Since trains weren't my dad's thing, I never had to worry about sharing them, so I still have my humble Marx train.

my Mom tossed them OUT. back in the 1960s still hurts!! The Good news. I have a picture of my Dad setting up the Marx set under the tree. I could make out the cars and Locomotive.

years ago, I went into Ebay, found all those cars and locomotive. Bid, Won and have that set again to run on my board. Yippee Skippee!!

"Brotherly Love"

I still have one. Wish I still had all the track that went with it...

 

The trains from childhood, my dad's, are at my brothers currently where is is cleaning, repairing, and generally keeping them in working order.  They are PW so he gets more enjoyment out of them than I do.  I'm confident that they are safe long term and will operate for years to come.

 

The 2356 Southern freight set, 671 Turbine freight set, a Lionelville trolley.

 

Interestingly enough, I did not have Lionel trains when I was younger...I had all Lego Trains.  

 

My mother would buy me one new set each year, until I effectively had a massive Lego empire. 

 

I am currently 30 years old, and I am proud to say...I still have every single one (in storage obviously).  

 

Perhaps one day I'll pass down to my nephew (he's still a little too young to appreciate them).

 

Best,

Michael

My childhood trains have become the basis do 46 years of collecting and operating which over the years have expanded to two rail O, garden trains, Marklin Gauge 1, and even HO. I consider my official train entry date December 8, 1968 when I drilled my first whole on the family layout in the basement. My dad stood behind me, helping me hold his big Sears all metal, made in the USA, drill, as "I" drilled my first hole. He is long gone, as well as the layout, but I still have all the trains and accessories.

All the best,

Miketg

I still have my American Flyer 350 Royal Blue set from 1948.  Had it serviced recently and it still runs.

Mark

My younger brothers weren't in to trains like I was/am, so when I flew the coop to run away with the rock'n'roll circus my parents gave my Flyer stuff to a family that was less fortunate than we were, a decision I never have regretted.

 

Pete

I still have mine in storage at the house, although, officially, I have passed them on to my eldest son.  He's recently married and moving soon.  My intention is to have some magic maintenance completed on the set a then deliver them to his new home.  It's a good feeling.

Ron L.

Still have them packed away.

I run them on my postwar layout. They were my dad's and he passed away when I was five. My mom gave me his trains for my 8th birthday and I took very good care of them. My best memories of my dad are running trains on a 4x8 board and around the Christmas tree. Running these from time to time brings back those memories.

 

Bob

 

Set 1475WS, from the 1950 catalogue. Still have it and it runs very well ( with maintenance)!! 

It was lost to the fog of history...Greg

I have no idea, but I replaced the Lionel postwar 224 engine/tender and metal caboose. I also bought a PW American Flyer passenger set that my best friend owned. So far, I have resisted re-buying my '67 Mustang.

My first engine, an American Flyer 283 4-6-2 was cannibalized to make 2 other engines with die-cast boilers run. (A K-5 and a Hudson.) I still have the boiler shell, and tender, and have since bought a running chassis to make it whole. Everything is packed away awaiting The Great Move. (Coming the fall of 2015.) [And people who really know me will say I'm being optimistic on the year.]   

Still have mine, and in pretty good condition. My parents packed up my trains when I left, and several years ago my father was cleaning house and told me that if I wanted them, I'd better take them. So I did. I had always taken good care of them, so when I unpacked them almost everything was complete and in decent shape. I never had anything very high-end, but I'm glad to have gotten them back just for the sake of having them. I mostly don't run them, except for a couple of items that I especially like, such as the 460 Piggyback Platform. 

 

My 2026 Lionel freight set from 1948 is packed up for my first grandson.  It runs just fine with the original 1032 transformer.

 

He just turned 6 and loves trains.  He's learning from the RTR Thomas set at the moment.  He lives 800 miles away but will be here after Christmas when we run a PE, girl's set, and a few locos I bought this year.

Still have them.  This engine...my first in 1954... pulls my Polar Express cars around the tree.  Matt

I got a couple of HO sets, never really cared for them because I knew they weren't the same as Dad's or my Uncle's Lionels. I did get a Marx PC steam set in the early '70s I wish I still had.

I'm 24, so it probably wouldn't seem like too long ago to you "more experienced" model railroaders, but 4 years in a college fraternity does seem to seperate my childhood pretty well.  Anyway, my early plastic sets are long gone.  still have my wooden brio imitations in a box in the attic.  my first HO set has seen better days and i doubt the engine runs, but i kept them for the shelf.  When I got into O-gauge and got some early postwar from a distant family member, my dad found his original trains, a late lionel postwar.  It didn't work anymore so he sold it and put the money towards my our growing collection. Can't wait to get home for the holidays and run trains with dad again

My mother donated them to the church toy drive along with all my Tonka Trucks, Matchbox, Hot Wheels and GI Joe's.  She said the poor kids needed them and I no longer played with them.

My original set was the Santa Fe F3s freight set from the 1954 catalog (Set 2227W), which I received for Christmas that year,  and they are still on the layout. Here is that battered powered unit, trailed elephant style by the less battered dummy, both of which still run well, of course.

I still have my first Lionel set and have it displayed in an antique writing desk in the foyer of our home.  I promised my mother that I would never sell it and won't.  Every time I look at it, it brings back pleasant memories of my mom and that part of my childhood.

 

Art

Traded one set for the labor to install a dual exhaust system on a 65 Mustang.  Sold the remainder for $200 in the late 80's.  Turns out, my stuff was worth much more, but I had no idea at the time.   

