What became of your childhood trains?

I still all the Lionel trains I received when I was 1-2 years old. They were un-cataloged outfits and I have been able to identify what engines and cars went together. 

 They all have some wear and tear of course but I've been able to fix and replace broken parts with new old stock parts.

My story starts about 1957.  My brother and I were the last kids on the block to have trains.  Our parents purchased a used set of mostly pre-war "O" gauge.  It consisted of a 4 x 12 platform, two ovals of track, a couple switch tracks, two passenger sets, some freight cars and tin buildings, signals, sheet metal army figures and a type Z transformer.

As is the story with many of us, when we reached the age of noticing the opposite sex, the trains took on less importance.  Add to that our expanding worlds and other interests.  Ours happened to be photography.  A friend of my father had a brother-in-law that worked at Silo, a sort of Best Buy of the day.  Since he was a manager, he was able to obtain photography equipment seemingly at will.  

Long story short, we traded our trains for some 8mm movie cameras, projector, editing equipment, etc.  

Fast forward to the late seventies, I decide to get interested in Lionel once more.  I happen to mention to my dad's friend that I have a small layout.  He tells me his B-in-L still has the trains we traded to him.  So I call him and asked if he would like to sell them.  He became rather indignant on the phone, so I thanked him and hung up.  

Among some of the trains we had was a Scale Switcher with three Madison cars, a tinplate 2-4-2 w/Vanderbuilt tender and three red tin passenger cars.    

Mine were stolen.

In 1952, my dad bought a Lionel No. 2163WS freight set.  My guess is that it cost a weeks salary.  That was the only Lionel set that I had until the 1970's when I bought a Blue Comet set on closeout sale.  They were the only Lionel trains I had until several years ago.  Many years of HO and N were interspersed in the between years.  

Now, I've been back into Lionel for several years.  The Blue Comet was in great condition in the original boxes.  My younger son has those at his house and they appear beneath his tree in some Christmases.  I gave the freight set to my firstborn but the set remains at my home.  I had Henning's recondition the set and the KW.  True to form Bill Henning's view was he would fix the internals but the external appearance should retain the history of use and wear like a good Lionel should; no repaints there.  I was just so happy that these two sets could be preserved and passed on to my sons.   I hope they enjoy many, many years of pleasure seeing and using them.

If you have a train treasure, the Henning family will care for it.

I remebered that I planned to sell my trains with my moms help  to raise money for an electric guitar and some Elvis Presley albums and James Brown album at the time. 

well in the sixth grade I went at Wolf's music.  NYC 48th street and picked out my beginner Japanese guitar  for $35 with a blue alligator cardboard case! What trains? I had train amnesia at the time! Lol.

by the time I had four chords down my mother emptied the closet of stuff I wasn't playing with. Note we lived in a tenement building small apartment that only had one closet in it. Originally My trains occupied the space under my single bed. I had no room for a 4X8 for a layout. I would set up trains and put them away after play. Those tubular tracks ends were worn!  They were transferred to a high place in that closet, then  finally the guitar under the bed, and records too. One day I had put down the guitar and wanted to take inventory for possible sale for an amplifier. They're Gone! Really?  My mom said in a deep French accent "but Pierre, you weren't playing with toys anymore!"  The Lionel trains were generously given to the superintendents three boys, and a professors kids that my mom babysat for on ocaission.  There was a general set, an army Switcher rockets included, a Minuteman boxcar, a helicopter car,  a 2055 loco and tender, and about half dozen rolling stock. Gondola, flatcar, tank car, boxcar and basic red lighted caboose . There were two ovals of tubular track, an oval of super O and two manual super O switches. One styrofoam tunnel, and some plasticville. The switch tower, the hospital, water tower,  garage, signal tower and some plastic automobiles and trucks,  a few of those small Christmas houses with the glitter on them, And a ZW w orange box. While I was a bit dismayed, dazed, and stunned! I was reminded that I got an electric guitar I had hoped for with possibly selling those trains. Yeah, she was often right. 

Ricky Tanner, that is really amazing, thanks for the list and the great photo!

leroof

Still have them. Had an uncle that promised my mom that if I walked before Christmas 1953 he would buy me the biggest most expensive Lionel train he could find in Pittsburgh. I walked two weeks before Christmas and he bought a piece meal Santa Fe Silver Chief set with AA 2353, 2Ea 2333 a 2332 and a 2331. I finally found a 2334 and both version of the 2330 Baggage car. In the last few years I have add a 2353B unit to complete the set. Yes it will still run with a little lube and cleaning. He also bought a 275 Watt ZW transformer and plenty of O Gauge track that I also still have. Pictured on the top shelf of the display case. Second shelf is the reissued Lionel set  from 1990 and the bottom shelf is the MTH version not sure of the year  in between a lot of special Post War and several MPC era pieces  

One of them still sees regular use on my layout, this ABBA set of Lionel F3s in the Santa Fe freight scheme. I've upgraded them to TMCC with an ERR AC Commander in the powered A unit and a LCRX to control the Railsounds 2 system in the B unit (turns out that even though the B unit in the set was sold as conventional it had the same command board used in every early TMCC Railsounds F3 B unit, just not the LCRX to make it TMCC capable).

