I grew up watching Bob Keeshan aka Captain Kangaroo. My Wife lived on Long Island a mile away from his Babylon bricked wall estate near Argyle Park, 20 Melbury Rd. Never seen any trains on his show, they were on a PBS station from a studio I visited in Newark. 
Ah the Capt Kangaroo show fondly recall watching in the 60s along with Ray Rayner show.Still have a postcard sent from Ray Rayner who read a joke i sent on his show.
Every Christmas season channel 9 -WGN has a special sowing clips from Capt Kang , Bozo and Ray Rayner show.
How can one forget good old Clutch Cargo !
I well remember watching Captain Kangaroo in the late 50s and early 60s. Sorry to say, but Mr. Green Jeans just creeped me out. He was spooky. He hardly every talked, he stood there like a looming giant, and he did alot of staring straight ahead. Thirty years later, this type of character was cast as the killer in every chainsaw massacre movie.
I found Miss Connie on Romper Room to be far more endearing.
Oh, Lord! I remember ALL of this - I must be getting old. There was a Super"0" layout that had the tie ejector and ballast tamper running on it, and the track cleaning car was either pushed or pulled by one of the small turbines, and the Minuteman car shot a missile that went who-knows-where - I remember laughing because I heard an off-camera voice asking "Did you see where it went?"
@johnstrains posted:Fun thread for Geezer Nation !
In our TV market, Captain Kangaroo was paired with Romper Room. Miss Connie? Romper, stomper, bomper, boo...
Now you are getting personal. I was on Romper Room, and my mother dressed me in lederhosen. Not only goofy, but shorts! I was mortified and have never gotten over it.
Couple of mine Crusader Rabbit (color version), although I didn't know that, since we didn't have a color TV, with the standard father quote "I'm not buying one until they make a good one".
Sky King out of the blue of the western sky...
But I did get a new Lionel car every Christmas morning. Security car, Bronx Zoo Giraffe, Brake Man.
But soon it went the way of Aurora HO car racing.
Don't have the the racing stuff but I do have the Lionel!
I watched Capt. Kangaroo from the late '60s into the earliest '70s. I remember seeing the trains once, but I couldn't tell you when or what they were.
Does anybody know if there are any video clips out there of Capt Kangaroo running that layout?
The Captain's Super 0 layout had some great operating accessories. Later years were the disappointing HO setups. There was a kid show (maybe local to Boston area) hosted by Big Brother Bob Emery who ran a contest with the winner receiving a Lionel Budd set with Super 0 track. They ran it on the air with an extra passenger car in the consist. RICH
@Jim D posted:The Captain had Tom Terrific and Manfred his wonder dog and lets not forger Mr. Moose.
Jim D
Yeah, Mr Moose and his ping pong balls.
Steve
@johnstrains posted:Fun thread for Geezer Nation !
In our TV market, Captain Kangaroo was paired with Romper Room. Miss Connie? Romper, stomper, bomper, boo...
That would be Miss Nancy with her magic mirror.
I don't remember captain kangaroo so much. In the Cleveland, Ohio tv market in the 1960's we had captain penny on a local channel. Dressed in a train engineers gear,he had a moderate size Lionel layout I always looked for. It was a great time to grow up in.....
This was definitely an O gauge layout. I clearly remember them demonstrating the new Lionel "transfer table" which while really interesting was way too large for my older siblings' home layout. I don't remember any HO in the late 50's and early 60's (though I could have missed it). I do think they stayed with demonstrating traditional O gauge accessories and not the crummy rocket launcher and exploding box car type stuff which were however shown on commercials that aired during the show.
Yes - I do remember Lionel Trains on CK - Also does anyone remember Mister Mayor with Bob Keeshan ? - He had a segment where it was time to play trains - large Lionel Super O layout - probably an 8x8 dealer display layout
@Will posted:Now you are getting personal. I was on Romper Room, and my mother dressed me in lederhosen. Not only goofy, but shorts! I was mortified and have never gotten over it.
Aha! So that was YOU!!! 😉
I was a fan of the Captain but, my personal favorite as a kid was Shari Lewis - my first “crush”! 😍
Curt
@G-Man24 posted:Yep. He had a commercial where the Lionel train had a flatcar with a bowl of Rice Krispies on it. The train would pull the bowl under a water tower and milk would pour out the spout and onto the cereal. Then the Captain would put his ear up to the bowl and listen to the "Snap- Crackle-Pop" !
I remember that.....!
I recall Captain Kangaroo who was nether a captain nor a kangaroo that was shown on Chicago tv in the mid-fifties.
The Lionel layout not at all.
@Will posted:Now you are getting personal. I was on Romper Room, and my mother dressed me in lederhosen. Not only goofy, but shorts! I was mortified and have never gotten over it.
Will , could you post your Christmas layout with you in your lederhosen outfit ?
Get over it Will . ( " mortified and have never gotten over it " ) As long as you are into model railroading and are still able to remember Romper Room 🤔 your psychological makeup is intact. 🙃
I'm relieved that I am not alone in remembering the trains(vaguely) on CK. The working class family of 5 kids limited the budget to Huffy bikes and used trains but I am thankful for it ALL! Happy New Y'all.
"Sky King out of the blue of the western sky..."
bptBill, you're the only other person I know that remembers Sky King!
We didn't have a color TV, but we had the "next best thing" - a plastic overlay with pink in the middle, blue on top, and green on the bottom... it "colorized" the B&W picture (as long as you were looking at a scene that had grass, sky, and something in between!)