"What became of your childhood trains?"

 

   I still have mine, 1957 era Athearn GP7 and caboose. They have been updated over the years and still run fine.....DaveB

Mine, went the route of mom giving it away. But more valuable to me was my brothers train set. Just a Sears Allstate set he loved and we had it set up in our bedroom. He was 5 years old when he died. It took over a year for me to pack away. To this day, I still take and run it on my layout occassionaly, and as it run, memories flood back to those day in our bedroom of 1961.

I still have my Dad's set which he purchased in 1948.  It is Lionel set 1423W which is a freight set headed up with a nice little die cast 1655 steam locomotive with a whistling tender.  I still have all of the set components and the engine and whistle tender work just fine. 

I also still have my Grandfather's set which my Grandmother bought for him in 1958.  It is also a Lionel freight set.  The set number is 1590 and it is headed up by a plastic 249 steam locomotive with no headlight or whistle and a two position reverse unit.  However, the engine and its tender have matching orange stripes which gives them a nifty looking appearance.  The engine still runs great. 

As I was growing up I unfortunately trashed both of the set boxes for these sets even though I kept the individual component boxes in decent shape.  However, E-Bay came along and I was able to buy both set boxes which now gives me two fully intact sets which I can pass on to the next generation. 

Still have them all safely packed away in air conditioned space. Some are brought out this time of the year when I set up my carpet layout. 

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. 

 

X533NA	OTASCO	1960
	(Christmas Gift)
228	Canadian National ALCO A
6544	Missile launching car w/4 missiles
6844	Missile carrying car w/6 missiles
3419	Operating helicopter car
6017	Caboose
X522NA	OTASCO	1960
	(Christmas Gift)
220P	Santa Fe ALCO A
220T	Santa Fe ALCO A Dummy
6812	Track maintenance Car
6062	NYC Gondola w/3 reels
6825	Flatcar with trestle
6476	Lehigh Valley hopper
6017	Caboose
X-639	Western Auto	1961
	(Gift from my grandfather)
233	Steam Locomotive
1130T	Tender
6650	ICBM Missile Launching Car
6470	Exploding Boxcar
6062	Gondola w/3 reels
6017	Caboose
	Other Rolling Stock
3509	Operating Satellite Car
6465	Black 2D Tank Car
6823	Flat Car with 2 Missiles
6819	Flat Car with Helecopter
3665	Minuteman Missile Launching Car

 

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

 

I need to post some pix. stay tuned!

 

 

Top shelf, from 1955, now retired; forgive the just-grabbed-the camera shots. 2055 Hudson; Burro crane and a couple of other add-ons, later. My tank car that I kept

taking apart for some reason and finally managed to lose one of the trucks:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Regrettably, I sold them to my Chem Professor in college.       Contacted him years later (when I renewed my interest in trains) in hopes of buying them back, to no avail.   He claimed to have sold them.  

 

Rick

Great, Lee Looks like they are in good condition.

 

I still have mine from my youth, which I purchased with my own money, however they are American Flyer and now I am running Lionel. Maybe some day.

I stll have my 0-4-0 Scout set from 1958. I still use th loco and slope backed tender t from time to time to check out tranformers under repair. It's pretty much indestrcutable at this point, so if there is something goofy going on with the TXFMR, then no electronics get damaged.  The plastic body is getting a bit rough, but the internals just keep on going. 

 

r0d

Still have them; they were "hand-me-down"s from my uncle (who is 7 yrs older).

 

Bruce

still have them all and cost a small fortune to have them all either restored or repaired. All of them now fully functional and restored.

 

HO Lionel numerous engine and freight cars many of them operate. Set up a layout with every piece I own either shown on a siding or on the mainline running.

 

 

O-Gauge lionel scout set with air whistle and freight cars.

 

O-Gauge Marx William Crooks fully restored all new decals, new pick up sliding shoe. Smoke and headlight work. Tin Plate passenger cars fully restored with new chimneys.

 

Although not trains just bought a absolute mint HO Aurora slot car set off ebay. I plan on setting up the slot cars on the HO layout. My Dad bult my very first train table. I had both HO slots and HO trains on that table. I plan on replicating it best i can.

Still have all mine (and run) and accessories (also can name who gave me what those many childhood years ago)

and while I don't have any trains I got while growing up, I have my Dad's Pre and Postwar Lionels that he passed onto to me. 

My 1950 Steam Turbine set plus switches plus track plus a couple extra cars went to my son.

My Father's 1917 Lionel passenger set I still have, awaiting restoration.

I had a number of those 'Child Guidance' train sets as a kid.

A few years ago I decided to find all the CG Trains I had. It was pretty easy to find everything. In fact I found enough to make a complete set for my grandkids to play with too....

I still have my original Lionel 2026 that Santa brought me in 1951 -- and the freight cars that came with it.  A few years later, it was joined by a #41 US Army turbine switcher and still more freight cars.  All of them still run just fine.

 

The 2026 is in a year round place of honor on our coffee table.  Over the years, they've all been joined by a lot more rolling stock, and accessories.  And a lot of scale equipment has taken its place in the roster, lately,

I still run both of mine every Christmas under the tree.

Have them all.

 

My original set from 1957 sitting on my replicated D-190 display layout also first offered in 1957.

 

 

I still have my lionel 2036 freight set that my mom bought from the neighbors around 1963 or so. I had a windup marx set and an electric marx set with plastic engine but my mom , like others here, decided less fortunate kids should have them. For some reason she decided the lionel should stay in the family and kept it when I left home until I rediscovered it in 2006.

