Halloween train buying guide 2025

 Whelp, it's spooky season boys and girls. Time to get out those skeletons, pumpkins, and model trains. 

Truth be told, trains and Halloween don't seem to go together as nicely as trains and Halloween. Sure there are some Halloween trains out there on the market, but not as much as Christmas. Speaking of Halloween trains on the market though, which ones would be the best to get? 

In this blog, I'm going to go over my personal recommendations for trains I think you should at most, look into having to run around in your spooky Halloween village, or to haunt your own train layout with. 

Lionel Translyvania Railroad HO scale 

Best for: those who want a Halloween train set but model in HO scale

Honestly, I'm surprised that Lionel is one of the first to give us an Halloween HO scale train set. Yes guys I know that other companies have attempted to bring us the spooky month in 1:87 scale such as Atlas and MTH, but (and not counting Bradford Exchange), Lionel is pretty much the first to do it. 

As mentioned above, this is best for those who don't have nor want to get an O scale Halloween train either because they already have a decent amount of HO scale, or because they don't have the space for O scale.  

Lionel Peanuts Halloween train set 

Best for: Fans of the great pumpkin. 

It's a Lionel train set Charlie Brown! Peanuts and the holidays go together like peanut butter and jelly, so why not try to include them in your Halloween village as well? Department 56 does have a line of Peanuts Halloween village buildings and pieces. I'm sure this set would look great running around them. 

Halloween Legacy PA AA 1030-1031 (AKA the Midnight Flyer)

Best for: Those with really deep pockets and a really big love of Halloween

While I agree with the choir that Lionel's train prices are getting a bit out there, the Halloween PA diesel seems promising. "The Midnight Flyer" as the engine calls itself will gladly welcome itself to any Halloween village or train layout that will let it, showing off it's beautiful purple and black paint scheme. 

Wicked Night Flyer trainset by Micro Trains 

Best for: those who just want a small Halloween village 

No Micro trains I didn't forget you. The Wicked Night Flyer may be small, but it's got a lot going for it. The cauldron car lights up, the cars are well painted and detailed in spite of being in one of the smaller gauges, and the set just looks really fun. At the time of this writing Micro trains hasn't announced a new Halloween train set for 2025 and I honestly hope that changes. 

Either that or Bachmann hops on the "Halloween for HO" bandwagon. 

What Halloween trains best suit you? Let me know in the comments below and see you all next blog. 

 

Bachmann 2006 train catalog overview

 Yep, we're back to the old Bachmann catalog overviews. This week it's looking back at the 2006 Bachmann train catalog, which is the prequel to the 2007 one which I have a soft spot for as it's one I remember reading the most when I was a little kid. 

So what does the 2006 catalog have in store for us? 

Bachmann's DCC controllers and accessories continue to grow, with Bachmann offering EZ command amp power booster and turnout and accessory decoder. 

I'm kind of glad Bachmann did offer the amp booster. From what I understand, you do need more power blocks for your layout in order to keep power going. If you've got a small simple loop you should be good, but for those who have larger layouts where the trains travel a longer distance, more power may be required. I'll have to keep that in mind in the future when I'm able to build my decent size train layout. 

I also don't want to overlook the auto reverse loop accessory, which changes the switches to allow a reverse loop. It's not much, but it's cool things like this that make me appreciate Bachmann. Yes veteran model railroaders, I know that you can make your own amp power blocks and auto switches in your sleep, but not everyone knows where to start or where to look in terms of making this stuff possible. 

Bachmann giving people easier access to this kind of stuff makes it more friendly to those just starting out, and will hopefully keep them around once they learn the ropes and wirings of the whole operation. 

Bachmann's Digital commander set being priced at $230 makes me want to cry. Two DCC trains with 4 cars and a switching slide would be straight up robbery in this economy. Thanks for taking that away inflation...

Bachmann continues to expand the Thomas and Friends line with new faces, more cars, and Gordon Express Set. 

While I don't want Bachmann to go 3rd party crazy like Lionel, I do long for the return of the Grinch's Whoville special. The yellow EMD diesel looks weird yes, but still has some charm to it, and the grinch's dog Max being on the caboose just fits. 

Speaking of Christmas trains, the Yuletide special (or White Christmas Express) is back. 

Casey Jones also makes a return, and while I'm well aware that the train is just the Chattanooga set with a green engine, I still have a soft spot for the set, though Bachmann has my permission to change some of the cars it comes with if they ever bring it back. 

While I'm not much of a trolley guy, a part of me does want to pick up the reversing trolly cars one day. Their perfect for anyone who wants a train in their village, but doesn't have the space for a full loop. 

I really do have a soft spot for the Yard Boss set. Yes it's bare bones, but it's bare bones sets like this that can help those who have a tight budget get into the hobby. 

