Welcome to the Canadian Toy Train Association

Upcoming Events

If you have to stay close to home, play with your trains! There’s never been a better time to get at those model railroad projects you’ve been putting off.

ALL 2020 local train shows have been CANCELLED. This includes Nanaimo, BC; Lynden, WA; Chillwack, BC.

Toy trains are fun for the whole family

Cabin Fever Warehouse Auctions

Cabin Fever Auctions presents another auction, this time featuring American Flyer S Gauge, Department 56 Ceramic Buildings and Mixed Modern Trains.

The auction is Saturday November 21, 2020, and can be previewed online by visiting the auction. Preview listing.

Click image above to check it out and to find an item you’ve been searching for.

Become a Member

Join us for a club meeting if you’re close by, or become a member wherever you are. Annual dues are $20. Renew NOW!

About Us

Discover more about our club of model railroaders, toy train collectors and operators, the things we do as friends and how we have fun with our trains!

This happy group takes a break from shopping for trains at the TCA 2018 York meet to enjoy the Horseshoe Curve National Historic Site in Altoona, PA.

Resources for the toy train enthusiast

A variety of resources for model railroading in O gauge and any other scale. Podcasts, a directory of over 17,000 rail related Web sites, the O Gauge railroading forum community, more.

New & upcoming features

BC trains vacation and adventure tour! – Gavin & Tom Senft hit the hot spots and museums all across BC, from the Spiral Tunnels to Revelstoke.

Self propelled passenger cars in Canada – by Toronto Historical Railway Association. Thanks Ralph Spielman for sharing.

Jim Barrett’s prewar & tinplate layout – Photos by Mark Horne & Kyle Miller

Collecting Trains – old & new: John Constible. Part 1.

Coming in December: Moving Port Moody Station down the tracks.

Coming soon: Backdrops and blackdrops – how to make your trains layout look great! By Kyle Miller

Coming soon: Double up a Lionel signal bridge for dual direction lighting.

Club Car Sales

Our exclusive limited edition Club Cars are available to members and hobbyists. Check out our Club Cars production history here! Not a CTTA member ? Join now.

Our next 2021 project is coming soon – Order now! – PGE 8000 gallon diesel fuel tank car by Atlas O.

Sold out! BC Electric depressed centre flatcar with transformer load by MTH for 2020/2021.

See all Club Cars!

Lionel 2020 Volume 2 Catalog!

Another huge Lionel Catalog! Featuring a CP 4-6-0 and GTW 2-8-2, and lots more big steam!

View or download previous Lionel catalogs here.

MTH 2020 Volume 2 Catalog!

Check out MTH’s FINAL catalog, including Premier CP Heritage and Military units, CN & VIA Rail Turbo train, Ontario Northland SD-40-2. US Freedom train. Military die-cast vehicles on flatcars. RailKing 2020 US election trains.

View or download previous MTH catalogs here.

Club Meetings

The Canadian Toy Train Association meets on the last Sunday of the month 9 times a year, every month except Summer vacation July & August, Winter vacation in December. Meets take place in Burnaby, BC.

Doors open at 11:00 am, lunch is served at noon. Business meeting starts at 12:30, and auction starts at 1:00 pm.

View Map

Canadian Flyer Club Newsletters

The latest is the NOVEMBER 2020 issue!

CTTA Front Page Video

Tony Lash’s Masterpiece Model Railroad. This layout’s impact goes well beyond size. It’s as finely detailed as any scale layout you’ll see. Tony and 15 layout experts took nearly 3 years building this fine O gauge model railroad.

Check out more of our member’s videos and lots more toy train fun on our Videos page and YouTube channel!

Train News & Club Activities

Nov 17, 2020 - Canadian National Puts New Heritage Units into Service

The worst kept secret in railroading is out: Canadian National has heritage units. On Tuesday, CN unveiled an image of the five heritage units with CEO JJ Ruest.
Sept 27, 2020 : Trump to approve $22B railway between Alaska and Alberta

The 2,570-kilometre railway could move cargo like oil, potash and ore, container goods, or even passengers.
Sept 30, 2020 : Rapido Trains Buys Four VIA Budd RDCs

'Preserving the trains of the past is vital to the future of our hobby,' says owner Jason Shron
Aug 2020 - Inside China's high speed rail network.

See the view from the driver cabin of China’s super-fast trains, and take a tour of the control rooms running this massive operation. From a 2017 BBC documentary.
June 9, 2020 - MTH to close down and Mike Wolf retires in 2021!

