Lion's Walmart Popcorn Train: a compleat review

[FJ and G]

After buying love bird and beagle chow at Walmart last night, I dashed down to the toy section.

Disappointment.

No 1:48 cars or trucks, and not even any toy trains--and Santa is coming soon.

So I dashed back to the junk food section, where I grabbed a case of Mountain Lightning hi-caffenated soda to soothe my disappointment.

For some strange reason, I glanced up from the soda aile and there, standing 10 feet up, stacked above the 3rd shelf, was a 5 gallon tin can decorated with Lionel train postcard pictures from yore.

A sign warned customers not to try to reach the 3rd shelf and to seek help.

But there were no salespersons in sight and I don't need to seek help anyway, so I grabbed several more cases of mountain lightning and created a pyramid, which I scaled, hoping none of the cans would explode.

I was so anxious that I nearly tipped over all the cans on the shelf but success at last. In my hot hands was not only a 5 gallon container of popcorn but a working trainset inclosed in a see-thru plastic wrapper with a Lionel approved sticker.

I rushed home and tried to tear it open but it was sealed so well it took 5 minutes of hacking with a knife and razor to open up the train set.

Now the whole train set and popcorn cost less than 5 bucks. The train is an 0-6-0, a boxcar and caboose. The train has center blind drivers and is HOn3 on plastic track and rails. In fact, the entire train is plastic.

The only problem I had with the train is that it doesn't run. Period. It has a battery in it but nothing happens.

I was about to take the battery out and feed the train to the beagle, who enjoys ravaging things, but then I had an epiphany.

What if Lionel goes under and this is the last piece of merchandise that it issues? It could be a collector's item.

I carefully returned the train to the box, now wishing that I had never opened the popcorn case because train sets in mint condition must never be opened.

But then the popcorn might have gotten rancid over the years, turned green, and oozed out.

Oh well, I consoled myself with the Mountain Lightning, several shots of Tequilla and 3 flavors of popcorn: buttered, carmel and cheezy. Well the train was cheezy but the chezzy popcorn was well worth the 5 bucks.

And the tin can is certainly a good bargain folks.

See you at Wally-world.

[spankybird]

Sounds like the tin can is the real value thing.

[dougdagrump]

Last Christmas one of our friends gave us a gift basket but the basket was actually a bucket, like the old fire buckets, bright red with an old "General " style steamer painted on the side. Inside was the usual assortment of goodies, snacks, cocoa, and two rather large coffee mugs with the same artwork on them as on the bucket. Needless to say the mugs get used quite regularly, my other half even likes them, and the bucket is in the train/toy room and used for her Dragon Beanie Buddies. [:D]

[spankybird]

Dave, we had to make a fast trip to wally-world, so we stop and also pick up the popcorn. It does have a nice can.

tom

[Anonymous]

Thanks for letting us know about this! The next time I or someone I know goes to a Wal-Mart, I'll definetly pick one of these up. Hopefully it isn't just an American thing, though.

[FJ and G]

As Tom says, the can is a real prize for toy train lovers. I don't think it's just an "American thing." Maybe North American thing :-)

[garyseven]

Can anyone post a picture of the can?!?

[spankybird]

Scott, I would be happy to tonight when I get home.

tom

[spankybird]

Here this the Tin with popcorn

The Front


The Back



The Train

[Anonymous]

This tin can of popcorn has been around for the past 2 years, I got one last year from Walmart, when I was in Delaware. I thought you guys were talking about a new one.

I kept the can, and ate the popcorn, the picture of Santa with the trains is one of my favorite LOL
Mark

[garyseven]

Thanks!

[3railguy]

Well I picked up a can today, set up the track, and low and behold, the train ran! However, the cat went ballistic, attacked it and knocked it over. The engine sat there on its side spinning its drivers and the cat's hissing a storm batting at it. My wife was laughing so hard she was crying. With his ears perked and eyes darting, the cat finally picks up the engine and drags it behind the sofa rustling and hissing up a storm trying to choke the thing. That's when my wife's sides started splitting. I rescued the engine and the drivers were still spinning. LOL!!! My wife demanded I put it away because she couldn't take it anymore and her sides were hurting. Believe me, I haven't seen her laugh like that in years. It was worth every penny.