Submit pass is a pretty nice set. The caboose gives off wild west vibes and I wish Bachmann would offer train sets of steam trains with wooden tenders. 

Onto the back of the catalog where Bachmann's high end model lay. The 4-4-0 American was just being introduced in this catalog. 

The Glenbrook Valley On30 train set looks gorgeous. I love the green colors on the engine and the light brown and red on the gondola, box car, and caboose. Yes it's going on my "wish Bachmann would re-release the set" list. 

Final thing of note is that Bachmann was getting ready to introduce more rolling stock for narrow g-scale. 

Thoughts: 

While not super duper exciting, I do find this catalog a bit fascinating. Looking at the catalogs from 2000 up to 2010 is fascinating to me because you can see Bachmann continue to grow their efforts at going from toyetic to more serious contender for model railroading company. 

Pros and Cons to N-scale

 A while back I did a blog on pros and cons to having a garden railroad. In this blog, I wanna talk about the pros and cons of N-scale, the little brother of HO scale, and one of the smaller scales out on the market. 

Pro: It's size

N-scale's size is perfect for those who are tight on space. N scale's small size makes it easy to fit in more track, buildings, and even scenery for those who want to get the most out of the small space they have. It's also perfect for those who have a bigger space, but still can't fit in as much track or scenery as they want with O or even HO scale. 

Photo curtesy of wiki common 

Cons: it's size. 

Photo curtesy of wiki common 

N scales small size is a bit of a catch 22. Yes it's great for those that are tight on space, but it's not so great for those who don't have good eyes. There's also some details or features that might be left out or gimped because of N-scales small size. 

Pro: N-scale trains come with sound

Honestly bravo to those who've made chips and the tech parts to make this possible. As small as N-scale trains are, there's trains that do come with DCC sound. 

Con: hard to work on/repair 

Take this one with a grain of salt since I'm not an repair man when it comes to trains, but I'd imagine trying to repair N-scale trains would be a bit of a pain. Again, they're small in size, and there's a good chance you'd need some tools and even a magnifying glass to try and fix some of the hard to get to parts of the trains without doing more damage. 

Pros: much to choose from 

Like HO scale, N scale has a decent amount of manufactures to choose from. Bachmann, Atlas, and Micro trains are the 3 that pop into my mind, and I'm sure someone is going to comment below other manufactures that I haven't pointed out or named. 

While I don't want to see the market for one scale oversaturated, I do think that some variety is good. Don't like Bachmann's N scale train sets? You've got Kato and Micro trains. Want N-scale trains with sound? Broadway Limited it is. 

On the scenery and building end of things there's a decent amount to chose from as well, giving you plenty of options and ideas on what type of N-scale layout you want to build. 

What are your personal N scale pros and cons? Comment below to let me know. 

Looking at a Tyco train catalog from 1960

 Don't get me wrong guys, I do like looking back at Bachmann's model railroad catalogs, but I wanna shake things up a bit (especially since I'm slowly but surly catching up to modern day Bachmann). 

With that in mind, I wanted to look at Tyco's model train catalogs. Yes guys, I know Tyco had it's own issues and would be more toyetic then realistic at times, but I can't help but have a soft spot for the company. It was their HO scale trains that kept kids asking their parents for trains around the Christmas tree, and some of the stuff I've seen from the company are things I wish could be done again, such as their trucking slot cars that were basically Lionel (now Williams) K-line cars but for HO scale. 

Before I get started, I would like to thank catfordken from the Tyco depot train collectors forum for uploading scans of this and other Tyco catalogs that I plan on looking at in future blogs. 

Not to start praising a no-longer-with-us company from the get go, but some of the train sets Tyco offered were pretty neat. The old strap hanger trolly is a set you don't really see these days, as while there are trolly's out there, it's only one. 

The Chemical special has a fitting name as it comes with all tank cars, minus the mini caboose. 

The Dixie Bell and Golden West Train set remind me of the old Tyme village freight and express from Bachmann. Both train sets comes with an old steam locomotive that's either carrying passenger cars or carrying freight cars. 

I don't know if any of these train sets are still under copywrite as Tyco is long gone, but Bachmann remaking them would be nice. Or you know, they could just re-release the old Tyme village fright and express sets again. 

A train set that is making my "needs to be re-released/remade" list is the El Capitan train set. Maybe it's because I'm looking in the wrong places, but it does bug me how there hasn't been a F3 Santa Fe passenger train set for HO scale. Just about every model railroader knows how iconic the scheme is, yet for some reason there isn't a passenger train set of the F3. 

Speaking of nice train sets, the Colonial limited and Royal Blue Special are both very nice looking train sets. I Know their streamline passenger cars don't hold a candle to the modern ones, but they have their own little charm to them. 

On the fright side of things are the Early Bird West and Mammoth of the Rails, the former set having a box car with a man walking on top of it back and forth. 

