Which era toy trains do you have?

[guilfordrr]

I have mostly Postwar and Modern, with a little MPC mixed in.

[prewardude]

Prewar reproductions for me. I like the prewar era best and I like to run my trains, so going with reproductions is the only way to go for someone in my position. I'd love to acquire some original prewar pieces someday, but they would definitely be shelf queens. I just can't see putting wear and tear on a 70 or 80-year-old train. They are a part of a bygone era and deserve to be preserved.

I do have some MPC and modern-era Lionel sets, but all that plastic just doesn't have the same "vibe" as the prewar metal stuff.

Regards,
Clint

[palallin]

I have trains from all the eras:

I have a few Standard Gauge pieces, prewar.

I have one loco and a couple of Postwar cars.

At least 1/3 of my trains are MPC.

A like amount are LTI.

I have a few LLC pieces.

 

I also have a couple of postwar Marx items.

[brianel027]

Jefelectric, no arguement and to some point I agree with you. I also had an expensive Lionel set that was very easily more than a weeks pay for my dad. I too didn't appreciate that for years until now.

But back when we were both kids, Lionel was the premiere toy to have. Lionel was third behind Sears and Mont. Ward in catalog printings and the trains were sold everywhere. And if you couldn't afford Lionel back then, there was still MARX, which really was sold everywhere and was more affordable. We both know many in the hobby today got their start with a MARX set. Today, Lionel is not the premiere toy nor do Lionel products have the visability.

I absolutely agree there are a couple if not several very decent Lionel starter sets that are good bang for the buck. The Lionel add-on packs are also a very good value and I applaud Lionel for doing the unit price break down... another good idea. They should do that once again for the starter train sets too. I've recommended the NYC/PRR Flyer type sets to many. And have run into people later who thanked me for the tip and told me they bought the set.

But do as I have done, and show a new current catalog to newcomers and their reaction is almost always the same. First perceptions are everything, and though I will agree, there are some values in a Lionel catalog, much of the product is very expensive, high end and not exactly for kids. Parents notice this right off that bat. I cannot count how many times I've heard the reaction "this is not a hobby for kids" from parents after a flip though a current Lionel catalog.

I'm big on promoting this hobby. When I did shows, my display layout was geared towards kids and newcomers. I'd much rather go to a small local show and meet real folks than a show like YORK, even if there are more trains and selection at YORK. The folks at Lionel should try the same approach.

Also if you have noticed, when many folks on the forums quote prices, like $140 for the Lionel PRR Flyer Set, they're quoting a mail order price, not a list. Like years ago, novices and newcomers will tend to gravitate towards a hobby shop where they can actually see things first. And most small shops do not get the same wholesale advantage that the preferred Lionel dealers and the mail order venues get. They can't sell a $199 list set for $140... that's below their wholesale.

Once folks get a feel for the products and what they're looking for, then they start looking at mail order.

Mail order prices may be the ones quoted as if they are the real price, but there's little arguement that a kid will get far more excited looking at a display layout and products actually on the shelf than over a black and white discount mail order listing. And kids don't ask for toys that they can't see or that they don't know exist.

[Frank53]

That is a beauty, Frank. Add that to the list of locomotives I'd like to own someday. 726 or 736? Jim

thanks Jim. That is a very original 1947 edition 726. It proudly displays the battle scars of six decades. Not quite sure how my Dad came about it but I know it was running around our Christmas tree before I was born. Although we stopped having trains up for Christmas in the mid 60's, my Dad dug this one out and had it displayed in his living room sometime in the 90's. It was his favorite and hopefully will be passed from generation to generation. Maybe in 2080 my great grandkids will post a photo of it on this forum telling about how their Dad's Dad's Dad's Dad bought it after fighting in the big war. 

[Jumijo]

That is a beauty, Frank. Add that to the list of locomotives I'd like to own someday. 726 or 736?

Jim

[Frank53]

Run that PE Berk and enjoy it! Jim

 

I'd really rather run this one - just gotta blow the dust off it:

 

 

[jefelectric]

I like anythng that has flanged wheels and runs on steel rails.  Big or small, new or old.

For my layout I buy whatever fits into the 1950,s prototype era, regardless of when it was made.  I am not a rivit counter and you will find a few items on my layout that don't exactly fit that era.

I really enjoy seeing well maintained and/or restored prewar, but don't own any.

I can even enjoy a well done HO layout.

brianel027,  I don't want to start an argument, but there are quite a few low priced items in the Lionel catalog.  Being realistic, Lionel was never the low end train line.  I once figured out that the Lionel set my Dad bought me in the late 40's cost him a little more than a weeks pay at that time.  I sure didn't appreciate it then but I do now.  Anyway the set in the Lionel catalog that is the closest to that set is listed at $199.00.  I don't know many people that make that amount per week now.  It looks to me like the low end in the Lionel catalog has actually come down in price.  If Lionel catered only to the low priced market, a lot more of us would be buying MTH & Atlas as that is the type of product a lot of us older guys want.

