Do You Have Your First Set Of Trains ?

I have all of my childhood trains, accessories, transformers and track - all of it.  It is a 2055 steamer freight set from 1956.  My empire is a lot bigger now, but I remember my first set running on the living room rug with headlight and semaphore beaming.  The sound of that solenoid always brings back memories.  I don't know what it is, but that sound is magic.

I still own an sd70ace I got from “Santa” when I was 9 during Christmas. Still works great, although I am sad that I threw away the box when I was a train newbie at 9 years old.

I still have mine from ca 1950-51 -- an American Flyer Pennsy K-5 pacific and a green passenger train consist - the "New Haven" baggage car and two coaches.  Haven't run them recently, but the engine still ran a couple of years ago, though I think it needs a new nichrome wire in the smoke box.  As far as I know, I still have all the Flyer stuff I collected as a kid (standard Xmas and birthday gift for several years) - plus all the additions I've acquired since I've been retired.

This 2065 has a few nicks but is mechanically in great shape and deserves to be called iron horse:

It came with a set on  Christmas day 1954 (I was 3 years old) that included a coffin style tender, operating milk car and platorm, operating green log dump car, red gondola, yellow non-operating yellow stock car and illuminated tuscan red Lionel Lines caboose with round portals. 

Still have all of the above in good operating condition despite nicks from taking a beating through my childhoid. These trains are truly rugged snd reliable, still going strong after 64 years! Arnold

Lionel 2026 set and the C&O 624 NW2.  I love them.

  My first train engine is still around, but needs the magnetraction bushings for ANOTHER rebuild (I cupped the wheels by the 2cnd or 3rd) It's a 2037 and is actually older than I am by quite a bit. Gramps bought and stored sets for the grandkids.  Postwar was still being opened in the 70's by younger family. 

If you asked me 6-7 years ago I could have listed things in the order I recieved them; but that's fading fast. As good as my memory is, I fear early Alzheimer's onset might be a reality now. My brother got his 655 in 71. I have that too now as he is locked into a command frame of mind. I think his set was assembled though; no master carton was involved.  My original cast cars were mostly lost to a flood. I think my Shell tanker and toolbox/ladder caboose is all that remains from it. 

If my family doesn't want it, I sure wouldn't mind being buried with mine. I wouldn't sell it to eat.

Yes I still have my first train set.  I've added a whole lot more since then!!

I have memories of various plastic sets that were fun to play with, but my first "real" train was a Model Power HO set at about age 3.  A short freight headed by a Santa Fe F3.  Got rid of most of the HO in my teens when I had fully made the switch to O gauge.  Kept the original set (in rough shape) along with a couple other sentimental pieces.

My first O gauge set I got around age 7 when my dad's distant cousin showed up with his early postwar set headed by a 2026 (think I dated the set to '47 or '48) with some extras such as a milk car and platform, gateman, 397 coal loader, coal dump car, and I think the hopper was extra.  No set box, but all had their individual boxes stored in a laundry hamper.

Yes!

 My Parents bought me some used AF from Georges Trains in Toronto when I was 6(1966)

   I received an American Flyer 302 Atlantic 802 IC reefer

940 Wabash hopper

931 T&P gondola 

804 N&W gondola

24626 Caboose  

372 UP GP7

  Of course I added over the years but this is what I kept after my AF collection selloff from over the years 

  Im playing with mainly O 3rs now but have a nice cache of my favourite AF

Al

We have a set that was handed down to my wife's family when her brothers were probably about ten years old. Her older cousin moved on to crop dusting and as fate would have it tragically died in a crash. My best guess is this happened about in the early '50s. It appears that this set was put together from various pieces . I often wondered what the original set would have consisted of .I tried to find the box set number on line without success. It has  a scout engine with tender , a couple of the short coal cars and a 2419 work caboose.

I don't have my first set, but I do have a set just like my best friend's set, a postwar, link-coupler American Flyer K5 pulling 3 New Haven type passenger cars. I loved that set more than my Lionel freight set, and I've been a passenger car lover ever since. My AF set has its own small layout. Also, I now have all types of AF passenger cars.

Yep.  Still got and run my first set.  It was a 681 Pennsy Turbine, Sunoco 3 dome tank car, Great Northern orange 6464 box car, operating searchlight car (the one that had the magnetically operated  steel shoe on the bottom that would let you turn the searchlight on and off with the UCS track), and the Pennsy N5C caboose.  Santa also brought me an operating milk car, so that as a bang-up Christmas!  My big brother bought me a pair of 0-22 switches and some extra track too.  Between Santa and my big brother, I don't think I let the carpet central set come down until well into February.  1953....  Powerful memories.....