Christmas Morning for 1950 turned out to be one of the best for our 10 year old son! He was so excited to find the new, Lionel No. 2330 GG-1 under the Christmas tree! And, my wife and I were so excited to give it to him. Of course, I get to play with it too!.
Although little Lenny doesn't fully understand the engineering improvements on the all new Lionel GG-1, this completely re-designed version now has two motors, and, what Mr. Lopo told me is the same horn found in those beautiful Lionel Santa Fe F-3 diesels. Mr. Lopo also raved about a new Lionel feature called, "Magnetraction", which is supposed to allow the Locomotive to better navigate the graduated trestle set on our layout.
The Magnetraction feature is supposed to allow the locomotive to pull more cars. However, given the GG-1's numerous weeks on Lopo's Christmas Layaway Plan, I don't foresee pulling power to be a significant benefit for several years! We won't be adding many new freight cars for the GG-1 to pull in the near future! Not unless the construction boom continues into the 1950's, and my brick crew stays busy when weather permits.
Fortunately, Mr. Lopo also helped me to put a fresh "D" Cell Battery into the loco, That way, the horn operated as soon as we put the locomotive on the track on Christmas morning! Adding to the fun, Lenny's grandparents gave him an Erector Set later Christmas Day, so, he is busy creating his own version of an Engine shed for the layout.
Fortunately, his sister Angela wasn't jealous. She loves to draw, and received a new art desk, and, quite a few new art supplies. Now that our two children are a little older, my wife has returned to her career as a high school art teacher. Given her knowledge and interest, she's able to help Angela pursue her love of art. Me? I mess up "stick figures"!
Fortunately, as a brick layer, one of the carpenters on the job taught me how to operate a circular saw, and would let me take it home overnight on occasion. Later, when he was buying a new circular saw for work, he sold me his old saw at a very attractive price. As a result, last fall when school started, I built a nice, sturdy, 4' x 8' train table for Lenny and his friends. They actually play with the trains on many nights after school. My wife Maria painted a beautiful background for the layout, so we have some fun home movies with the neighborhood kids running the trains, and Maria's artwork in the background. The neighborhood kids always complain about the "blinding lights" when I run the movie camera, but they love to see themselves in the movies when I set up the Bell & Howell Projector and the large silvery movie screen. Sometimes Marie and Angela join in the fun, and Marie will pop some popcorn on the stove upstairs. All great fun!