Still have it after many, many miles of running.  Have had to epoxy the foam box a few times.

 My “first” set that I can remember was an S gauge Sakai B&O battery powered diesel set back in 1963 and then a Marx set the next year

  I was only 4 then but around 1966 I received a used AF 302 Atlantic , 802 IC reefer, 940 Wabash hopper, 931 T&P gondola, 804 N&W gondola and a 24626 yellow AF caboose with a  small Marx transformer 

My Dad bought the items piece meal at George’s Trains over a few months for me

  I also acquired a UP 372 geep a year or two later 

  I still have em and also eventually acquired a 21139 Northern which was my dream to own as a kid.

   I never saw an AF Northern in real life but was always going to the public library to find Dave Sutton’s book the “Complete book of model railroading” to dream and gaze at the pic of my favourite toy train

  Always kept my small AF collection on the shelf 

  AF will be around the Christmas tree this year

Al

Still have them all, 4 Lionel sets from the late  50s and a Marx freight from 1965.  Once sold to a cousin in Louisiana by my parents when I graduated High School.  Acquired it all back in 1979 after my cousin stated he never played with them, just stayed in the attic in same boxes they were shipped in.

Jesse    TCA

70 years later and still have them, engines and cars

my 622 has been updated to be TMCC now it's a real switcher

Super'O' man posted:

I still have all mine, packed away, all in original boxes, with also outside cartons. My dad wanted to give them to his nephews at one point, after he thought I was getting too old I guess. Thanks to mom, she put a stop to that, and was ready with a rolling pin in her hand . She said the trains were too valuable to just give away, and worked hard to buy them. I guess she had a vision of the future.

You had a strong woman for a mother.I bet she told him."Hey they have parents!Let them buy them their own trains!!"She decided that their were a gift that was given to you.I TIP MY HAT TO HER!!

I still have my original AF set from 1954 along with additional engines and rolling stock that has been added.  It is currently running on my on my layout.

Sidehack, welcome back Ray. I always enjoyed seeing photos of your layout and especially your very entertaining videos.

My brother sold all our American Flyer trains (3 engines and cars) for a brass HO 4-4-2 Atlantic SP Passenger set, track, some switches, and a transformer.  He did build quite a nice 4X8 layout for that set that we played with, but soon he went on to other things.  No idea what happened to that set.

Years later, when he was well into pre-war Marx, he confided that selling the AFs was a mistake.

Hi Jerry, been a long time, good to see there are still some of us left.

Finally retired, nice now work won't interfere with my hobbies!

I always loved this old 622 for about 68 years and still going strong (of course it needed some TLC and TMCC)

There were trains in my family before I became a part of it.  There were approximately 6 sets all Pre War American Flyer, all purchased used by my parents for my older brother.  I still have all of them. Here are two of my favorites.

I loved that Bordens milk car.

These were the first sets in the Northwoods Flyer Collection when I expanded from collecting Flyer S gauge.

Thanks for stirring up old memories and for resurrecting this thread.

Northwoods Flyer

Greg 

I also still have my first locomotive, a plastic Lionel Southern Pacific 2-4-0 from 1993. It still runs but I made it a park display on my layout, so it's always out. I run TMCC & DCS, plus this thing won't pull a large train, so I keep it out for nostalgia. 

They're in a closet in my office! 

I still have my set and since 1961 it has occupied the same spot under the tree. The boxes except for the engine are long gone. However the set itself is in very good shape.

I can't give you a story of trains being passed down through the generations, I don't even know if any one other than me had trains. Though I can vividly remember my father on the floor with me playing with this train set.

My favorite car from this set is the green helicopter launch flatbed with original helicopter.  I had the engine overhauled about 10 years ago. Other than that is has performed flawlessly every year. 

sidehack posted:

70 years later and still have them, engines and cars

my 622 has been updated to be TMCC now it's a real switcher

 

That is an appealing picture to me! I like the sight of those black steam engines and that black EMD NW2 switcher, cinder ballast, nice scenery, etc. Really neat!

Good job Sidehack!

Andre

1960 Santa brought me a (1954) American Flyer passenger set. A side bolster broke off the A unit around 1967. The entire set sat wrapped in newspaper in a cardboard box in my parent's basement until 2009. Repairing broken toys was never a priority in our family. Adrian with Chesterfield Hobbies (now retired/closed) repaired this for me. It is operational despite my current interest/involvement in O Scale.