M.T.H. Electric Trains president Mike Wolf has announced his retirement and the closure of his business effective June 1, 2021.
May 8, 2020 : CN suspends Squamish to Williams Lake route

With the pandemic and then a wildfire, Canadian National Railway suspended its service between Williams Lake and Squamish since early April.
April 9, 2020 - CN buys CSX line in New York

Federal regulators on Monday approved Canadian National’s acquisition of CSX Transportation’s line linking the Montreal area with Syracuse, N.Y., a deal the railroads say will improve service for cross-border traffic.
Mar 16, 2020: White Pass & Yukon Route upgrades its locomotives

Skagway's world-famous tourist railway is getting six new locomotives this spring. Their last major locomotive order was back in 1969.
Sept. 16, 2019 - Canadian Pacific releases two SD70ACU heritage locomotives

Canadian Pacific will be painting 10 of its newly rebuilt SD70ACU locomotives into its historic tuscan red, gray, and gold paint scheme.
Nov. 12, 2019 - Canadian Pacific honours Canadian, U.S. military with special locomotives

CP unveiled five specially painted locomotives on Remembrance Day in Canada and Veterans Day in the U.S. honouring the culture and history of the armed forces. The five Electro-Motive Diesel SD70ACUs will take the message of military pride across the CP system.
Sep 19, 2019 : Meet the man at the controls of Big Boy 4014

After restoring the monster locomotive, Ed Dickens is hitting the rails.
Aug 13, 2019 : Lego unveils massive Disney train

LEGO and Disney have teamed up once again to announce the 3000 piece Disney Train and Station LEGO set, the perfect collector's item for avid block-builders and Disney fans alike.
Oct. 2 2019 : The end of Amtrak Dining Cars

Full dining-car service has come to an end on most Amtrak routes in the eastern U.S.
May 9, 2019 - Why the US has no high speed rail

California’s high-speed rail system is under construction, but whether it will ever get completed as intended is uncertain.
Sept 16, 2019 : Canadian Pacific releases two SD70ACU heritage locomotives

Canadian Pacific will be painting 10 of its newly rebuilt SD70ACU locomotives into its historic tuscan red, gray, and gold paint scheme.
Aug 25, 2019 - Volunteers hoping to rescue historic train

A group of rail enthusiasts says it's up to the task of getting a historic train near Upper Canada Village back on track.
Sept 5, 2019 - Big Boy 4014 final tour for 2019

The world's largest steam locomotive, Union Pacific's Big Boy No. 4014, will embark on a third and final tour celebrating the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad's completion.
March 2019 - Vintage BC Electric Streetcar to be restore for North Vancouver

Squamish’s West Coast Railway Association is returning the BC Electric Railway streetcar to its former glory, thanks to a contract with the City of North Vancouver.
June 27, 2019 - Alaska Railroad signs initial deal for link to Canada and the rest of the country

The Alaska Railroad Corp. board of directors has approved an agreement with a firm seeking to link Alaska and Canada by rail.
May 23, 2019 - Cuba tries to revive its once-great railway network

Cuba’s railway system is undergoing a major overhaul, with the government pushing a program to revamp the decrepit and aging network with new cars and locomotives in the hope of restoring a rail service that was once the envy of Latin America.
May 10, 2019 - Japan tests world's fastest bullet train

Capable of 400 kilometers per hour, the ALFA-X version of the Shinkansen train began three years' worth of test runs on Friday.
May 2019 - Hanoi's Train Street

Twice a day a speeding train passes only inches from the homes of this residential neighborhood.
April 14, 2019 - TCA open house videos featuring Lionel, MTH, Bachmann and TCA,

Each fall and spring, manufacturers discuss their latest innovations at a special Open House held at the National Toy Train Museum the Wednesday before the York meet. In addition, other presentations of interest are featured. These are from the Spring 2019 event.
The challenge to make trains go faster

As technology advances, transport gets ever faster, and trains are no exception. But with great speed come great drawbacks.
Dec 10 - A mile in 10 seconds for world's fastest train

The Japanese Maglev train crushed its own world record by traveling at 374 miles per hour for nearly 11 seconds. Check out the train in action. Source: CNN. Hopefully it will be operational by 2027

We make great trains happen!

We love 1st generation diesels!

We love the Black Bonnets !

We love to run CAN-AM trains!

We love to run trains on our Modular Layout!

We love electric trains!

We love big steam!

We love prewar American Flyer !