Ah Roger, I knew if anyone remembered the article, you would!
I guess it helps if you were the guy who wrote it!
It was an easy article to remember, especially after seeing the photos of Lynn Johnston. Man, she was a hottie!
I think she's still hot at 72, but then I'm 65.
By the way, when lionelsoni opened the thread the first thing that crossed my mind was...
"FB or FW? Are those vintage Lionel transformers I haven't heard of?"
Wow--what a memory you have!
Yes, I wrote an article for Model Railroader (October 1990 issue) about Lynn and her husband and the comic strip. It was a blast to do, and they were so kind and generous with their time and sentiments.
Roger Carp
Senior editor
Sounds a lot like me. Lionels as a kid, then N gauge as an adult (due to my brother-in-law "Big B's" malign influence) then back to the thundering majesty of O gauge!
N gauge was fun and fascinating, but it doesn't shake the house to its foundation like an O gauge layout in full cry!
Several days ago, she commented, "It began with N gage, then HO, then trains big enough to ride on." Nevertheless, her drawings seemed to me to be O-ish or G-ish.
In case someone didn't notice, her site has links to previous days' strips, so you can go back and see this thread from the beginning.
Bob Nelson
Oh yeah, I remember it from the first time around! Very funny, and with more than a grain of truth to it.
Remember the wise words of the hobby shop owner?
"Electric trains aren't a hobby, they're a way of life!"
Now if memory serves, on the first go-round of the "FB or FW" toy train story line, either "Model Railroader" or possibly "Classic Toy Trains" (if they were around at the time) ran a feature about Lynn Johnston's strip and her husband's toy train hobby. Again, if I remember correctly he was into G gauge.
Maybe one of the Kalmbach staffers remembers?
So true. 1987 Rail Blazer set from a Target after Christmas sale for $35.... and the rest is history.
Mike C. from Indinaa
Isn't that the way ?
It always starts with just one train set....
Thanks, Bob. My all time favorite comic strip.
swede
Lynn Johnston's comic strip For Better or for Worse has been in reruns for a while now. A couple of days ago she reached the point where the male protagonist gets infected by toy trains. If you're interested, you can find the daily strips on
https://fborfw.com/strip_fix/
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