Kalmbach Publishing Company (January 1, 2012)

101 Classic Toy Trains: Best of the Postwar Years (Paperback) By Roger Carp. Based on the popular "Collectible Classics" column from Classic Toy Trains magazine, this book surveys the most collectible toy train accessories, locomotives, and rolling stock. This book is very helpful to those who have found an old train collection and are looking for the value of it, or for those who just want a better idea of what they should buy next for their layout.

Soft cover: 8 1/4 x 10 3/4; 128 pages; ISBN: 9780871164100

Roger Carp, Senior Editor Classic Toy Trains magazine

Inside The Lionel Trains Fun Factory: The History of a Manufacturing Icon and The Place Where Childhood Dreams Were Made (Hardcover) By Robert J. Osterhoff. Do you like Lionel toy trains? Enjoy corporate history? Or just want to take a nostalgic journey back to your childhood?

Then Inside The Lionel Trains Fun Factory: The History of a Manufacturing Icon and The Place Where Childhood Dreams Were Made is for you. Delivering a fascinating trip through the rise, fall and rise again of Lionel, one of the manufacturing and pop icons in modern American life. The impeccable research by Lionel historian Robert J. Osterhoff, along with hundreds of unpublished photos and images, tells the history of Lionel’s trains, factories, employees and business practices from the late 19th century until today.

"The toy train hobby will long be in debt to Bob Osterhoff for the outstanding research he has conducted, and the many insights he has shared about Lionel, its development as a business, and its growth as a manufacturer. Everyone who loves electric trains will gain immensely from reading this superb study." Roger Carp, Senior Editor Classic Toy Trains magazine

Lionel Legacy (Hardcover) By Robert S. Schleicher. An exhilarating, photo-filled journey through the history of America’s favorite toy trains, Lionel Legacy whisks readers through more than a century of Lionel. This thoroughly entertaining book features an astonishing variety of Lionel's — the famous and the fascinatingly rare — steam and diesel engines, freight and passenger cars, action accessories and cars, track and transformers.

Lavishly illustrated with modern color photography, vintage advertising, and historic images of the "real" prototype trains, The Lionel Legend charts the course of what is arguably America’s most-enduring toy–industry icon.

Lionel ® Trains: A Pictorial History of Trains and Their Collectors (Hardcover) Lionel ® Trains, A Pictorial History of Trains and Their Collectors presents a unique look at the history of Lionel from a collectors point of view, including hundreds of photographs of individual train layouts, locomotives, rolling stock and accessories, plus engaging stories from Lionel enthusiasts nationwide.

Lionel enthusiasts young and old will be fascinated by the thousands of full-color and historic photos displayed in this exciting new book, as well as the Lionel time line that details the ongoing history of Lionel trains.

Lionel ® Trains, A Pictorial History of Trains and Their Collectors is the perfect gift for anyone who operates Lionel trains, a reminder of the joy Lionel brings to children of all ages.

Legendary Lionel Trains (Hardcover) By John Grams and Terry Thompson. Sharp, rich, full-color photos celebrate some of the finest products from every era of Lionel’s history. From the earliest trolleys and O gauge pieces, to today’s colorful and high-tech toy trains. Lively text from two of America’s preeminent toy train experts offers a description of Lionel during each production era, while stunning photographs bring Lionel’s most significant and recognizable pieces to life.

It Comes From Within: The Frank Pettit Story (Paperback) By Christopher B. Ritchie. Visit the world of a Lionel genius, the late Frank Pettit. Learn the inside story behind the invention of the automatic uncoupler, the remote control freight car, the Fairbanks-Morse Trainmaster, and the GG-1. The animated newsstand and the quirky cattle car. These are some of the pieces of the Lionel legacy that toy train enthusiasts worldwide have come to associate with Frank Pettit, whose career with Lionel spanned 35 years.
    Yet there is something more to Frank Pettit than the locomotives, trains and accessories he developed. Something deeper. Something more complex. "It Comes From Within: the Frank Pettit Story," a new book from the publishers of "O Gauge Railroading," is a truly revealing glimpse of a creative genius at work!

Toy Train Memories (Hardcover) By John Grams. Covers the history of toy trains’ association with Christmas, from unforgettable store window displays and showroom layouts, to finding that perfect toy train under the Christmas tree. Classic Toy Trains writers contribute nostalgic holiday photographs from the 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s.

The Toy Train Department: Electric Train Catalog Pages from the Legendary Sears Christmas Wishbooks of the 1950’s and 1960’s (Paperback) By Thomas W. Holland (Editor) Electric trains were high on any boy’s Christmas list during the Fifties and Sixties and Sears sold the finest. This neat book contains full-sized authorized reproductions from the Sears Catalogs of every page of toy trains that were sold from 1950 through 1969. Organized by year, the best and rarest are illustrated: Lionel, Marx, American Flyer, Tyco and Revell trains and accessories. in all gauges. Includes all the original selling prices too! A "Must Have" for any collector who is interested in these "uncataloged sets."

The Toy Train Department - Volume 2: Electric Train Pages from the Great Montgomery Wards Christmas Catalogs of the 1950’s and 1960’s (Paperback) By Thomas W. Holland (Editor) Back by popular demand, this sequel to our original Sears volume contains full-sized authorized reproductions of every electric train page from the great Montgomery Ward Christmas Catalogs from 1950 through 1969. Organized by year, the book features thousands of trains, sets and accessories in all gauges are beautifully illustrated including such great brands as Lionel, American Flyer, Marx, Kusan and others, with original prices! A "Must Have" listing for those "uncataloged sets."