Rob

Still have them. They were really more my brothers trains as I was a late arrival into the family. They have been passed over to me to be the keeper. Below are my two remaining brothers running them last Christmas.

 

 

 

Still have my 1949 AF 290 set and all the additional items I received as presents on the following birthdays and Christmas holidays.

 

Rich

I still have my original outfit that I received on Christmas morning, 1955. I also have a pair of 2023 Alcos, and a few extra cars I received as gifts later. I had a large collection of other engines, cars, track, and accessories, that I added over the years. That stuff all got sold when I was a young, married father of 2 girls, who needed dance lessons, piano lessons, etc. I miss having that stuff, but I am not sorry I sold it, as the funds were certainly put to good use for my girls.

 My remaining Lionel stuff runs great, and is going to be running around the Christmas tree this year for the first time in 16 years. I need to get my 3 year old grandson started on trains.

Jeff

 

Still Have this set from my uncle in 1959:



These are all gone:

I got my first set 1483WS, back in 1952, along with a 2020/2020W, with accessories like the 3472 and 3656 sets, and had a 8'x16' two level layout.  I had a lot of boxcars, gondolas, and the like, that were accumulated over the years when I was young.  Then the "fateful years of teenage" hit, and the trains were no longer an interest.  The train layout got disassembled, and the trains got packed away.  Along about 1961, my mother decided that she wanted to pass the trains off to my Uncle (her brother), who had two sons.  Everything that I had of Lionel trains was gone, but I totally forgot about them.  I thought that I would never see them again.

 

In the middle 1960's, I finished high school, joined the Navy and did my stint for 4 years.  Got out of Navy, married and life was good.  Still no thought of trains in the picture.I did buy an "N" scale set when my son was about 6 or 7, and ran that for maybe 2 years, and then boxed it all up.

 

About 6 years ago, my wife wanted to put a train under the Xmas tree, and we did have her old set from 1955, tucked back in a corner of our attic.  I dug it out, and had to clean it all up, and then find out if it ran.  It missed being under the tree that year, because her request was about 3 weeks before Xmas.  Got it running, and the following year we had a running train.  That is when the "LIONEL BUG" bit me real hard.  I wanted to try and recreate what I originally had, and started to pick thing up on eBay.  I just didn't remember exactly what engines I had, but I knew they were heavy.

 

Then February 2014, my youngest cousin contacts me and asked me if I would like to have my trains back, since they were originally mine.  Couldn't say YES fast enough.  We finally had a chance to get together, and I got the bulk of what I had when I had the layout.  Little did I know that my cousin had taken the trains with every move he made over the years.  He had lived in Missouri, Texas, & Tennessee, and the trains kept going with him.  So 53 years later, I have my original Lionel trains, back in my possession.-----Both engines needed parts, and repairs, my ZW transformer still worked, and the accessories were all checked. 

I traded all my PW trains for a hydroplane in high school then went into professional boat racing  over the next 30 years.  

 

A nasty racing accident scared me back into trains and I now have replaced all the early under sized Lionel models with scale length equipment.

 

Same road names, same prototype, just all scale sized.  Reality is now better than the memory!

 

My Marx #25000 set, received for Christmas in 1946/7?, was damaged by a broken

water heater on the floor of my mother's basement after I had left home.  I tossed

the rotted box but kept all the rusty components, and then, when back in three rail

trains, duplicated it several times over.  My brother's #25249 set, that we often ran

together, was high on a shelf and remains in pristine condition.  He later gave it to me when his kids were grown, and I have it and the rusty set still.  (these are both "3/16"

freight sets with different versions of the #999 loco)

Santa brought an American Flyer freight set headed by the PRR K5 No 310 and had it under the tree for Christmas 1949. I was 5 and had had a silver metal pus train before that that I dearly loved. Now we had an electric train!

I still have the 4 cars in a box but they are in poor condition so they remain in a box. The steamer was repainted Brunswick Green and sits on a shelf in my office at home.

Ping,
   Still own and operate them every Christmas season, they are part of my most favored family memories.
PCRR/Dave

15 days old on Christmas Morning 1941 just after Pearl Harbor this is what I got,probably for dad to run but stayed with me as well as all of the other trains that my dad bought never to be sold.

My dear Aunt Mary gave me a 1060 scout set for Christmas when I was 1-2 years old: 1060 plastic steamer, 1060T tender, unlettered flatcar (brown, 1877-style, with orange spools), 6042 gondola (with red canisters), and an unlettered red caboose.

 

This photo isn't my set, but it's the same thing:

 

 

THANK GOD she also gave me a large circle of her sons' O tubular track which allowed me to build a decent size loop around the tree.

 

I still have that set, including all the pieces.   On the layout I'm building, it will go on a special small 3rd-level loop above everything else.  The unspoken message will be "everything else you see descends from this train".

 

I wouldn't sell it for all the money in the world.

 

SJS

 

I still have every one of the trains my parents purchased....I mean Santa brought me....when I was a child. 

 

Alan

Still have my original 1963 Rio Grande diesel set displayed on the wall with the rest of my trains.

I still have my 1463w set with 2036 engine that my grandfather set up in his basment as a christmas present in 1971 when I was 9. After a few months he boxed it up and stored it until his passing. My mother gave it to me. I still run the engine. 

 

I don't know where or who my grandfather got it from, but it was like new and still is in pretty good condition for a set that was 21 years old. I always considered it a new when I got it for christmas.