This has been rehashed many times on the other forum and as I said, I'm not starting an argument, just my worth.

Thanks for listening.

[mitchelr]

Welcome envfocus. - You will find many other like minded folks who like the pre-war trains.

I have some modern, some post war and some pre-war. I only buy what I like and run what I buy.

Mitch

[Jumijo]

Last night the kids and I watched a TM video with Ward Kimball running OLD trains from the late 1800' and early 1900's, including the very first train Joshua Cowen ever built. Amazing.

Jim

[tjsprague]

First half of the 20th century. With a couple newer sets I got just 'cause i liked them.

[envfocus]

I dabble only in pre-war trains.  I'm fairly new to the hobby and got started a few years ago when my mother gave me her "Christmas train" from her childhood.  She even had the 1934 catalog that they ordered it from.  Very cool.  So, I started by learning some basics and getting her 259E engine, tender, 603 pullman, and 604 observation car to work.  For the past couple of years, my son and I take time twice a year to buy a few new things for the set (on his birthday and then again on mine).  We've graduated up to running two trains (we've added a 253E electric locomotive that pulls several 800 series freight cars).  Anyway, I just joined the forum and look forward to learning a lot more as our efforts grow.

[Anonymous]

My toy trains are all prewar and postwar.  These are the eras that I am most interested in and stick with in my collecting.  The historical aspect appeals to me greatly.  However, I have very broad tastes and my prewar and postwar trains include electric, clockwork and battery operated trains from many different manufacturers and countries.

The only exceptions are a James Gang 4-4-0 and a few (maybe ten, no more) MPC freight cars.  These are pieces that I have managed to pick up cheaply over the years and I don't have them on my layout or on display.  The James Gang gets run on the display that I bring to train shows and sometimes around the Christmas tree.

I do have a very large amount of modern era HO, but this topic is about what era of "toy" trains you have and so I would put my HO in a seperate category.

[rlplionel]

 My layout is predominantly postwar Lionel, but as the photo below shows, there are other eras and manufacturers represented.

[cnw1995]

Let's see: I have some pre-war, some post-war, some MPC, and some modern. I'm not gluing anything these days - wet or dry. But I prefer Miller over other domestic brands...

[1688torpedo]

Hello All!   I have Prewar,Postwar, & Modern( MPC-LTI-LLC) & enjoy them all. The 1688s are my favorite of the group & Postwar is neat as well as The Modern Trains with their colorful paint & graphics.Take Care all.

[DCmontana]

I will echo John, Modern, LTI, MPC, and post war.  Yes, I need more, more!  But, my finances and my wife are controling interests here!

[brianel027]

Ah Jaabat, if I were really Clyde, the direction at Lionel would be a lot different. Radically different!

But I am as determined and as passionate about the hobby from the low end as Clyde is from the high end. I just feel my viewpoints are a little more steeped in reality and common sense than are those of Clyde. If you want to know what families with kids think about the hobby, you can't go to YORK... you have to go to the little run of the mill train show located at the local union hall, fire department, youth center, etc. That's where you get the real story.

Here as follows is another one of those little observations from Clyde:

The "FEEDBACK" feature is fun for kids and young at heart adults. It is a novelty feature that can be easily turned on or off at any time directly with its own dedicated easy to read button. Novelty features are an important part of the hobby.. Trains are not just for serious adults.

Man, what a hoot! It's almost funny except that Clyde somehow seriously believes his own press.

Dang, Clyde needs some fresh air. I would say it is the "serious adults" that attend YORK on a twice yearly basis (and can afford to attend too). It is the "serious adults" that confront and write the train companies demanding the products they want. It is the "serious adults" that can afford to spend the big dollars for all this high tech wizzardry. It is the "serious adults" that spend hours and fortunes building full-basement sized layouts. Hey Clyde, please introduce me to one working class kid who goes to YORK 2 times a year, has a layout bigger than a couple sheets of plywood, etc. etc.

Of the thousands of kids that have seen my display at local shows, not one has ever complained about Chuff rates, the lack of ozone or the low-tech manner of my display... things Clyde seems to lose sleep over. Quite the opposite, most kids are really impressed with my display - especially the parents. I love to see the smiles and excitement on their faces... and it didn't break my bank either! And MY way won't break their bank either!

Of the folks I personally know, the usage of TMCC is holding steady at less than 5% and has been that way the past few years. I doubt new improved Cherry Vanilla flavored TMCC is going to change anything except raise prices on everything across the board. When Clyde uses the word "Dang" I sense it is part of his conceived on-line persona... when I use the word it is sarcastic to make a point.