Lionel: A Century of Timeless Toy Trains (Paperback) By Dan Ponzol, Bill Nilnc (Photographer). This attractive, oversized book blends striking color photos with a history of the production of Lionel trains. For toy train enthusiasts, the photos will be the most interesting facet of the book. Most illustrated books of collectible toy trains are fairly straightforward, with endless pictures of locomotives and cars viewed side-on to show what they really look like. By contrast, commercial photographer Nilnc has produced almost impressionistic photographs. They feature selected details, limited depth of field, dramatic lighting, unusual angles, and train layout backgrounds. Given the large page size and high-quality paper, the pictures are particularly attractive. Fun to read, the text by dealer and collector Ponzol covers very familiar territory, but with the addition of comments on the interrelationships between the toys and their times.

The World’s Greatest Toy Train Maker: Insiders Remember Lionel (Hardcover) By Roger Carp. The inside story of the Lionel Corporation as told by former employees. Traces five decades of Lionel train history as people behind the scenes describe Lionel’s leaders, products, achievements, and legacy from the 1920’s through the 1960’s.

Lionel: America’s Favorite Toy Trains (Paperback) By Gerry Souter, Janet Souter. To this date Lionel has survived competition, inflation, two world wars, the Great Depression, financial scandal, receivership, rampant nepotism, material shortages, off-shore production experiments, dubious corporate acquisitions, management blunders, marketing blunders, the decline of the railroads, Roy Cohn as CEO, loss of its distribution network, loss of its primary customer base, acquisition by a cereal company, spin-off to a toy company, purchase by a millionaire hobbyist, and the computer chip revolution. Today, the name Lionel still means electric train and the history of the company is told in detail by Jerry and Janet Souter in this book.

Lionel: America’s Favorite Toy Trains (Hardcover) By Gerry Souter, Janet Souter. To this date Lionel has survived competition, inflation, two world wars, the Great Depression, financial scandal, receivership, rampant nepotism, material shortages, off-shore production experiments, dubious corporate acquisitions, management blunders, marketing blunders, the decline of the railroads, Roy Cohn as CEO, loss of its distribution network, loss of its primary customer base, acquisition by a cereal company, spin-off to a toy company, purchase by a millionaire hobbyist, and the computer chip revolution. Today, the name Lionel still means electric train and the history of the company is told in detail by Jerry and Janet Souter in this book.

All Aboard! : The Story of Joshua Lionel Cowen & His Lionel Train Company (Hardcover) By Ron Hollander. This is an updated second edition of ALL ABOARD!, the marvelous story of Joshua Lionel Cowen and the toy trains he created. Originally published in 1981, ALL ABOARD! brings back the classic electric trains for all those who remember them. The Santa Fe came in gleaming silver and shiny red. The New York Central was gray and white. World War I models carried siege guns, a 1957 engine came in pink for girls. There were Pullmans and steam locomotives, Lehigh Valley coal cars, lumber cars, and a design from 1964 that carried radioactive waste and the Mercury capsule. With 32 all-new pages and scores of colorful illustrations from the archives of Lionel catalogs, ALL ABOARD! is the definitive collector’s book on the subject.

Classic Lionel Trains (Paperback) By Gerry Souter, Janet Souter. The history of Lionel electric trains going back to its foundation in 1901. Numerous color photographs enhance the text that covers the company up to its demise at the end of the "Post War Era" in 1969.

Lionel: A Collector’s Guide and History : Advertising & Art (Lionel Collector’s Guide, Vol. 6) (Paperback) By Tom McComas, James Tuohy. Hundreds of rare black and white ads and 36 color photos. Features advertising literature from 1900 to 1950 including never before seen promotional retail flyers and brochures. Covers trains as well as electric toy ranges, model boats, wooden toys, as well as electric fence controllers and equipment made for the Navy and Army Signal Corps. Dealer displays, comic book advertisements and company descriptions and sales philosophy are included.

Lionel’s Model Builder: The Magazine That Shaped the Toy Train Hobby (Paperback) By Terry Thompson (Editor), Roger Carp (Editor). Selections from Lionel’s MODEL BUILDER magazine re-create the joy of playing with toy trains. Features a compilations of construction, layout, and historical articles, and human interest stories.

Modern Lionel Trains (Hardcover) By Robert H. Schleicher. This addition to MBI’s successful "toy train" installments in the Enthusiast Color Series examines how Lionel for the last 25 years has weathered increased competition, survived numerous ownership changes, adopted improved production techniques, and utilized computer technology to remain an American icon. From the auspices of cereal giant General Mills, to the sometimes criticized but always pragmatic ownership of Richard Kughn, and finally on to the formation of Lionel LLC, the last quarter-century of Lionel’s business and products are examined in detail.

America’s Standard Gauge Electric Trains: Their History and Operation, Including a Collector’s Guide to Current Values (Paperback) By Peter H. Riddle, et al. More than a historical reference, this volume includes a collector’s guide to current values, tips for starting and developing a collection, and plans for constructing functional displays of standard gauge trains. 250 photos, 200 in color.

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