What was your first train?

[Anonymous]

A Browser docksider, how many times has this post run?

[Anonymous]

Lionel - circa Christmas 1953. My Dad was a model railroader even then and built a huge layout with scenery and plenty of operating accessories. The engine still runs nicely however is on display in my living room along with a few of the original cars.
-Thomas

[Piedsou]

At one month I got my first train ride and at one year I was in the cab of a C& O mallet in Potomac Yards, VA.
I received my first train sets at Christmas of 1948 when I was 1 1/2 years old. One was a Lionel Scout set and one was a Marx 2-4-2 set with the semi-scale 3/16 th inch cars (S scale cars on 0-27 trucks). I've got photos of me playing with them on the floor of my grandparent's basement. Over the years I received several more Marx sets until getting into HO in the late 50's.

Dale Latham

[bluepuma]

The first trains I remember were the Pacific Electric Red cars running in Long Beach, CA in 1950, then later a RS3 or similar in Highland Park in '53 running at a walk. Mom & Dad bought me a Marx NYC set ('54), steam, 0-4-0 with black plastic loco and tender, but the cars were printed metal bodies, at least 2 and caboose, the dual wheel trucks were printed on metal hanging down from the body, sort of hiding that the actual wheels were only two, one at each end of the car. Plastic fixed couplers, Marx 027 track compatible with Lionel, I bought more from Sears through Dad, was a good Christmas, added 3 manual switches. I took good care of it, a couple or 3 years later, I got a Lionel set, a Diesel like a GE44 ton, but sure seemed like a bigger version, magnetraction, working couplers, played with that until high school, maybe until I was in my second year. I think it was Lehigh Valley, red. It got lost when home left me at 16. My first wife got me a Atlas ATSF N scale 4-6-2 in Christmas '69, I added to that one F2A, cars, switches. Put it away, until after moving to Illinois in '99, took it out in 2000, got a board, added a LL GP38, some cars, caboose. Have new wife, got MR while she was looking at wedding books. Still play with trains, lots of N scale locos, a small bedroom to build a layout in. Still love A/B sets, finally have the diesels I wanted as a kid, except the SP Black Widow F7A/B. Don't recall ever seeing steam run except at the parks, liked the diesels, they were colorful, didn't have all the bumps.

[JPowell]

I voted 'Other' as I had a mix of hand-me-down and some newer, all in 3-rail O. Until one day back in the mid 90's while I was in the Marines, my dad called me one evening to say that my mother had sold the entire set, Loco's, Cars, Track and Power Pack for $50 at her garage sale that day. Needless to say that both my dad and I were very upset with her and still fume over it from time to time. The hand-me-down was mostly my dad's Loco and tender and a few cars along with the track and power pack. The newer stuff was a 'power-dummy' set of EL diesels that they had gotten me for XMas since the Loco was on it's last leg.
Now, I'm in HO as I have a fairly good sized collection of Matchbox cars that will work just fine w/ the current 'planned' layout.
JP

[cmulligan01]

When I was little my Dad would get his Lionel O-27 out every few months. A FA Texas Special and an orange DT&I switcher. My parents thought I was so good with them for Christmas '86 (I was 3, turned 4 in February) I got an Athern BB Chessie GP35 and some BB and Life-Like cars and a caboose. Also enough track for a 4'x8' on a piece of plywood my Dad spray painted green then spray painted roads and a lake I also got an MRC TechII 2500 that I still use. The Chessie I think just needs to be cleaned inside and it'll be running again.

[Anonymous]

Train set with an ovel of track, a couple of very toyish accessories and a mountain of imagination.................

[scubaterry]

The first Loco I bought was an Athearn Genisis Light Mikado 2-8-2. I knew I wanted to do the 50's and that was an easy choice. ALso that is all the LHS had on hand at the time and I don't like to wait.
Terry[8D]

[DALCruiser]

My first train was a Marx 027 set my Dad gave me for Christmas in 1956. When we moved a couple of years later it was given away (no extra room in the truck). In 1986 my kids got me a TYCO set and got me interested in model railroading again. Now I have HO Bachmann Spectrum N&W Class J, Spectrum 3 truck Shay, Bachmann Plus Daylight Special, several Atlas F3s, F7s, SD-40 and acouple of P2Ks. Lots of track buildings and no layout built. Only a room currently being cleared out for the purpose!