 

My 2026 and my Dad's 2018 still see regular Christmas service. My son loves these trains and it helps that these postwar steamers are basically bullet proof. My son is making sure to test their resilience.

 

 

Just a "Thank You" to all who took the time to reply in this thread.  I read it from start to finish last night and welcomed the many heartfelt replies and stories of those childhood trains.

 

Merry Christmas to all.

I still have the original engine, a Lionel Minneapolis & St. Louis GP 9 2348, of the Sears set Santa gave the four of us kids for Christmas in 1960.  Most of the original cars and caboose of set were damaged so I replaced them with identical ones.  The consist consisted of an REA Express refer, a Lehigh Valley hopper, a NYC gondola with 3 orange spools, a Lionel Lines operating helicopter car, a Lionel Lines flat car with transformer load and a Lionel Lines caboose.  We also had a lighted rotating beacon. The following November my mother bought for me a used Lehigh Valley 44 ton switcher and some track for cheap that was in a grab bag sale at my grade school's yearly fall carnival.  I still have the 44 tonner.  I also have some of the original O27 track that came with the original set.  The original transformer is long gone.  I tried to upload a pic, but it wouldn't go. 

 

Larry

When I went to college my mother gave all my Lionel trains to Goodwill along with my baseball card collection that included 6 Mickey Mantle rookie year cards

Well....it's like this. When I was just out of college, and living the single life in LA, I made the mistake of visiting "the Whistle Stop" in Pasadena (yup it's still there) and traded the trains I got for several Christmases, American Flyer 326, 315, 293, U.P. GP-7 and a bunch of cars, track...talking station...etc. for a PFM Tenshodo Pacific Coast Shay, some Labelle, Ambroid and Central Valley "craftsmen kits", code 70 rail, ties...etc. Thus began my journey to the dark world of HO and HOn3.

Now I'm back...but in 3 rail Post War Lionel. I always found the ability to do a reverse loop without pain and suffering a nice feature...kinda whish I still had the Flyer as well though. May have to buy it all back on Fee Pay...

My first electric train set that I received for Christmas 1959, a Marx-Allstate set was passed on to my nephew in 1969 when I was drafted.

 

 

Dave

 

 

I still have mine:

 

 

It currently occupies a display track on my bedroom dresser.  My grandfather gave it to me 40 years ago this Christmas.  It was the happiest Christmas of my childhood.  In the years that followed, my dad bought us new MPC era sets:  The Empire State Express freight set, the Southern Crescent set and the Blue Comet Set.  I have the ESE and SC sets and my brother has the BC set.

 

Andy

All of mine were stolen from my home many years ago prior to getting back into the hobby with my son 9 years ago.

A number of them are (as I type this) running under our Xmas tree. The rest are either on my main layout or the shelves around it. I have everything.

 

It's sad, but I've heard so many stories from friends who no longer have them because their parents gave them away, donated them or.....threw them out. One of my neighbors came over to see my trains a few years ago and within minutes had tears in his eyes. Reason.....when he moved into his apartment during Law School, he had no room for his trains so.....he sold them for 100 bucks. When he saw my trains, he realized that my original set was the same as the set he sold. He totally regrets it. 

 

Cherish them.....

 

Roger

I still have mine after 65 years--still running with original boxes and will never, ever, sell or dispose of them.  Now...what my children do with them after I depart from this life is yet another matter.

I shared an A.C. Gilbet American Flyer Train sets, with two older brothers. 

We had one freight set and one red Pullman car set.

White /Green Station & tower. I have some of the track & switches along with the pullman cars in the attic. Engine is in the man Cave on shelf.

 

I had 4 sets as a kid. Over 6 years. Original #1589WS. still have.  027 General, still have. Santa Fe Switcher set went to my great nephew. Santa Fe #218 Alcos were sold like an idiot.  I bought another set last month.  They are on the first three shelves in the basement and I tell people they are what started this "sickness" hahaha 

Still have....and it still runs great. This picture was taken circa 2000, on the attic layout in my former home.

 

1958 Lionel catalog.....NH AB F3 freight set.

 

 

 

Peter

I wish I had taken a little better care of them when I was a kid, but I still have all of them... and most of the boxes they came in, too!

Pre-ramble...

 

As we age I suppose it's typical to lose the memory of a lot of mundane things in our childhood.  But one moment, discussion-in-a-circle, I remember when I was in kindergarten (Ms. Burrows, my teacher) was when we were talking about trees.  The question put to us was 'What keeps a tree standing up?  Why doesn't it fall over?  Why are they so sturdy when the wind blows?'  Well, around the circle she went seeking answers.  To which she got several 'The trunks!', a few 'The branches!',  fewer still 'The leaves!'.  I blurted out 'The roots!', which apparently was the answer she sought.  She then proceeded to tell everyone how and why the roots are so important to a tree.

 

This thread has a lot to do with 'roots', doesn't it? 

 

And when you read other thread responses regarding different facets of the hobby, often from the same respondents answering this particular thread question, you realize how significant, deep, broadly spread those 'roots' have been in our lives, skills, families, imaginations,...hopes. 

 

I read one response where a visitor to a friend's layout became teary-eyed recalling their own lost childhood trains.  Do you suppose that today's youthful generation, immersed more into ephemeral gizmos/games...cell phones, I-pads, I-phones, X-boxes, Grand Theft Auto (), etc., etc., blah, blah, blah...will someday as an adult be as teary-eyed should they spy the digit-widget of their childhood being used?