I never received any trains as a child. Instead I was lucky enough to see the one my grandfather received when he was young. Now I operate it and he comes over. 

Still have them from 1957 plus every other train item received or purchased since then.

Still got them set 1591...delivered  24 Dec,1959....in the box!!!....joe 

joe krasko posted:

Still got them set 1591...delivered  24 Dec,1959....in the box!!!....joe 

"Semper Fi"  Joe .   Question , did the transformer ( a no.1015 45-watt ) come in its own box ? Or was it just put in the set box by its self ?

Like Clarence, most of mine were stolen from the basement storeroom of the family TV shop.  The stored and packed trains were in two huge TV boxes.  They stole a few new TV's, but only took one train box.  The one they left had most of the accessories, track, switches, and a few trains.  Made us so mad, my father and I decided to build a large layout in my attic in 1982.  He had built the first two but, when they built a new house, there was no longer a layout.  It took a few years, but I managed to replace most of the original trains with the notable exception of our two locomotives.

The army engine and rocket launcher survived and reside on my current table layout.

Most of the trains were new, the two loaders and ramp are our originals.

We lost our two SF F-3's.  In those days, without the internet, it took awhile to find them.  They were always my favorites as a kid.

They also stole the UP Alco AA.  My aunt provided a 50's original that my cousins hardly ever used.

The old station, one lamp post, and the message board survived, along with some cars.

Eventually, the attic layout got pretty big.

When my own family moved, we packed up the trains.  I cut out this piece of the layout and stood it against a wall for 20 years.

We're baseball people.  Our daughter is a doc, but when our son finished up playing ball and moved out, his weight room that contained the old attic train section standing against a wall, was converted to this.  I kept that lower section mostly the same in memory of the attic layout. The advent of online locating and purchasing, and this forum, allowed for a great deal of changes since that old layout.  My father, a serious TV guy who could do it all, would have been one of the first to purchase the newest electronics and control systems.

These are the two SF F-3 units that replaced the stolen ones.  Along with a new 90's SF repro and the old UP Alco AA's, they are the only conventional engines that I still run.

This is a most enjoyable thread.  Thanks for the memories and happy trains!

Jerry

Pingman posted:

My younger brother (by 18 months) called me earlier this week to wish me a Happy Birthday and the call went to voicemail because I was just on the brink of firing up the 675 freight set we shared (with our Dad) in the early '50's.  Having recently purchased some smoke pellets from Hennings, I was anxious to see if the 675 would smoke.  Got it oiled and the freight cars on the track and moved the D handle on the ZW from childhood.  Wouldn't you know, that 675 moved right out pulling the freight cars and Pennsy caboose and, after a couple of loops around the Christmas tree, was puffing away like it was new instead of 60 or so years old.

 

When I called my brother back, I told him I had forgotten how loud the horizontal motors in the 2356 Southern AA's are (pulling its original consist of baggage, coach, and observation car from the 2500 series cars), and that the 675 was grandly puffing away like we remembered.  He immediately asked for pictures; told him I'd send him a video when I finished the around the tree display.

 

Until my Dad gave me these trains, I never considered them "my" trains; rather, these were the "family" trains, or more accurately, our Dad's trains which he shared with my brother and me. 

 

So, what became of your childhood trains?  Still have them; did a sibling get them; or, better still, your dad and mom are still enjoying them?

 

PS:  My Dad gave me the trains about 30 years ago after I had asked for them.  That was a mild sore spot for my brother even though he'd asked for other things from our childhood and my Dad gave them to him before I asked for the trains.  Heck, even after I gave my brother a beautiful set of PW Santa Fe F-3's and aluminum cars for his 40th birthday (because of a slightly guilty conscience) 25 years ago it still rankled him a bit.  Happily, I didn't detect any of that when we spoke earlier this week.

Still have it.  Set 2175W.  Santa FE A-A units 2343 and six freight cars. I still run it every Christmas

albertstrains posted:

My Dad bought the items piece meal at George’s Trains over a few months for me

Were you living in Toronto, or is there another George's Trains somewhere?  I used to be a regular customer at the Toronto store.

As to the original question, yes I do have all my original Lionel trains.  Every locomotive, car and accessory that was ever under our Christmas tree is still in my possession, still in top shape, still maintained and still running perfectly.  And they have a lot more company these days!

My father purchased new a 2-6-2 with the baggage car, passenger car and observation car.  In the mid 1950s I replaced the brushes, again in the early 1970s.  In 1975, shortly  after their move to Mt. Clemens Lionel remanufactured my engine.  About ten years ago I sold it to an LCCA member who lives in Tennessee.  Still have the R transformer, it powers my wife's layout.  John in Lansing, ILL