Now that the thanksgiving holiday has passed, how 'bout some sharing of those good old yuletide season memories of trains from long long ago?
A toy train Christmas story? Well, maybe this one belongs on the "Model Railroader" site as it concerns an N gauge railroad, but bear with me.
About 20-plus years ago Lady Firestorm's brother Big B got into N gauge railroading. Now when Big B gets into something he gets into it in a BIG way, so by Christmas of 1992 he had an N gauge empire measuring ten by thirty feet, with eight main lines, 150 locomotives, and at least 500 cars, all safely ensconced in Lady Firestorms mothers basement.
Come Christmas of 1992 there was a family gathering at Mom's house and Big B was proudly showing off his "Empire" to all assembled. The ladies had gone back upstairs leaving Big B, myself, my friend Charlie and brother's-in-law Warren and Kieran, plus three year old niece Stephanie (oblivious to the second-hand cigar and cigarette smoke) watching the action.
Part of the layout had a charming assembly of Christmas Village buildings, and Big B was running a Christmas train. As the train swept majestically around a curve there was a PING, POING, BOUNCE, and the train derailed, rolling the locomotive and all the cars down the hill and piling 'em up in Christmas Village scattering the buildings. "Oh NO!" I wailed, "IT'S A HOLIDAY TRAGEDY IN CHRISTMAS VILLAGE!" The hysterical laughter rolled up the stairs into the kitchen and next thing you know there was Lady Firestorm at the top of the stairs yelling "HEY! THERE'S MALE BONDING GOING ON DOWN THERE! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" Immediately Lady F and her sisters charged downstairs to see what all the ruckus was about, and then there was even MORE hysterical laughter!
That disaster couldn't have worked out better than if Big B planned it that way! Man, was he embarassed!
A wonderful Christmas well remembered by all involved, and all because of an N gauge wreck!
My story is an example of my father not listening to the wisdom of his father. For Christmas 1978 I got 3 Tyco HO sets, the Silver Streak and Midnight Special on Christmas morning and a Sears Deluxe Royal Blue from my grandparents the following weekend. I took the first 2 sets along on the trip, and by noon that day, I had all 3 locomotives dead. So, grandpa had me follow him down to the detached garage/workshop. We retrieved a 4x7 piece of plywood with a loop of Lionel track on it. I do not remember seeing that in the garage before. Once we had that on the living room floor, grandma carried down a box from upstairs that held my father's Lionel set from the late 40's. The set was the 1423w set from 1948, which my grandfather had purchased second hand in 1949 from the neighbor who's son had lost interst. The set contained the 1655 2-4-2 diecast steamer with headlight and 3 position E unit, tinplate whistle tender, short PRR gondola, twin dome Sunoco tank car and the red SP type caboose. Everything was in its original boxes, a bit tattered. No set box though. Dad also had a 394 beacon tower and a couple Marx tinplate accessories. I played with that train the rest of the weekend we were at my grandparents. That following March for my birthday, I recieved a Lionel Southern Streak steam set. And from that Christmas till I turned 12, that old 1655 set was set up at Christmas at my grandparents. For Christmas just before I turned 12, grandpa deemed me responsible enough to take the vintage Lionel home. It was wrapped under the tree that year, but i kept the track board there since I had a layout of my own at home. That way I was able to run my trains there or at home. Grandpa passed before the next Christmas came. That train is still in my possession and will always be. As I type this, she is circling under my Christmas Tree. So, to everybody, have a Merry Lionel Christmas!
Silly NT's, I have Asperger's Syndrome
Nice mike. My grandfather gave me his trains for Christmas (actually December 18) in 2010, they were my first Christmas trains. There was a lotta track, a 1024 from Lionel I had to redo the insulation on, a Lionel 685 (first postwar project), and a little Marx set headed by a 495 that was missing a pickup and brushplate. It's been five years, but I finally got the 495 running under her own power.