 

Consider that to be a rhetorical question, NOT intended to hijack this thread's question. 

 

Sorry for Toodling into the field to smell the daisies.  This hobby, those trains, the parental support/encouragement...they're near the top of my own list of 70-years of blessings. 

 

It seems to be a bit more nebulous for today's new generations. 

 

KD

 Well I've retained about 90+% of them since I was 6 years old ,(1975) the  I discovered my late father's old trains in the attic.

 

 I do have my very first train set ,a Lionel Santa-Fe 8351,with only the top part of the set box.

 And I have my dad's first train,an old windup Hafner steam engine,and his first real electric train set ,a Santa-Fe 6220.

 

 My dad regrettably traded around most of his trains from his youth,a bunch of Marx,when he got me started in trains.

 

 I've tried to receptacle the parts of the collection I don't have as much as possible over the years ,but because of my age at the time I'm not 100% sure as to what all is missing.

 But the memories of the trains I do have ,is all I need to keep my dad's memory alive when we enjoyed model trains together,truly a lifetime of happiness 

 

 

I had Lionel trains since I was10 in 1947.   I had 3 engines, a 726, a 681 and a Santa fee AA set. I also has the Lionel Lines aluminum cars, milk car, cattle car, coal ramp, etc.  When I was 17 I wanted a car so I sold them thru a newspaper ad.  -  What a mistake.

 

The chap I sold them to paid by cheque. 10 days later it came back NSF.  He had left town.  So, no trains and no car.  Got  back into trains in  1995.

Up stairs in the study closet. 

 

 

Spent about 40 years sitting in a box in the basement. Currently repaired and operational and sitting with the rest of my train collection.

 

Gilly

Sold them in 71 to get the down payment for the 65 Mustang! Just loved that coupe.

 

Billy C

Sold mine to go to the Prom. A less then honest buyer tried to low ball me on the price!!
Thanks to my Father I got what they were worth.

Enjoy the Holidays..Everyone!

K.C.

I was a lucky kid when it came to my trains.  My first one was a Marx Commodore Vanderbilt freight set which I received in 1938 when I was 3.  Next year I got a Marx M10,000 set and I thought I was the big shot of the neighborhood.  Two years later I received all the trains from a cousin that had passed away at an early age.  So I had about seven trains, lots of track, stations, elevated tracks, accessories, etc.

 

But I played with my trains and literally wore them out or beat them up.  When I was about 15 I fell in with the "wrong crowd", a bunch of HO gaugers and I sold all my trains to buy some HO stuff.  Years later I discovered the error of my ways, sold off my HO and got back into trains that I could actually see and work on; "0" gauge, of course.

 

But those early memories remained and I have since purchased a replacement for each one of the trains I had as a kid.  I proudly display them now on a wall of my basement, close to my layout.

 

Paul Fischer

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.

I rather hear that some kid played with the trains until they wore out than given away or simply trashed.

Mine started in the early 70's with my first HO set and stuff from my dad's old UP Athern set that was left after they split. Had a 4x8 board in the living room for years before moving to Tucson in 79. All of it somehow "disappeared" during the move. Guess my mom thought it was too much extra stuff to pack in the small u haul. Spent many an hour just sitting in one spot at track level waiting for the train to go by, or driving my matchbox and hot wheels cars all over town. Still wish I still had them. Got back into it again in N, had to sell all of it off a few years ago when I was laid off from work (had to pay bills some how), now into it again with N, until the wife and I got our first Lionel Polar Express set about 3 years ago now. Now just waiting for things to settle down after a horrible year so I can get the plywood and start setting up. She keeps bugging me about it to get it started. This time I refused to sell any of the train stuff. I miss my old sets from childhood, I still regret having to sell the sizeable collection I had years ago, and not going through it again.

This year, the 224E set is under the tree, while the 2026 set is on the display shelf in the family room.

My first set is long gone. I replaced it thanks to e-bay. Still have my Dad's first set. Both were Christmas presents. One from 1952, the other from 1976.

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas morning 1968:  

 

 

Later that day, before company arrived:

The same set today:

 

 

Jon  

I can't recall the set number, but I had a low-cost set from around 1954 with the Erie 610 switcher. That was always set up around the tree; I was too young to know when it first appeared (born in '54), but it was always there. And always went back into the attic.  That was it - no accessories, no switches, nothing.  Then when I was about 8, it was decided that I could have control of the trains year-round. Also appearing at that time was a box full of trains. My dad had horse-traded with someone unknown to me, and I received a 4' tall by 3' wide box about 12" deep - but it was bulging with stuff just thrown in helter-skelter.

 

There were some brass HO freight cars, a bunch of HO track, but more to my interests there was a KW transformer, milk car, cattle car, a Scout loco & tender, a bunch of track, an operating box car where the door would open and the man would appear in the doorway. Also was the double-hopper side side dump coal car and some generic low-budget freight cars.  I literally wore out that stuff. Of course, enquiring minds....understand that at age 8 my parents got me a 3/8" electric drill that I have to this day. I was the one who always took stuff apart and always broke off those tin "tangs" that held the parts together. Of course, today I'm an engineer so I guess it was just in the cards.

 

Some stuff got broken, some burnt out, some, I just don't know where it went. BUT, I still had that 610 freight set.

