@GVDobler posted:I would still consider the golden age of toy trains to be the post war era. Almost all young boys had train sets and every department store (prior to shopping malls) had train layouts at Christmas. Most of the people today in the hobby are in fact the same young boys, just older now. If I took inventory of all the people I know today with 10-ish year old boys, I would be hard pressed to find even one with a train set.
Even setting aside the nostalgia factor for those of us oldsters, I would definitely agree. As you note, Lionel trains could be found all over the country, from large department stores to small local stores (like on the 2nd floor of the small hardware store in the town of 1,000 people I grew up in, which even had a nice Lionel display layout). Lionel trains were part of America's culture back in the 50s. As one source says, "Lionel trains are best known for their glory days—the 1950s—when young boys and their dads enjoyed designing train layouts as a great American pastime."
Still, the choices available today are many, and based upon sales I see (whether manufacturers selling out of items, or looking at auctions sites), demand is still pretty good, and given all the variety on the market, it's still a great age.