Dave

[jecorbett]

When I was about 6 or 7, my mom bought both my brother and I used train sets from a collector for Christmas. My brothers ran OK but unfortunately mine was missing a vital part (don't know what it was) that the collector didn't have available so I had to pull my train along the track. We never did get the part we needed to get my train to run. A few years later, I came down on Christmas morning to find a brand new American Flyer train run over a figure 8, over and under layout. It had been bought a lady who lived next door to us. She had been very generous to our family. It later turned out she had been embezzling from her employer and apparently her generosity was an attempt to ease her guilt.

John

John Corbett

[mononguy63]

For me, it was a collection of Athearn stuff my Dad ordered & gave me for Christmas. Forget the exact year, but it was in the 70's, I was a young teenager. A BN SD9, ATSF reefer, UP 40' box, GN 40' stock car, also a hopper, and a wide-vision caboose. All are still in service. The old SD9 just growls along - it's a great noise!

Funny, my dad's not even into the hobby, nor was I at the time. He must've known something I didn't, because I've been hooked ever since.

[Anonymous]

A 1957 027 Lionel set. It consisted of a orange UP diesel, a frisco boxcar, lionel flatcar, lionel hopper, and a caboose.

Come quite a ways since then myself!!

[bikerraypa]

My first ever train was certainly a Tyco set or something similar. My first train insofar as really getting into the hobby was a Bachmann set bought for me one Christmas by a now-ex girlfriend. It's a pretty smooth runner, and if I was still in HO it would be on the layout. As it is, it is displayed proudly.

I still miss her, but I DO still have the train. Priorities, of course. [:D]


Ray

[joeyegarner]

Seems like we did this a few weeks ago???? Oh well I'm game. My firts trainset was a Tyco from the Kmart in Wheeling Illinois, it was a birthday present from mom on my 12th. I got into trains because my cousin had a huge 4X16 in the back of the garage!! It was so cool, so I had to have one. You can start with Tyco Bachman or any other branddd and it has now after over thirty years led me to DCC and Kato. So I would say I've matured as a Model Railroader.

[oleirish]

A HO Scale Tyco train set , 0-4-0 saddle tank ,that was 50 years ago[^][:D]

JIM

[douginut]

My fiirst train was a wind up train. Dont remember the make but it was great. Then a Marx set of mixed parentage from a second hand store. On my 11th birthday was given a mixed lot of WONDERFUL HO, a Virginian E33 from Lionel HO with rubber band drive, an RDC3 from Athern again with Hi F drive and assorted other stuff. and most important of all A november issue of Model Railroader.
Today I model in N, HO, and G (If I am not near the train I love I love the Train I am near). But am fondest of N trollies and Ntrack modules.
Son is into Kato N Scale and grandson at nearly 3 is smitten by Thomas the Tank Engine.

Doug, in Utah

[Anonymous]

my first train was a life like santa fe blazing rails train set (ho scale)

[tjsmrinfo]

i got a german train set when i was 2 and my dad was in the army stationed in germany as my mom is german, he would take in country leave, i have 3 german switchers an 060 and 2 040's the 060 is electric ho and the 040's are clockework made by my opa (grandfather) before ww2 and i still have these loc's as they are now antiques, also i had a loop of track with an inside spur and the rolling stock that came with it.

tom

[RedLeader]

A Swiss olive green passanger train set. I don't remember the brand (Play..something). It had an electrical double cab loco and three coaches. I remember those hideous european couplers. That was for my birthday (dec 21) and for christmas (same year) I had a Bachmann train set. It had one powered ATSF (red/silver warbonnet) F9 and a dummy one. It also had a Erie Lokawanna boxcar a Cynamid chemical tank car a UP 100-ton hopper and a ATSF caboose. My grandma (of spanish origin) gave me for "Kings' day"(jan 6) a tyco set with, what I beleive was a Virginian C-430 (with low cab), a conrail hopper, a Texaco tankcar, a BN boxcar and a red caboose. Those were my very first trains. Later on, I received for "receiving the honor roll and having good grades" a Bachmann ATSF GP-50 (high nose).

