I’m too young for the glory days of Christmas train displays in the major department stores, but when I was a kid in the early 90’s, Fortunoff’s in Westbury, NY had a wonderful Christmas Store.
They always had several nice train layouts that featured Lionel starter sets from the era. Lots and lots of 4-4-2’s (New York Central Flyer!).
I remember set, track, maintenance kits, and some other odds and ends for sale. It was something I looked forward to every year.
Always wondered what it was like to walk into FAO Schwartz in the late 40’s and see the Lionel layouts at Christmas. Must have been great.