 

In the mid 70's I worked part-time for a local NJ Lionel Service Station; got paid in trains. They'd also take me to area train shows and help me select good pieces for the "right" prices.  I ended up with (remember, all original PW) Virginian FM, 671 turbine, 2343 ABA Santa Fe's, the Erie AA Alco's with the cast frames, culvert loader/unloader pair, a 2340 GG-1, a General set, 2368 B&O F3 AB, some then-current MPC, etc.

 

Well, after the starter marriage failed (we were both young and stupid), I had to sell the trains.  Was no longer working at the SS, and was embarrassed to tell them I had to sell. I called a local "I buy trains" guy.  Back then (young and stupid), I didn't know about negotiating and that the guy would come in with a low-ball offer. Was not a steal, but I probably could have doubled my money if I'd only known.

 

And, yes, the 610 set went with the rest.

 

Man, I miss that set. Have thought about putting a replacement set together; nothing in the set was hard to find, but still, it wouldn't be MY train....

My first train was for Christmas 1979.  Lionel Black River Freight.  Still have it in almost new looking condition...except the box which was flimsy.

The 2025 engine from the set Santa brought Christmas 1947 is packed in the closet behind me, should take it out this year.  I sold off most all my Lionel stuff to buy HO Bowser Pennsy steam engines kits in the 60/70s. 

 

And regrettably a few years back my EX failed to live up the property agreement after divorce and my 1959 Super-O General set went missing!

 

Ron 

I'm an only child so I still have the original first [Marx & Lionel] trains of my childhood. I have acquired my cousin's trains also. Also through marriage I have acquired my wife and brother-in-law's train [her brother got Dad's Gun]. My second Marx [military] train I gave to my wife's half brother since I had her's and her older brothers original train.

  These threads never get old for me. Not just because it gets me thinking about "good times", but because all the little common experiences we share separately really interests me. So different, yet so similar.

Floods took care of the boxes, I remember drying the trains in the warm sun on the porch, branches and trees everywhere. The fire brigade critter, a hopper(had nice ladders? early le high?), sd tank car (nice ladders too), and gang car rusted out. Plus a few others already "weak", or delicate.

 My Mom would go on frantic cleaning binges, and purges lasting weeks.  One day I came home from school, to find all my WW I & II items from my fathers side, gone from my top drawer! Looking for the box I had hoped the stuff was in now, I noticed, two boxes of carefully selected, and cared for golden age, and #1-4 of many silver age comics were gone too. I knew right away they had been thrown out by my Mother, and Step-father Who have no respect for others "silly" belongings (but are mild collectors themselves. Dolls & John Deer ). Uh oh! Trains!  The first thing I did was check on cubby for the "dirty old trains"(her term). Moving them to my closet, because that was "safer", i.e. cleaned already. I then called Dad, and Gramps  They helped me establish a guaranteed true ownership of all my things from that day on. Once I was grown and leaving, the trains came with me on the first moving trip, they still cant be trusted(my siblings agree).

 My #2037 Adriatic still sticks like glue, and I still run it most often.

My lil' bro' let me "borrow" his "Santa fe Hudson" #665 with me when he went command years ago. 

Mines waaaaay faster, out of the hole or at speed. His is stronger but has some wheel slip earlier, mine has Magne-traction! 

Lots of controls, power, engines, and rolling stock were destroyed, but lots survived

My favorites did!

  The geared "cowboy-vs-gunfighter" car..Click!Bang!Click!

The #6650 rocket launcher has nearly as many miles on it as the #2037.

and the Blue/yellow Giraffe car modified to "raise up & look" around off a #90 & Un-couple track.

 Oh! The Gantry & Rocket Launcher survived too! (most of it anyhow, not many rails left, but works)  

 

Still have the the 2036/6466W set and a 1110 Scout set.

Mike

I passed My Lionel 2-4-2 NKP set from J C Penny ! In 1972 !  on to my neighbors grandson that has Autism a few years back .  

 

 

My father gave them to a poor family.

1957 Lionel for Christmas and I still run it from time to time.  

 

 

When I turned 16 (1958), I told my dad I wanted to sell my trains and purchase a reel-to-reel tape recorder. He promptly sold them to the local butcher who had three young sons. The recorder cost about $250 back then and it performed well. I later converted it to stereo, and built an additional amplifier and speaker system with a custom crossover network. I took quite an interest in electronics and I remember lusting after a top of the line JBL Paragon Ranger speaker system, which was demonstrated at our high school assembly (Brooklyn Tech).

 

I never looked back until my early thirties.

 

I then quickly made up for lost time!  

Still have them all. O-27 set. Purchased in 1950.

 

Lionel Train Set 1469WS

 

Lionel Train Set 1469WS O27 Gauge 4 Car Freight Set with Smoke and Built-in Whistle Contents
1 - 2035 Locomotive with Smoke	1 - 6466W Tender with Built-in Whistle
1 - 6462 Super Length Gondola with Barrels	1 - 6465 Double Domed "Sunoco" Oil Car
1 - 6456 Lehigh Valley Hopper Car	1 - 6257 Southern Pacific Caboose
8 - 1013 Curved Track	3 - 1018 Straight Track
1 - 6019 Remote Control Track	1 - 1033 90-watt Transformer

After 2+ days without any new posts, it seems this thread has run its course.

 

I reread the thread from start to finish last night and there is no denying that childhood trains left vivid memories.

 

Also, being relatively new on this forum, I was surprised that virtually every post was a straightforward reply to the question posed--what happened to your childhood trains.  Virtually zero banter; virtually zero comment on what someone else posted--just straightforward replies with many very heartfelt.  It was a good read and timeless.