What about the Merry Mailman?
ps. I don't remember all the things you guys remember about Capt. Kangaroo. I'm impressed! Wait - who's that we're talking about?
@eddiem posted:"Sky King out of the blue of the western sky..."
bptBill, you're the only other person I know that remembers Sky King!
We didn't have a color TV, but we had the "next best thing" - a plastic overlay with pink in the middle, blue on top, and green on the bottom... it "colorized" the B&W picture (as long as you were looking at a scene that had grass, sky, and something in between!)
What about the Merry Mailman?
ps. I don't remember all the things you guys remember about Capt. Kangaroo. I'm impressed! Wait - who's that we're talking about?
I remember Sky King. He also had a niece named "Penny" that was in a lot of the episodes.
Jeff
Oh; I remember Skyking too! Particularly the opening credits where the plane does a partial roll and dive with engines increasing in pitch. Made me want to be a pilot so bad I convinced my Dad to pay for flying lessons for me.
I was probably one of the few kids around who were performing aerial stunt maneuvers in a Piper J3 Cub at the age of 12.
Curt
Happy New Years.
I like how additive our combined memories are. Together we can recall everything in the past.
Hi Eddiem! Stay Safe
"Sky King out of the blue of the western sky..."
bptBill, you're the only other person I know that remembers Sky King!
Sky King's Plane...Songbird, What I had for dinner last night I don't remember!
Great thread on the Captain and his trains (plus a good story to add)---I loved Captain growing up and remember so well when he had trains displayed and running in the Treasure House.....for those interested "Classic Toy Trains" issue of September 2001 has a fantastic article on Captain Kangaroo (wasn't afraid of Lions) pages 58-59-60. Readers were also asked previously to write if they had any memories to share and Classic Toy Trains and as part of the promotion promised Lionel Monopoly board games to three lucky readers---I was fortunate to be one of them and still have the letter from Classic Toy Trains dated November 14. 2000 telling me I was one of those chosen and still have the game they sent. The article is really special because of the memories readers shared and information provided. Also many years later I was able to attend a PBS sponsored meet and greet in Portland, Maine with Bob Keeshan in which he spoke about the importance of reading to youngsters (as he always did on his show)---afterwards anyone who wanted to talk to him could meet with him. Naturally I thanked him for the years he had been on the air and how my own children appreciated the show also---THEN I had to ask one question and he said sure go ahead -I asked "whatever happened to those Lionel trains you would show and display" he paused a bit and said he really did not know what became of them or how arrangements were made to have them on the Treasure House.....but he enjoyed them! I am glad I had that opportunity to meet him---very special person. One more thing I also remember Sky King, My Friend Flicka etc ah the good ole days! Honestly try to find and read that article if possible.
Jim
Sky King was brought to you by Nabisco Vanilla Wafers.
All I remember about Sky King was that it was pretty boring and there was a young girl named Penny or something who always wore skin tight jeans.
Sky King's original Songbird was a "Bamboo Bomber" T-50, then he upgraded to a Cessna 310. Penny was cute as I recall.
@Jim Berger posted:I don't remember captain kangaroo so much. In the Cleveland, Ohio tv market in the 1960's we had captain penny on a local channel. Dressed in a train engineers gear,he had a moderate size Lionel layout I always looked for. It was a great time to grow up in.....
Captain Penny with his engineers hat and jacket was a Cleveland icon. His show opened with a Lionel train running then he would climb down from his locomotive swinging his lantern (actually a step ladder). He came to Hobby House in 1959 to hand out catalogs one Sunday before Christmas. The train set was acquired by one of the channel 5 directors and made its way to Jim Berilla's Trading Post. Its ran there for many years. Don't know what happened to it when the store was liquidated.
Lou N
I remember Lee Marvin on the Johnny Carson show one night talking about Bob Keeshan's bravery on a beach in the South Pacific saving G.I.'s lives under heavy fire. When asked by Carson about being wounded on that beach Marvin Poo Poo it and said he got wounded in the backside.
Joe B.
Joe B., I'm pretty sure that's an urban legend. Keeshan, who was born in 1927, enlisted in the Marine Corps but too late to see action.
Joe Connor: CORRECT! Bob Keeshan joined the US Marine Corps Reserve in 1945 after Japan had surrendered and he never left the states. Lee Marvin was wounded on Saipan and was never at Iwo Jima.
It is amazing how these "urban legends" get started and persist! :-(
@Lou N posted:Captain Penny with his engineers hat and jacket was a Cleveland icon. His show opened with a Lionel train running then he would climb down from his locomotive swinging his lantern (actually a step ladder). He came to Hobby House in 1959 to hand out catalogs one Sunday before Christmas. The train set was acquired by one of the channel 5 directors and made its way to Jim Berilla's Trading Post. Its ran there for many years. Don't know what happened to it when the store was liquidated.
Lou N
Yep, I remember watching Captain Penney, Captain Kangaroo, and Barnaby.
I remember Captain Kangaroo and the Lionel layouts shown , Sky King (with both planes), and Casey Jones. Does anyone remember the two Lionel shows with the marionettes? I think it was called “Wonderful World of Trains”. First version was black & white, second in color. If I remember correctly it was narrated by a hobo marionette that prevents a train wreck.
Algernon Caboose
WOW!!! This is good stuff. Brings back good memories.
Jim D.
If you have Roku, you can get the Howdy Doody channel app and on the December 24th, 1952 show, Buffalo Bob shows a approximately 20 minute film of a tour of the Gilbert Hall of Science. The first half covers Erector Sets and the second half American Flyer S Gauge trains including the layout used in the Flyer catalogs.
