The Trains Of Christmas Past

My memories are your memories...well, darn close anyway - thanks Mike

I like it...Mike.

Christmas 1985

Christmas morning 1965

1955

Trains of my Dad's Christmases in a new Display layout.

Great stuff, Will!

Talk about memories. You're fortunate to have your father's old trains in such great shape, and the layout and video essay you have created truly does them justice.

- Mike

Bob Taylor, Is that a Olive drab Alco there with you?

My sister Claudia, Tiny Tears baby doll, and me! Christmas 1951

George

Christmas early 1950s

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

@Greg J. Turinetti posted:

Christmas early 1950s

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

OMG the tinsel! Where is the tree? LOL I well remember the days of out of control tinsel.

@Greg J. Turinetti posted:

Christmas early 1950s

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

Greg, your picture shows a tree decorated as my mother would always do - the tinsel was perfectly straight, and strands were not clumped together. And as a kid, you knew if you threw just one piece on their randomly, you would get hollered at good n' proper!

George

One of the rare times I was allowed to put together a Christmas layout.

Steve

I don't have any pictures from long ago tinplate but my father always told us the story of how shortly after Thanksgiving his father would close the french doors going into the living room and put butchers paper over the windows.  During that time he would put up the train and tree.  The platform sat on beer cases.  Then before Christmas the doors were open and my dad had access to the tinplate train.  His turtles were part of the the layout in their pond.  It was always a good story.

Here is one from a few years back that I "aged" a bit.

@Chuck Sartor posted:

Bob Taylor, Is that a Olive drab Alco there with you?

@Chuck Sartor posted:

Bob Taylor, Is that a Olive drab Alco there with you?

No Chuck it’s a 227 Canadian National. I still have it.

Here's a truly awful video clip of my Christmas layout running a few years back -

Here is a photo of what was probably my largest Christmas Layout.  This was set up in 2017 and was built on six 3x4 small modules which combined amounted to a 6x12 layout.  I loved this layout and so did my neighbors.

@Greg J. Turinetti posted:

Christmas early 1950s

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

Greg...thanks for that great photo...nothing like lead tinsel for "THE LOOK"...Merry Christmas....Joe

The Lionel Standard gauge layout ("platform") of my uncle and father for Christmas in 1927 set up on their front sun porch. The moon over the mountains could be lit when it was dark.

Merry, merry!

Bob