Still have and still running.  In researching them, appears the three with the #56 switcher were all manufactured for only one year, 1956...and although memories of exact timing are hazy, we're guessing we got all of them either in '56 or '57...

I still have both of my Lionel sets plus some extra cars, one of my Marx sets with only a caboose from the other set, since replaced, but my Hafner clockwork set is long gone  

I found some more of my childhood trains. Midgetoy die-cast floor trains. Paint's a might chipped but they still run like new!

No, they aren't Lionels, but I do have a couple of Hudsons!  lol

I still have mine, they were a combination of an 'inherited' family set when my brother got too old, that included a bunch of stuff including Santa Fe F3 AA set and other accessories and such I think he paid 50 bucks for sometime around 1970, plus the original set that my mom got for my dad their first Christmas married in 1952, when she got him a bunch of stuff including a 671 engine and tender, because she thought it was sad he never had trains as a kid (even funnier story, her brother, whose son was I think all of 9 months old, was buying her nephew trains, and told him to double whatever he bought.....)

My 1979 Lionel Black River Freight on a magical Christmas Morning.  Plus a cool mystery train/roadway like toy in the foreground.  I recall it being Fisher Price maybe?  It was super fun but I lost it and have looked for it often over time.  And a second picture from 1983...my dad and uncle secretly built this for me over a period of weeks.  

Long post, but it covers my first-ever train set that I ever got as a child (HO) and my first LIONEL set that got me into O Gauge model railroading. 

 

My first ever train set was a Bachmann HO Santa Fe Thunderbolt Freight Set (the one with the GP-38 with several freight cars, red caboose, and EZ track) that I got from my parents when I was seven. Up until I was eleven or so, my dad didn't seem to mind my love of trains too much, so I was pretty excited when I unwrapped that big box and saw that HO set. He built a small 4x8 layout in my old bedroom that my train would run around and around. Over the next two years (until I was 9), the layout stayed mostly the same, with minor additions to the rolling stock being added (several freight cars and two Amtrak passenger cars that I had either the Santa Fe F3, 2-8-0 Great Northern steam locomotive with Kadee couplers, or the Burlington Northern F40PH that my grandmother had gotten me pull around). Original HO set I got is pictured below (credit to Google Images):

 

When I turned ten, however, the old layout in my room was taken down and the trains were put away. Unfortunately, most of the trains were not stored properly by my dad when he put them away, which led to some damage to most of my HO collection. It is a true shame, since I was hoping that they would still be in good condition when I dug them out of storage and opened up the old box they were put away in. 

 

For Christmas in 2001 (less than two months after turning 11), my grandmother went to the old Hobbytown USA in Chico (which has been gone for almost six years now) and purchased the #6-31916 Lionel O27 Santa Fe Freight Set (engine was a 4-6-4 Hudson, came with three freight cars and a illuminated caboose). She allowed me a small space in her garage to set up a 5x8 layout on some old tables and for the next four years, that is where my last layout would sit. The following summer (2002), she drove me down to the Western Depot in Yuba City where with some money that I had saved up, I was able to purchase an old K-Line O27 Wabash Freight Set (FA-2 A unit, three freight cars, and a illuminated caboose) from the 1990's that was on sale along with several O27 K-Line freight cars, a scale MTH 3-Bay Hopper (Chessie System), and several O31 tubular turns from K-Line. The Lionel set I got from my grandmother is pictured below (image from LIONEL):

 

When the Summer of 2005 arrived, my interests had long since turned to NASCAR and my old Lionel train set (along with my other purchases) sat untouched in the garage for almost a full year collecting dust. What plans that I had for some expansion to the layout never occurred, and my interest in model railroading had dropped to the 5th favorite thing that I enjoyed in those days. My dad talked to my grandmother and convinced her to have the trains put away and the old tables removed in order to make more room for storing other items. At this point in time, my dad had developed a somewhat-negative mindset towards my train collection, and the following weekend he had me help take apart the layout with him. Most was put away in storage, but some (mostly track and several freight cars) were not stored properly and the elements (temps, moisture) took its toll on them over the seven years they sat in the garage. 

 

To this day, I still have all of my O Scale collection (mostly in good condition, the two locomotives are in need of a good servicing and need new traction tires while several freight cars need new couplers) and most of my original HO collection (mostly in rough shape, due to being improperly stored for twelve years before I dug them out of where they were stored and moved them into my old bedroom for safe keeping) needs some serious TLC. Now that all of my collection is stored safely in my house out of the elements (away from the garage where they were stored), no further damage should occur. 

I gave mine to our third son, when he provided us with our first grandchild, who is now 18 years old.

I still have my original set, Lionel set #2209w NYC F3s ABA freight set that I received Christmas morning 1953, I was four years old. The set is in excellent condition, however some of the original boxes are missing flaps. I almost lost them in Super storm Sandy (Oct. 2012) but I rode out the storm and was able to pull them out of the display case on the main floor before the flood water rose. Some other post war cars got some rust as they were in a very damp environment for several days after the storm. 

 

  My other trains all survived as they were on the layout that was up in the loft. I sold the house moved to a retirement community and just completed the benchwork for the new layout (8'x12' with 44"x48" extension) . The new layout is about sixty square feet smaller than the loft layout and will be Fast Track instead of Gargraves but I will have to make due. I am picking up the track this Saturday and am eager to get started.

 

Rich Ashton

I still have my Hornby #31 clockwork set, identical to the link below (for illustration only) The box is a lot shabbier but complete, as my parents were great believers in Scotch tape, and the locomotive runs a little stiffer than I recall.