[FJ and G]

guys, my can is different. It contains about 10 Lionel posters.

Same sized can and same train set; just different pictures

A collectible!

[FJ and G]

Actually, The trainset in mine says Lionel, not Coke

[spankybird]

Now I have to go back an look for that one.

tom

[lionelsoni]

Does everyone know that the pictures on the can are by Haddon H. Sundblom, who is often given credit for creating the modern image of Santa Claus with the many paintings that he did for Coca-Cola advertisements? I bought my helicopter car just to have one to pull with my Santa Fe locomotives, like the picture.

[FJ and G]

Hope you can find it Bob. They are catalog paintings dating from the early Lionel years through the 50s including the ones with the dog and the dad smoking the pipe and the beaming kids

I should'v snapped up a bunch; I might go back. The one I visited is In Manassas VA

[Buckeye Riveter]

I'm head'n to Wally World tonight.

[spankybird]

I stoped at our local wall-world tonight and they didn't have any Lionel cans. I will have to check the one by work on Monday.

[douellet]

I picked one up yesterday, it cost just under $7 up here in the backwoods of Maine. The tin has classic Lionel catolog art on it. Have not tried out the cheesey plastic train on the lid. Who cares if it works, it does not look like anything Lionel ever made anyway. Just more cheap China junk cashing in on the Lionel name. The tin is nice and I expect that we still make the popcorn here in the US. Not much else.

douellet

[:(!]

[choochin3]

Picked up 2 cans tonight.Train runs fine too![:D]
It was hard to find one that wasn't bent or crushed.
Out of 5,or6 cans only 2 were undamaged.
Careful shipping I bet![:P]

[Anonymous]

I went to Yorkton yesterday and looked in Wal-Mart for these cans, but unfortunately found none. Hopefully they'll get them in later, though. Perhaps the States gets them sooner than Canada does.

[lionelsoni]

No, I'm sure Canada gets them first. You are closer to the north pole.

[dougdagrump]

Maybe i should tell my neighbor to pickup a can, he can eat the popcorn and give the train to his 4yr old, oops choke hazard. [(-D] Did you notice the warnings, we got the Lionel can tonite.

[FJ and G]

douellet,

Yes, that is the can.

Others:

It is likely not in the toy section; look in the junk food section high up on the shelf.

Would be interesting if someone actually did a layout with the train; problem with no track add-on, unless you could roll it on N.

Fact, would be interesting to see a layout using any other Lionel cheap plastic sets that may have come out previously as well.

[spankybird]

We made it to the Wal-Mart by work at lunch time today and found one of the Lionel Popcorn cans.









and of course the Train



They must have had about 200 cans and I only found one with the Lionel. Oh by the way, the Popcorn isn’t bad.
tom

[Anonymous]

All the Duane-Reade Drugstores in Manhattan and NJ have a similiar pop corn can decorated with Lionel images, for under $7.
BillFromWayne
www.modeltrainjournal.com

[Anonymous]

The Walmart in Huntington Beach, CA had plenty of these today, I bought one and the popcorn was fresh!

[yellowducky]

Stopped at Walmart on the way to work and bought the Coke tin.

Went to Fort Wayne after work, almost 20 miles away, and bought the Lionel tin.
The 2 stores had a completely different assortment of tins.

The Auburn store's variety looked "country and small town, USA".

The Ft. Wayne store's looked "fast lane and Hollywood" which included race car tins and Spiderman tins.

One could easily tell that Walmart aimed at different markets!

Anyway, am thankful for friends on this forum that alerted me to the tins.
Also, thanks for the pictures. They helped me to be sure what I was looking for, so I easily found both.

[:)]Again, thanks friends, all of you! "TRAINing, more than just a bumpy ride."
FDM

[Anonymous]

Looks intersting, but I'll just go with the O gauge stuff myself.