One final thing I'd like to note about the catalog is the prices of trains and track offered at the end. For those who can't see the prices, some of the steam trains cost almost $30, and some of the freight cars cost $4. 

Yes I know with inflation these cars would cost as much as modern day train cars and engines, but one could dream...

Thoughts: 

Only other thing I have to add is that this catalog does pretty much describe why I like Tyco. Yes I know, by today's standards they'd be toyetic and not as good as modern day Bachmann or Broadway Limited, but the company seemed to try and put it's best foot forward in giving those that wanted to get into trains some nice train sets to start out with. 

I also stand by the belief that Tyco's smooth passenger cars have their own little charm to them. 

Rating Broadway Limited's fantasy paint schemes (part 1)

While I don't want to start kissing up to Broadway Limited Imports as I haven't gotten my hands on one of their engines yet, I don't want to sleep on them either. 

Owned by a former Lionel employee Bob Grubba, I've heard a decent amount of good things coming from Broadway Limited Imports, from the detailed steam engines they have to offer to the accessories such as a Lighting storm kit for train layouts, Broadway Limited seems to be bringing their best for those who want highly detailed trains for their highly detailed layouts. 

Like Lionel, Broadway Limited has also explored the idea of having fantasy schemes for their trains. While I know fantasy schemes aren't everyone's cup of tea, I personally do like the idea of trains being offered in these fun schemes. After all, I am the guy who has a soft spot for Christmas train sets and train sets that involve movie/cartoon characters. 

In this blog, I'm gonna go over 5 steam and 5 diesel fantasy schemes that Broadway Limited currently offer at the time of this blog. If you don't see a fantasy scheme here you like, don't worry, I do plan on doing anther blog about their fantasy schemes, and even waiting till they release more. 

Steam 

8986 Freedom Train 

One thing that wins me over with fantasy schemes is the "what ifs". What if this train had this scheme, or what if that train had this scheme. 

Broadway Limited Imports Brass Hybrid Streamline Hudson Freedom Train seems to understand that assignment. Also the train just really looks good in the red white and blue paint scheme, I'd dare say even better then the Southern Pacific, but I don't want to start any train flame wars. 

Rating: A+

8987 ATSD Valley Flyer 

Forgive me for doing two Hybrid Hudson's in a row, but it's hard for me to ignore the Valley Flyer paint scheme. It might not be as "What if" as the Freedom Train paint scheme, but it just looks so dang nice. 

Rating: A+

9915 UP Early Challenger Two Tone Grey Paint Scheme 

Is the Early Challenger two tone grey paint scheme anything fancy? No. But does it have to be? Not trying to take any shots at Grubba's former employer, but I feel like Lionel tries to get too fancy/try to hard to make some of their fantasy paint schemes to stand out. This engine proves you don't really need to do all of that to make it look good. 

Rating: A 

9846 Southern Pacific GS-4 Golden State Fantasy scheme 

On one hand I feel as though Broadway Limited is pushing it just a little bit with this one. On the other hand, the GS-4 daylight doesn't look that bad in red. Might need some smooth passenger cars to truly win me over on this one. 

Rating: B 

8867 ATSF 3460 Class 4-6-4 Aluminum Shadow line Scheme 

Maybe it's because there's a big soft spot in my heart for fantasy schemes, but I can't really hate on this one. Yeah it's much more realistic then the others, but it still looks nice to a certain extent. I suppose it helps that they didn't try to add in yellow for whatever reason. 

Rating C+ 

Diesels 

GE ES44AC US Navy scheme 

Patriotic schemes have a soft spot in my heart, and so does this one. 

Rating: A+

EMD SD70ACe PRR fantasy paint scheme 

Honestly want this to be real. Like the Early Challenger paint scheme, nothing too fancy, and doesn't need to be. 

Rating: A

EMD F3A Santa Express 

Why yes I did have to sneak in a Christmas train scheme, why do you ask? Nothing against MTH but I honestly like this scheme more then there Christmas train F3 they released as part of a set. This scheme just stands out more and I love the trees and snowflakes that the train is decorated in. 

Rating: A+

RF-16 Sharknose A, USAF shark paint scheme. 

Did I mention I like patriotic paint schemes. Also I know it's kind of a no brainer to give a shark nosed engine a shark mouth, but man does it look good when put together. 

Rating: A 

EMD GP30 USAF Air Force paint scheme 

While I know it's not the exact engine/paint scheme, I like this one a lot because it reminds me of Tyco's spirit of 76, a train set that would make my "train sets I'd like to see get remade/release" list. It's no spirit of 76, but the train feels just as patriotic. 

Rating: A+ 

So what's was your favorite fantasy paint schemes from Broadway Limited Imports? Comment below and tell me which one's you'd like me to rate for the next blog I do on this topic. 

And for those who want to buy said paint schemes, they can be found on Broadway Limited Imports site, or on Trainworld.com.