Thats awsome that you got the old Marx running again. I finaly had to swap out the mechnism in the 1655 a couple years ago. Just before Mr. Kuhn bought up the Madision Hardware store, I purchased a NOS drive mechnism for the 1655/1656 style locomotives and stashed it away. The mounting pins for the double reduction gears are almost worn in half and she binds going forward. I still have the original drive in my cupboard. I did upgrade the 1655 to roller style pickups over the original slide shoes. The rollers were standard on the 1656, but not on the 1655. I think its an undervalued set. I just wish my father would talk about his childhood days with the train, but he doesn't. I do remember seeing some pictures of him as a child with a Christmas layout when we went thru pictures prior to moving grandma to live closer to us after grandpa passed. Mike
Spanky, I have to ask. Did your parents have one of those aluminum Christmas trees? The distaste for the fake tree I sensed in your post makes me wonder.
Sparky, I know that feeling, did the same thing with the real xmas tree. I was supposed to be alergic to them and with my severe asthma, it was a no no. But I am sitting next to a real tree, with my father's Lionel running under it as I type this and it doesn't bother my asthma or alergies at all. Mike
It's a Christmas miracle Mike! Who says they don't happen?
Wayne
An Easter memory for you all. About 7 to 10 years ago I had the chance to visit one of the Charter Members of the TCA (his TCA number is below 100). It was sometime in mid-March, about a week before Easter. He invites me into his house and the house was still decorated for Christmas, complete with tree and standard gauge trains running around the tree.
I look at the setup and my first remark to him was "I hope you cut that tree yourself" He proudly told me that he had cut the tree from his neighbor's lawn. I still tease him about this when I see him (and yes he is still pushing the daisies down).
NWL
Hello every one, this will be my first post here after lurking around for the last few weeks so here goes!
As a kid I remember going to my grandmothers for christmas where I would always walk past an enormous and dusty train table in the basement, propped on its side, forgotten. I would always ask about it and my uncle would always reminisce about that christmas day in the mid 50's when my grand father gave him that lionel train set, and then move on to stories of spending time with my grandfather (his father) playing with the train, expanding their layout, and running the train fast enough to fly off the track. A couple years later my grandfather died in a car accident (late 1950's) and my uncle never touched the train after that, he carfully packed the trains away never to run again. Fast forward 5 decades, I mentioned that I am in the market for a train set for my son because it's christmas after all and I'm feeling nostagic for the time I spent playing with my crummy, D-cell powered, plastic fantastic, toy store brand train set I played with as a kid. He walks away and to my astonishment he returns with a few boxes containing his childhood train set and gave it to me under the condition he gets to see it run one more time before he dies. Over the last 2 weeks I have been working to my fingers to the bone removing dust dating back to the Eisenhower administration, oiling, and soldering in new wires to replace all of the dry rotted originals. I have bench tested the locomitive, whistle tender, and the rest of the powered rolling stock and I'm good to go. The last steps is a smoke fluid converion (the OE pill unit was both gummed up and dead) and the other step is to pick up the table itself, it's big, it's made of metal, it can seat 8 people for thanksgiving dinner, and is 40 miles away. I know I have alot work ahead of me since the train table has a few remote controlled track switchers, transformer, and other electromechanical accessories that have been sitting inactive for 60 years that will probably require a copious amount of cleaning, oiling, and rewiring.
I have my grandad and great uncle's trains from the 1950's as well. My great uncle ran Lionel's 1567W outfit, one of my favorites from the postwar era. My grandad ran a Lionel 685, suspected to be from the 2201WS (uncertain still) and a Marx set headed by a 495. My grandad bestowed his upon me on Dec. 18(?) of 2010. My great uncles were brought to me after his death, in the original outfit carton. Not something you see every day.
The 495 was torn apart, so I have spent about 5 years trying to return her to action. This year, I succeeded. The horse corral for the Lionel outfit also only just made its way here, and is in process of being installed on my new layout. The 2243 needed some minor derusting on the front wheels, and the wires to the brushplate needed to be resoldered.
A year after my grandad gave me his trains, he came down with another outfit from the 1950's, 1001. It was missing the box and transformer, and needed to be tuned up, but I made the 610 work. Parents never let it under the tree, though. Didn't look festive enough lol. That same year, my great grandad brought down a flatcar that looks like one he probably had as a kid, a 2411. It wasn't the rare one with the logs, and the trucks probably came from a 6411, but I love it, all the same.
The next year saw a MPC Lionel Lines set, the separate sale one that took 10 years to get in its entirety. My dad gave it to me, as he ordered a hiatus on the operation of the classics. The horns a tad off key, I think, but it runs well enough.
All in all, Christmas and family and trains all have history here. I love it.
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