[espeefoamer]

Mine was an American Flyer set with two trains. It had a Reading Atlantic and a C&NW Baldwin diesel switcher,about 10 freight cars and two cabooses.I just traded it in earlier this year to a LHS for books and some HO equipment,including a used Rivarossi cab forward.

[Anonymous]

My first set was the Tyco Bicentennial Spirit-of-'76 F9 & Dumy set that
I received on Dec25, 1975. My folks actually bouth it on Dec 4,1975 and
that was a hell of a wait on an 11 year old. It was the longest wait in my
life, but it was worth it.

Along with the F9 active and dummy, there was a BN 50' boxcar, a
Southern 50' pulpflat, a Western Maryland 40' flat w/3 tractors,
a UP 62' HiCube boxcar, and a matching Spirit of 97 36' caboose.

Same 18" radius circle of track. Fixed that real quick by adding
two packs of 9" straights, an Ajax 50' hopper, and an SOS 62' boxcar.

A bit easier to remember for me as I still have the set in great shape,
minus the paint wear on the active unit. Other than that, I have kept
the units either in their boxes or on the track. No table settings!
And it has worked. God willing, the set will be 30 years old this
Christmas 2005.

The dummy unit was converted to an active unit this April 16, 2005 by
giving it an Athearn chassis and super-weight.

To this day, I still call the set Line 1, and the old active F9, Engine 1.
Who cares about the number on the side. Right?

[Anonymous]

I had various train toys when I was little, but my first real train set was an electric Playmobil G scale set that I got when I was about 4 years old. It had a red diesel switcher, gondola car and boxcar and a circle of track. There were people that you could put in it and you could take the roofs off. Before long, a cattle car, caboose, straight track and many more people and accessories were added to it. I still have it all and even added two passenger cars to it a couple of years ago when I found them for only $10 each at a toy store that was going out of business.

My first HO train was a Bachmann circle set with a chrome Warbonnet F9, UP hopper car, RI boxcar and ATSF caboose that I got on a summer trip to Minot, ND when I was 5 or 6. For Christmas of that year, I got another Bachmann F9 circle set (CP this time), a CN gondola car with coal, an EL boxcar, a Canada grain hopper car, an Atlas station kit and extra track. My dad had put green astro-turf on a piece of plywood for me to set it all up on, which would become known as "The Green Board".

I continued to accumulate more HO trains and when I was in Grade 2, my dad built me my first layout. It was a large L-shaped layout that could run three trains simultaneously and included a bridge and four sidings. Things just continued to grow from there and the rest, as they say, is history...

[BigOzzy86]

I received a Bachman train set for Christmas when I was six years old. Im 28 and I still have all of the cars in a shoe box in my basement. My dad
(aka Santa) had it set up on the dining room table and I ran it until the hood lamp if the F7 diesel started to warp (melt) the plastic on top of the nose. ahhhh.... thoses were the days.

[Anonymous]

My first was a Lionel Scout set but now it's all MTH. Can't wait for the K4 to come out.

[on30francisco]

The first train set I ever got was Lionel with Super O track.

[pathvet9]

I voted for my current love but my first was a Lionel set in the late 40s. I hink my brother sold it but really don't remember much about it except it crashed a lot (too fast for the curves) and it smoked.

[mustanggt]

HO Bachmann F unit train set, when I was 3 in 1991. Then a few years later my dad built me a 4x6 layout to get it off the floor. It's since been dismantled, including the 10x 7 foot layout it was eventually built into. Along the way there's been , N scale, Lego, G scale, and even almost Lionel, which was too expensive for me.I still have my lego trains and a sizeable collection of N scale stuff.

[Anonymous]

American Flyer, the Royal Blue set. Dad purchased it in 1949 after our rural home in Illinois was wired for electricity. We had wind up trains before that.

[edo1039]

Christmas 1949 I received a Lionel train set from my Mom and Dad,I still own it and it comes out every Christmas and run around the tree.