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Written by Paul D. Race for
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Lionel(r) and other companies have been making "O-gauge" trains since the early 1900s. This means that the "aftermarket" for buildings, figures, and other accessories to go with these trains has been growing almost as long. Train-loving families have also learned that setting out those accessories is one of the most fun aspects of setting up a model railroad, display village, or train set. In fact, my kids always seemed to like setting out the accessories (and rearranging them for various effects) as much as they liked running the trains. These accessories certainly add to the "play value" for all ages. Most of the accessories on this page were made by Bachmann (the same company that makes most of the On30 trains on this site and on the Big Christmas Trains(tm) site.). Under the Plasticville(r) trade name, these products have been adding detail and charm to Lionel(r) and American Flyer(r) railroads since the 1950s. It is fun to be able to offer to you many of the same products I used on my S-scale (indoor) railroad in the 1960s. In fact, one of these products, the platform fence, is currently finding use on my outdoor railroad. If you've had sticker shock on some of the other pages, you should know that nothing on this page is over $30 and most products are under $20. If you have kids who are remotely interested in trains, these products will make setting up and operating the railroad more fun for them (not to mention adding nostalgia value for Grandpa). I have also stuck mostly to products that will take up very little space on your railroad, but add a great deal of interest. Painting and Weathering - Some of the structures shown on the photos below have been "weathered" a little to make them look slightly less plastic. I usually paint my structures before I put the kits together, so that's not an issue for me. But if you buy a "built-up" model or don't want to paint the structure, you can still achieve the "weathering" effect by watering down some black acrylic craft paint, putting it into an old Windex bottle and spraying it on the structures until they look a little grungy. Once the stain has worked its way into the cracks, you may want to wipe the stain off the smooth parts of the surface, so the details and woodgrain show up, let the whole thing dry thoroughly, then give it one more fine overall spray to make it look less plastic. Painting and weathering is optional (unless you plan to use any of these products outdoors, then painting is mandatory). When you get these things out of the box, you may decide you like them just the way they are (most people do); I just wanted to give you an option. For more details about painting and weathering structures, please see the Painting Plastic Structures article in the Family Garden Trains site. Update for 2013The recent recession caused manufacturers to cancel orders for many products, so stocks are thin or exhausted. Stocks of the old kits are currently hard to come by. In addition, one of the sources we used to feature on this page kept changing their links, and I got tired of replacing the link only to find out that the new link was bad in a few weeks. So I took them down rather than continuing to frustrate readers and myself. If you click on a link and nothing happens, you might try looking for the "built-up" version of the same thing. In the meantime, we'll keep our eye out for sources and products.
Note about Availability and Pricing: Although I try to keep an eye on things and to recommend products that are reasonably available, the model train market does fluctuate, and any product on this page may change price or become unavailable without prior notice. If you "click through" to see details on a product, and nothing happens at all, or you are routed to a supplier's home page, please let me know and I will remove the product from the online catalog until I can find a replacement or another supplier. For more detailed information about why products seem to come and go and why I have stopped listing prices for certain products, please see my article "About Pricing and Availability." Note about Suppliers: While we try to help you get the products you want by recommending suppliers with a good record of customer service, all transactions between you and the supplier you chose to provide your trains or other purchases are governed by the published policies on the supplier's web site. So please print off any order confirmation screens and save copies of invoices, etc., so you can contact the appropriate supplier should any problems occur. (They almost never do, but you want to be on the safe side.)
![]() Rustic Fence - Out in the country, this fence may look more at home than the white pickets above. Again, the posts are made so you can configure this fence in many different shapes.
For more details about painting and weathering structures, please see the Painting Plastic Structures article in the Family Garden Trains site.
Note: The prebuilt version sold out of many stores in late 2009, but should be available again eventually. If you don't want to wait, and you don't mind snapping stuff together yourself, check out the kit version below.
![]() I put one of these together back in the 1960s to go with my American Flyer trains. It was a little too tall, so I left off the base pieces. That said, it's relatively easy to assemble, so if you want to paint it first, don't be nervous about ordering the kit version. On the other hand the "built-up" version does offer "instant" gratification. :-)
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![]() Click a "check stock" button at the right to see the "built-up" version of this product.
For more details about painting and weathering structures, please see the Painting Plastic Structures article in the Family Garden Trains site.
Bachmann O Scale Coaling Tower - This building is about 14" tall, big enough to "make a statement" on any O scale railroad - in fact Bachmann used to include the kit version with some of their Large Scale starter sets. That's how I know this model, and it's also why I recommend getting the "built-up" version unless you want to paint it yourself. - it's relatively tricky to assemble compared to other Plasticville structures.
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Note: BIG Indoor TrainsTM, BIG Train StoreTM, Family Garden TrainsTM, Big Christmas TrainsTM, and Trains and TownsTM are trademarks of Breakthrough Communications (www.btcomm.com). All information, data, text, and illustrations on this web site are
Copyright (c) 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 by Paul D. Race.
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