Last night, I watched the TM DVD, "A Century of Lionel Trains," with Tom Snyder as the host. I have not seen it in a long time, a couple years at least. While watching it, and thinking of all the changes the company made since the video was completed in 1999, plus how the Great Recession altered their business quite a bit, it led me to wonder what is the next big year to celebrate? 2020 will mark 120 years of the company, and it is quite possible it will still be around for their 125th anniversary in 2025.
It leads me to wonder which anniversary is more important, and also, what is the next step to celebrating? Around 2000, along with a number of interesting Centennial trains in all price ranges came out so that collectors with different sized wallets could get something special. Plus, the company licensed their name and images to several different companies to make commemorative items that were not necessarily trains. There were lamps, plush toys, metal signs, neon clocks, static models of classic trains, and the like were made to keep the brand in the public eye. Even if you no longer bought trains, the Lionel visage could be found in different types of stores. The "Century" video was yet another way of looking back while keeping the company relevant to non-train people.
The nano-chromed Berkshire for the 115th anniversary in 2015 seemed like a really cool complement to the gold-plated Hudson from 2000. Should there be a special train or set for the 120th? Most likely, Lionel has this in the works already. But, then again, they might find 125 to be a better anniversary to celebrate, since they produced special anniversary trains in 1950 and 1975 along with the 2000 sets.
That leads then to a documentary or book for the 21st Century of Lionel. In 1999, the original program was on VHS because DVD was so new. Now, DVDs are not selling. Is there any profit in making a documentary that shows on a streaming platform? For all we know, by 2025, we might not even use streaming or podcasts for our entertainment.
Just a few thoughts to throw out there.
