Improving look of Lionel swtiches

I covered the wires with a RR storage box made from Polystyrene and painted gray. At least it covers the wires and is easily accessible. I'm with you I like to cover up some of that Lionel TOY look. I even covered up my Lionel Coaling Tower to make it fit in better.

Here's what I have.  I donated and rebuilt my original layout to a museum where I run shows during the season.  Then I came into a cache of postwar Lionel track, switches, and accessories, so I used it and got some more for a new home layout on the only available space.  No structures or scenery, but plenty of operational possibilities.  Watching your step is a given of course, and my cane is mandatory 😀!

I like the toy-like aspect of the Lionel items.  I did manage to conceal almost all of the wires by wiring switches and accessories from the bottom-up.

@Bob Paris posted:

I like the toy-like aspect of the Lionel items.  I did manage to conceal almost all of the wires by wiring switches and accessories from the bottom-up.

Love it!!

@EscapeRocks posted:

Love it!!

@Bob Paris posted:

I like the toy-like aspect of the Lionel items.  I did manage to conceal almost all of the wires by wiring switches and accessories from the bottom-up.

Not necessarily 'toy-like' but just Lionel.  It is almost a modeling style choice, an acceptance of the way things look that just says...THIS is Lionel.  To me, that is the best part.  So the wig wag is taller than the loco, the gateman is Gigantor with a lantern, and how many coal facilities unload one car just to reload the car next to it, it is all fun.

As the classic 75 year old Bantam book says, the golden rule is to have fun! I prefer weathering and as much realism as possible, in fact my original museum layout is all scale (pix at strasburgmuseum.org), but I enjoy my postwar Lionel at home, even with its awkward setting.  Half my switches are original 711s and 721s which required some TLC, but they still deliver.  I run it with a myriad of index card programs where the freight runs always differ.  My four locomotives all have railsounds sound systems added.  Lack of scenery hardly matters.  My brother and I received our first Lionel setup in Christmas 1952.  All gone now, and I was into HO for a while, but came back to 0 in the 80s.  Love seeing all matter of 0 layouts on YouTube.