So what's on the train shelf from your childhood?

[wrmcclellan]

Did you get lucky? For once I did. My folks gave me this car for Christmas. It would have been 1957 or 58. It was purchased by my mother at the G&G Hobby Shop in Houston (it's still there). The G&G had one of those clear body F3 sets in its display case that I used to look at forever every time I got to go there as a kid. The F3 was still there the last time I visited the G&G in 1995.

What is incredible is that I never decided this car needed "improving" as did many of my other cars and locos. Only a few years ago did I learn this is one of the rarer post-war operating cars.

So get those interesting items off your shelf or out of the closet and share it with us! When did you get it ? Where did it come from?





Enjoy!

Regards,
Roy

[TurboOne]

Great car Roy. When I first saw Soo line I thought it was made up. Out here in SoCal I've never seen them. Now on model layouts I see them everywhere, and got told they are a real line. Even as a long time train fan, there is so much to learn its great.

As soon as I figure out how to insert pics I will send some of our trains from Christmas. We don't have a fancy layout, but we have fun.

Tim

[brianel027]

Absolutely nothing but memories.

January 12, 1989 an arson set fire spread into the building where I had my art studio and business. 14 years worth of work disappeared in 5 hours: thousands of photographic negatives, hundreds of drawings and paintings, demo tapes, master recordings, films and videos including a bio that was to be aired on PBS. Cameras, guitars, recording equipment.. Oh yes, and many of my childhood trains which were in storage and I hadn't thought about until I got back into the hobby some years later.

Unfortunately, this hasn't been the first time that I've had to start all over again in life so-to-speak.

The building was for all purposes, a total loss and was sealed off. But I could see not everything was destroyed. So against orders, myself and other studo mates got into the building to see what we could salvage. To my surprise there were things we were able to save. Funny how little things become so important when there is nothing else. Some of my studio had a drop ceiling which fell when soaked from the firehoses. Beneath all that soot and crud I somehow located a few slides from my childhood. As we left the building, some of the landlords crew and the police were waiting to arrest us for tresspassing. I pulled out of my pocket a slightly charred slide of me as a toddler in front of the Christmas tree. The trains were out of view but you could clearly see the Lionel transformer and track behind me and beneath the tree. I showed the landlord's main guy the slide... the frustrated, angry expression on his face went blank. He handed the slide back to me uttering an obscenity. He motioned to the police and they left us alone.

So that slide is pretty much it. Some of those old trains would be worth some money today, but oh well. The trains I have today aren't worth as much money for sure, but actually mean a lot more to me. I do have all my memories though and memories aren't as easily burned.

[Anonymous]

Black Cave Flyer,
L.A.S.E.R.,
Rock Island 0-4-0 docksider and bobber set,
and Dads Marx Double Deisel Santa Fe set from the 50's.

These are my favorites from my youth. I know they are not well liked by many here but they were my favorites. We didn't all grow up in the fab 50's.

[cnw1995]

I am the lucky recipient of my dad's trains but they're not on the shelf but on the layout!. I had an HO layout with my brothers in my dissolute yout' but I've gotten rid of my Tyco Burlington passenger set. I still have my brother's HO trains - holding them in 'stewardship' for them. My dad infrequenly set up his O trains but before his advance in Altzheimers (sp), he gave me a pre-war 2-4-2 and a handful of tltho freight cars and a 248 with a coach and obs - they are my absolute pride and joy. I also have a handful of old his plastic cars from the 30s and tin farm animals, a bridge, some track and a beat-up Gateman.

[spankybird]

This was my older brothers train, now mine. It has been in the family about as long as I have been.







I also have many cars from the late 50’s and early 60’s.
tom

[lionelsoni]

My 1955 raised-ladder 2243 Santa Fe F3 and the 2400-series cars that I bought for it, one-by-one.

[mcattardo]

My older brother's Pennsy Freight set. I don't know the model #. It's missing the original caboose, so I bought him another one recently. According to him I busted it one 1 of my sneak the set out of the basement & run it in my room adventures.

[Anonymous]

Marx 999 tin plate train set. Lionel was hard to get and expensive during WW II. Motor gear has worn teeth so she locks up often but I still run her.

Charlie

[bigwally]

In my case, it's the Tyco HO Penn Central F9 set with VGN hopper, ATSF 50' boxcar, WM flat car with pipe load, and PC caboose that my parent's gave me for my 9th birthday in 1973. Still looks good on the shelf in my train room and makes the occasional run on the HO loop of the layout.

If nothing else, it made an Oklahoma kid find out a whole lot more about railroads that didn't run anywhere near the Sooner state!

bigwally

[palallin]

My NYC Marx set (1964) and my my Lionel uncataloged Sears set (1972).

[cbq9911a]

A 2037LTS with several cars, including a 3494-275 "State of Maine" operating box car and a 6431 piggyback flat (with Midgetoy tractor).

A 259E with 3 lithographed freight cars.

An 8659 Virginian Rectifier with matching caboose (this was bought when I was a college senior, but that counts.)

Everything still runs perfectly.

[Anonymous]

Interesting you should ask. I just got my childhood 2373 running yesterday. It had been sitting on a shelf for 40 years. One of the bronze bearings was fused to the axle. Thank God for the invention of the arbor press.

It runs as well as it did when I was four years old.

[David Barker]

On the shelf in my office is my 1952 Gilbert American Flyer Silver Streak set, a 1957 AF Merchandiser set as well as several AFdie cast steamers.

I have a nice layout in my office at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Chillicothe Ohio. In the last year, I have expanded it to 6X6 and it has an oblong loop withK-Line engines with Marx and K-Line rolling stock. There is a point to point Lionel trolly as well.

[4kitties]

My 1960 or '61 uncataloged Scout Set: 246 loco and tender, 6175 black flatcar with rocket, 6044 red Airex boxcar, 6162 blue NYC gondola w/canisters, 6476 coral LV hopper car, and 6017 caboose. I have never found this set in any Greenberg book but I've had it since it was new.

[MACADO]

I still have a 1423 set which had the 1655 steamer and tender, from 1948. I also have a Lionel GE 80 ton 520 eng, and a C&O Alco 225, a 2855 tanker that I picked from the trash as a boy. (been restored), several other war toy cars from the late '50s, and a few other post war rolling stock. I never got the double A set until I reentered the hobby in '96. ]

[wrmcclellan]

A lot of great responses and some cool stuff. Let's see if we can generate some more discussion and responses!

David Barker - a layout in your office (that is not your own business) - how cool is that!

So here is another one. I got this for Christmas in 1961. Very appropos for the times. Air raid and nuclear defense drills. The old "duck and cover" under your school desk or out into the school halls and put your hands over your neck and your head down in your lap. The Russians, Commies, whatever were coming and what better tool to have than a secret missle in a Lionel boxcar!



Regards,
Roy

[Anonymous]

My dad's old Berkshire set it's got alot of accesories and opperating cars, but some of them including the milkman and hobo chase car doesn't work. But remember I wasn't the one opperating them. I may go to the Hobby Shop to see if they can fix it.

[Buckeye Riveter]

My original Lionel Rio Grande with the Red Satellite Car, circa 1963 and purchase at Western Auto. This was an un-cataloged set as far as we can tell.