When does a toy train cease to be a toy train?

[FJ and G]

I hope that deep down in your heart you can find forgiveness for me cause I'm ripping out the 3rd rail and planning to go remote control, which will make ops easier outside.

But are toy trains still toy trains without the center rail? [:(][:(]

Also, if you will let me (call me Benedict Arnold), I still plan to be on this forum.

(have nothing against the center rail but I can use the rail to extend the line out further and besides, there will be less spiking)

[lionelsoni]

American Flyer? Maerklin?

Actually I think they're all toys. Most of the "scale modelers" just don't know it yet.

[palallin]

Bob's right:

"If it ain't 1:1 scale AND generating revenue, it's a TOY."

[mersenne6]

Hafner, C&F, Beggs, Howard, Knapp, any clockwork Flyer, Ives, Bing, Fandor, KBN ...all 2 rail and all toys.

[dwiemer]

[#ditto] to all of the above. I think that some people take this all too seriously. They are toys and should be enjoyed. I have a nice home if you need to unload some of your 3 rail stock. Anyway, so long as you have fun, as Feynman would say, "Who cares what other people think?".
Dennis

[Jim Duda]

Attaboy Big Dave! Imagine...only 2 rails and they are not electrified - they serve merely to guide the train...and it won't matter if they are rusty, corroded, or dirty. Can you say, "Holy Prototypically Correct, Batgirl"...? You might just get some folks to rethink O gauge as an outdoor activity without all the concern about track survivability in the elements.

Oh yeah...and no reversing loop polarity concerns...(wink)

[dbaker48]

[#ditto] Simply stated --- Couldn't agree with Dennis more. Probably a tougher question is about cars.

[Anonymous]

A "toy train" stops being a toy train when a child is not allowed to play with it.

[Anonymous]

In think of Large Scale, such as LGB, Bachmann, Aristocraft, and the like as toy trains.

LGBs line would have to be the best example of Large Scale Toy Trains. Hartland is right up there with them, as well as Marklin's Maxi Line.

steel rails

[laz 57]

QUOTE: Originally posted by emmaandy

A "toy train" stops being a toy train when a child is not allowed to play with it.

Oh how true especially when they go over $500.
laz57

[mitchelr]

QUOTE: Originally posted by emmaandy

A "toy train" stops being a toy train when a child is not allowed to play with it.

[#ditto][#ditto]

If it's not a toy anymore then whaaaaaaaaat's the fun of it. Two rail, three rail, monorail, if it makes you happy... go for it. Variety is the spice of life and of the World's greatest Hobby.[;)][;)][;)]

Mitch[:D][:D][:D]

[spankybird]

QUOTE: Originally posted by palallin

Bob's right:

"If it ain't 1:1 scale AND generating revenue, it's a TOY."

[#ditto]

just my [2c]

[Buckeye Riveter]

If your track gauge is approaching 4' 8 1/2" you might just be getting out of the toy catagory.

[Anonymous]

If yer $2000 Lionel Acela goes off the table and hits the floor and you poop your pants, then it is not a toy.

If yer $2000 Lionel Acela goes off the table and hits the floor and your reaction is "cool crash" then it is a toy.

[mickey4479]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Bill Sherwood

If yer $2000 Lionel Acela goes off the table and hits the floor and you poop your pants, then it is not a toy.

If yer $2000 Lionel Acela goes off the table and hits the floor and your reaction is "cool crash" then it is a toy.

Bill, that's funny. [(-D] I have only had one "cool crash" on the floor incident with an MTH Proto 1, and it still runs like a champ with only a minor scrape.

[John Busby]

Hi guys
simple answer to a simple question
When its not meant to be played with but instead its purpose is to acurately portray the
real train in every detail its a model.
Model Trains actualy came first and where used to show the company directors
what this new fangeld invention called a train looked like.
Toy trains arrived very quickly afterwards.
In todays language a model train is one where a lot of time and effort has been put into making it portray the real one as much as posable (big kids toy trains).
a toy train it looks like a train so it is a train (little kids toy trains or big kid that don't want to grow up).
Any one paying $500 dollars for a train and not letting the kids play with it.
is iether using the oldest excuse there is to buy dad a train
or has bought the wrong brand
If its a quality toy train it should be rugged enough to survive the kids
Just like many of the ones now crying because their owner keeps them in a glass case and calls them collectable
Play with them I say[:D] thats what they are made for.
regards John

[John Busby]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mersenne6

Hafner, C&F, Beggs, Howard, Knapp, any clockwork Flyer, Ives, Bing, Fandor, KBN ...all 2 rail and all toys.

