Lionel Nation 7

The centerpiece of this seventh release in the Lionel Nation series is a segment on the original Lionel Visitors Center model railroad layout, which recently received a new home at the Railroad Museum of Long Island in Riverhead, NY (after Lionel moved its corporate headquarters from Chesterfield, MI, to Manhattan). The Riverhead staff sees the acquisition as a dream come true, both in terms of its “cool” factor and a corresponding jump in the number of visitors since its arrival. In addition to a pair of “modern era” layouts—one geared toward fun and the other realistic—the program looks at other historic train sets, including Lionel's Alaska model and several from the earliest days of steam power. Along the way, viewers will also hear plenty of technical discussions, covering such topics as the pros and cons of various switching setups, transformers, and other parts of the elaborate configurations. As with earlier entries in the Lionel library, the level of detail witnessed in the mock-ups is striking (such as tunnels constructed out of realistic-looking concrete sections). Sure to appeal to model train buffs, this is recommended. Aud: P. (C. Block)