The rail section with the visible slide in it is a brake tab that engages with a lever protruding from the loco underside.

It brings the whole train to a screeching halt, hopefully at the cereal-box station building on the Carpet Central.  

 

http://www.vectis.co.uk/AuctionImages/336/4355_l.jpg

I also have these freight cars that came with the locomotive.

I don't know. When my Grandfather died, someone in the family grabbed them. At the time,I wasn't interested. Now I hope whoever has them enjoys them!

Great stories; thanks for sharing.

 

That was also my first real train set, although I think I got mine around 1976 or thereabouts.   It wasn't the first set I played with however.  That honor went to my Uncle's old # 1107 "Texas Special" set from either 1959 or 1960.  After he left trains and eventually went to 'Nam, it remained in my grandparent's attic.  I used to play with this almost every time I used to stay with them during occasional weekends or summer breaks.

 

 

When I was about 9 or 10 years old, an older neighbor kid gave me some old random Lionel post war train stuff they he had not used for years.  It included a Lionel Scout locomotive, a Lionel #1004 PRR Babe Ruth box car,a Lionel #6032 gondola and a Lionel #6037 caboose.  He also gave me some old, rusty, track.  The Scout was broken and missing the rear truck.  I had it repaired and refurbished.  It still makes appearances on my Christmas layout.  I repainted it.  Matt

My Dad had owned a hobby shop up until I was 10, so it was easy when it came time to introduce me and my older brother to trains.

 

When I was 4, the first train for me was a Tyco Spirit of '76 diesel freight set, which was set up under the tree.  I still have it, in very well-used and still running condition.

 

I'll have to ask my parents if I can copy the photo they took before we came downstairs that morning, as the shot of the tree shows the train running underneath.

 

I wasn't inducted into O gauge until a year or so later when I got the Lionel Amtrak Lake Shore Limited passenger set.  Still have that, too!

I forgot to add above that my uncle's #1107 set still exists, given to me for safekeeping after the grandparents passed away until a couple years ago when my uncle wanted to have it again.  The only remnant of my Black River set is the cars; the engine is long gone (busted up beyond repair) as are the track, transformer & accessories.

 

Since I still have a fondness of that #1107 set because of the memories (certainly isn't collectible in $$$ by any means) I got my own 1055 Alco to remember it by, although modded with window glazing, headlight lens, a 3-position E-unit (the original had none of those) and the original power truck was replaced with a 202 series power truck with magnetraction and the front truck likewise from a 202-series front truck (which trims the front of the locomotive so it's level, something that the redesigned 1055 series (or whatever it was) front truck did not since it made the front ride higher.

Except for three pieces of rolling stock, every one of my childhood trains were played to death. Aside from those three, all the other stuff didn't survive.

 

Those three pieces of rolling stock that did survive, were from a very high-quality Lindberg Lines HO set that I received at the age of 10 years old during Christmas of 1962. So nice were they that later when I became a "serious" model railroader, I fitted them with Kadees* and ran them among my Athearn, MDC, etc, and the level of detail and liveries on those Lindberg Lines cars held up well for decades. In fact, they held their own until the advent of Chinese imports with their added details. Now they look just a bit lacking compared to the nice Chinese stuff one can purchase RTR.  However, there are so many good memories attached with them I intend to run them on my currently abuilding, and I suspect the one that will be my last, HO layout.

 

 * Didn't have to retrofit the trucks or wheels!  The trucks are still state of the art (Delrin w/springs) and the wheels came with NMRA RP-25 profiles... from the factory!

This is one of the oldest of my child hood cars, definitely a favorite(#3or#4). I didn't ever have the plastic cars for this one. I had rubber Auburns, all different Mopars. They stayed better than the hard plastics that were with the other(#2) Evans Auto-loader. This is the only original that survived.

 

 

 

Mike W.,

Yep, universal motor.  Tender had that awful coffee bean rattler chugger sound of steam.  Not Lionel's best quality set but I  ran the wheels off it.

Still have them in storage, my kids don't care about them, and there's no where to run them. After all these years, I still wouldn't get rid of them, great memories.

In the mid-50's, my parents gave me the Milwaukee Road F3 AB unit with three aluminum passenger cars. In 1959, I received the O-27 1862 General set. In about 1966, I went into HO and went to Blum's Hobby House in Cleveland where I traded the F3 set for HO stuff. I kept the General, but, to paraphrase Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, I chose ... poorly. I still can't walk a set at a train show and wonder if it was my old one.

My first train set is the Texas Special Alco freight in 1958 (#1599) I traded the 6801 flat car with boat for a searchlight car so I had t replace it but the rest of it is original. The next birthday I received a pair of remote switches and the 6464-325 B&O Sentinel boxcar. Unfortunately my dad was in the camp of throwing away the box first thing. Still feel blessed I still have all my childhood trains.

 

Steve

I got rid of the majority of my trains and accessories from the 50's and 60's. I did however keep the engines and a few cars. I decided back in the 80's I wanted to go to scale size cars and hi rail. I still will run those engines from time to time........Paul

Just before Christmas I pulled my 68-year old memory from the closet and unpacked it.

In the '70s I was given three hand-me-down Lionel postwar sets plus a few extra cars and ZW. Also included was a few small accessories. One set was a Alco FA, the other a steam engine (I forget the number) and the third one was a General set. I still have all of it. I plan to build a display case for these trains someday.