Hi
Add every other manufacturer there has, is, and will be to that list
two or three rail.
Just don't tell the Model Railroaders they wont like it[:D]
The only trains that should not be on the list are built by
model engineers or 1:1
regards John

[John Busby]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jim Duda

Attaboy Big Dave! Imagine...only 2 rails and they are not electrified - they serve merely to guide the train...and it won't matter if they are rusty, corroded, or dirty. Can you say, "Holy Prototypical"...? You might just get some folks to rethink O gauge as an outdoor activity without all the concern about track survivability in the elements.

Oh yeah...and no reversing loop polarity concerns...(wink)

Hi Jim
Its already done you can buy "O" gauge SM32 track and "O" scale track
that is suitable for the great out doors
The only concern those guys have is oil and grease on the track running out of meths or gas or flat batterys and in a couple of cases IC fuel
and its a case of what wiring for the track.
But you can wire it if you wish.
Just about anything we can think of you can almost bet some one has tried or wanted to try it.[:D]
regards John

[Jumijo]

I wrestle with this question a lot. I have 3 little ones, all 5 years old or younger. Although I've tried to include things for them to operate, I still find myself telling (which rhymes with yelling) the kids not to touch this or be careful of that. They are just kids being kids, but I want to instill in them a respect for their things. I try to tell them how fortunate they are to have the things they have and to take good care of their stuff. My Ward Cleaver-esque lectures are usually followed by the kids duct taping me to a chair and lighting a camp fire beneath me!

Jim

[laz 57]

JIM just remember don't be too hard on the BEAVER[:O][;)].
laz57

[laz 57]

Expensive toys for bigger boys.
laz57

[Jumijo]

Did Eddie Haskell ever really say " What a lovely pearl necklace, Mrs. Cleaver"?

Jim

[palallin]

Jim, just because it's a toy doesn't mean the kids shouldn't take care of it. Respect for their property (AND others' property!!) and good stewardship of their blessings is one of the primary lessons I try to impart to my boys. It's a long, tedious job, but the results are worth it, especially to them (they just don't know that yet).

That said, they don't have to handle their trains (or GI Joes or LEGOs or action figures) as if the toys were made of fine china (another kind of toy--not all toys are meant to be handled, for play takes many forms). I don't mind the 300 mph curves which dump the trains on the carpet. A friend and I used to play Gomez Addams with our Marx sets. But I still have my set, and the engine runs as well as it did in 1964. But I do not permit the boys to deliberately tra***heir trains (or other toys), and they have to learn to put them away properly. When repairs are necessary--as they are despite the best care--the boys not only finance the repairs (in some manner) but also get involved in them, so far as they can given their ages and skill levels.

Trains really are great toys, and it matters not one whit whether they be tin Marx or Kohs brass: they are all toys (if less than 1:1 scale and not generating revenue).

FOOTNOTE: A while back, there was a discussion on the MR forum about Northlands, a huge, stylized HO layout that most of the "serious" modelers over there disparage because it's so "toy-like" and unprototypical (duh!). I pointed out that Northlands was at least generating revenue, which made it 50% closer to being prototype than the layouts of the vast majority of its detractors.

[Anonymous]

This is interesting. My Lionel Acela is a model of the real Acela. And where does it say that models can't be played with?

[Anonymous]

No no no, you guys have it all wrong, THERE ALL TOYS, the 1:1 scale all the way down the spectrum. I dont know if you realize it, but there are the scenic railroads, and those are toys too... Just harder to pick up and set on the track when it derails, they havent invented the big hand yet... I say, if your having fun with anything, then its considered a toy...

[Anonymous]

adix,
Some wives might take offense to that.[:)]

[DCmontana]

Correct, they are all toys! "The differance between men and boys, is the size and price of their toys!"

A pal I grew up with had more toy trucks than the rest of the neighborhood put together. He played with my train, but only wanted trucks and tractors for his own toys. Today he and his sons have their own transportation company. I call them semi-trucks are us!

[cnw1995]

Sacriledge! Burn him - burn him! (Inspired by watching Monty Python last night.)

[laz 57]

Hey BILL those women call us GIZ, "Boy toys".
laz57

[Anonymous]

laz,

Sure, after they've spent your paycheck. [:)]