I can't see how Clyde in his right mind thinks that $400+ train locos are for families with kids... certainly none I know or have ever talked to. I show the Lionel catalogs to newcomers with kids and the responses are nearly the same... the kids think the stuff is cool and the parents (upon noticing the prices and the lopsided selection) almost always say "this is NOT a hobby for kids!" It's NOT hard to see why they would say that, yet Clyde doesn't seem to understand this. Dang.

And Jaabat, you are so right about K-Line under Lionel. It shows me that Lionel lacks a total absolute understanding of what made early K-Line products so popular. Those new clueless K-Lionel paint schemes are beyond words, along with the price increses. Dang, I might have thought they were kidding, except the joke is now in the 2006 flavor 2 catalog.

My understanding of this agreement is that Sanda Kan is trying to recoup some of their massive losses by allowing Lionel to market fromer K-Line products under their name and distribution network. But for this long-time K-Line buyer, taking the same items and changing the color of the packaging does not warrant such hefty price increases.

To me it seems to point to the money trouble Lionel is really in, or potentially be in. They know it too... the Lionel name is not part of the main company nor are the new TMCC advances. I'm sure they realize they could as easily lose the lawsuit as well as win it. Nevermind all thier recent tooling expenses. I did read someplace that Lionel supposedly also has debt with Sanda Kan.

High tech in the world of consumer electronics is a total different game from the world of toy trains. If DVD players were still $500, they wouldn't be selling the way they are now at a fraction of their original cost. But I think Clyde and Lionel are under the illusion that if the box says Lionel, that you can still sell it for $500.00

All I can say is Dang, thank goodness for companies like Williams and Ready Made Toys and Industrial Rail. My attitude from square one has been when I have bought a train item, I want to pay for that train item, not a box color scheme and a name that is not holding its' value the way it once did. But then again, that value was in part based on sheer speculation and memories of a time when Lionel trains were toys marketed primarily at kids first and their dads second.

[Frank53]

You've got mail.

 

as do you.

[Jumijo]

You've got mail.

[Frank53]

Frank, If you're serious, e-mail me and let me know what you want for them. Most likely those are going to cost more than I can afford. If you're just torquing my lug nuts, I'm not going to paint any backdrops next time I'm in FLA. Jim

left my torque wrench in my other tool box.

Tried to send you an email through the forum, but that appears to be one of the functions that is not quite up to speed.

Send me an email at [e-mail], and I will respond.

[Jumijo]

Frank,

If you're serious, e-mail me and let me know what you want for them. Most likely those are going to cost more than I can afford.

If you're just torquing my lug nuts, I'm not going to paint any backdrops next time I'm in FLA.

Jim

[Frank53]

I don't have any F3s, hudsons, or pre war locomotives, but am looking into getting some. Those would probably end my search for motive power. Jim

 

I know where you can get a nice set of Santa Fe's:

with the original boxes and wrapping:

 

[Jumijo]

I don't have any F3s, hudsons, or pre war locomotives, but am looking into getting some. Those would probably end my search for motive power.

Jim

[Frank53]

Frank53, You also said you'd never have Santa Fe F3s on your pike, but you have some now, don't you. Run that PE Berk and enjoy it! Jim

 

well, I admit they're under my roof.

Whether or not they run in my northeastern setting layout, become shelf queens or get sold off has yet to be determined. But I admit, they sure look nice.

[Jumijo]

Frank53,

You also said you'd never have Santa Fe F3s on your pike, but you have some now, don't you. Run that PE Berk and enjoy it!

Jim

[ChiefEagles]

A little postwar, a few mid 80's [being converted to TMCC and Railsounds] and a lot of the modern [command].

[Frank53]

Recently I had a chance to buy a Lionel 665 Hudson for a good price, but I declined. I'd rather buy a new Williams than an old Lionel.

 Jim

blasphemy!

All of my engines, rolling stock, track, accessories transformers, etc are post war, and I know the background on most of it.

In a weak moment I bought a Polar Express set last year with the two add on cars. It's nice, but it just ain't teh real thing to me. As my layout ideas have changed since then, I probably won't even have it on my layout.

[Jumijo]

I have equipment from all eras and they are all nice in their own way. Recently I had a chance to buy a Lionel 665 Hudson for a good price, but I declined. I'd rather buy a new Williams than an old Lionel. I feel like a bit of a heratic saying that, but it's true.

David, I make wet water from dish soap and water. Only lately have I heard about alchohol as a possible ingredient. Your garden railroad is wonderful. Please let us all know when it will be published!

Brian, I'm beginning to think you're Clyde Coupler or what ever his pseudonym is. You and he say "dang" an aweful lot. Has anyone ever photographed the both of you in the same room? You of all people must be disappointed with Lionel's K-Line offerings.

Jim