That was 66 years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday!!!
Lucky kid!
Great story, thanks.
Ed
During the week of Christmas 1956, I was 5 years old and my Grandpa ran the roofing and hardware department of Sears and Roebuck in Ft Wayne Indiana.
He took me work with him one day and put me with the guy running the Lionel trains layout in the display windows of the store which were huge windows.
It was quite a train setup, I remember about 6 trains running at once, with lots of accessories and scale buildings!
I tremember the big Lionel"Z" transformers of which there were 3 or 4 of them.
I dind't want to go with Grandpa after work, but stay there and help run the trains!
This is how I originally got hooked on model trains!
Dad always setup his Lionel trains around our Christmas tree at Christmas time. He got them as a birthday present on his 12th birthday in 1935.
I now have those trains and they still run!
A red freight steam engie pulling several freight cars and a caboose and the other one is a Commodore Vanderbilt steam engine pulling three passenger cars.
I now have an HO scale train layout in my basement I am working on. It is 6 feet wide and 24 feet long using both DC and DCC power.
wjstixApparently the store was narrow but very deep, and (literally) filled to the rafters with Lionel stuff. I read someone who had been there saying an employee had to get a rolling ladder to climb up to get something for a customer that was stored near ceiling level.
I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.
The Twilight Zone I remember was where a couple wakes up in a deserted strange town. They think everyone must be looking at them behind window curtains. They find the train station and hop on the train as it's leaving. They are glad to leave the strange town, but are horrified when the train stops at the next station which turns out to be the same station. You see them running around the town, as the camera pans out, to see that the couple is actually running on a giant model train layout. Then you hear a mother ask her son if he likes the little humans his father brought back from earth.
OldEngineman An old Twilight Zone, "Night of the Meek" (with Art Carney as a drunken department store Santa who literally stumbles onto a magic bag of gifts) features a Lionel Christmas layout. It's season 2, episode 11. One of my favorite Christmas stories...
An old Twilight Zone, "Night of the Meek" (with Art Carney as a drunken department store Santa who literally stumbles onto a magic bag of gifts) features a Lionel Christmas layout.
It's season 2, episode 11. One of my favorite Christmas stories...
I remember that episode! I think a local station used to do a Twilight Zone binge on New Year's Eve. That was always there, along with the old woman with the flying saucer in her attic. The Willowby story was there too.
As they say, Rod Sterling never died. He just got tired of commuting.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Seems they had warehouses:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32905861-the-madison-hardware-story
MidlandMikeI have been to a few NY City hobby shops, but never Madison Hardware. I was shocked at the photo of how small it was. The had full page ads in MR back in the day, but I guess they were mostly mail order.
Apparently the store was narrow but very deep, and (literally) filled to the rafters with Lionel stuff. I read someone who had been there saying an employee had to get a rolling ladder to climb up to get something for a customer that was stored near ceiling level.
gmpullman Madison Hardware, 1967 by Fred Clark, Jr., on Flickr Maybe? I could sure have a good time here! Burgers on the left, Liquor on the right and Trains in the middle Cheers, Ed
Madison Hardware, 1967 by Fred Clark, Jr., on Flickr
Maybe?
I could sure have a good time here! Burgers on the left, Liquor on the right and Trains in the middle
Cheers, Ed
I have been to a few NY City hobby shops, but never Madison Hardware. I was shocked at the photo of how small it was. The had full page ads in MR back in the day, but I guess they were mostly mail order.
chutton01 wrench567 I don't know how many people remember the indoor slot car emporiums? My brother and I had 1/32 scale cars. Well, it's fairly easy to remember on Long Island as of 2020 (think it was still open in 2021, haven't passed by since summer though).
wrench567 I don't know how many people remember the indoor slot car emporiums? My brother and I had 1/32 scale cars.
Well, it's fairly easy to remember on Long Island as of 2020 (think it was still open in 2021, haven't passed by since summer though).
That's incredible!!!! About a four hour drive from here though. I bet they are rare and far between. Too bad my 1/32 cars are long gone. I had one where the front tires turned with the slot guide. Spare motors, tires, brushes and other parts. It was a once a week enjoyment my brother and I shared with my dad.
Thank you.
Pete.
P.S. sorry for the tangent to the thread.
Not to hijack the thread, but I would be interested in hearing from anyone who visited Madison Hardware 'back in the day'. I've heard that it had an amazing array of Lionel products back to almost the start of the company, but was staffed by folks who were a bit let's say 'surly'?
NVSRRThere was also a hardware store In Manhattan I can't think of the name of that...
Could it be Madison Hardware on 23rd St.
tstage We never had any Lionel products but I and my siblings did grow up on American Flyer. Even at 2 years old I was smitten. If I didn't model HO and there were more realistic product available for my road name, I think would enjoy getting into S-scale. Tom
We never had any Lionel products but I and my siblings did grow up on American Flyer. Even at 2 years old I was smitten.
If I didn't model HO and there were more realistic product available for my road name, I think would enjoy getting into S-scale.
Tom
Rich
Alton Junction
richhotrain tstage richhotrain My father spent his entire career at Montgomery Ward in its Corporate Headquarters on the near north side of Chicago. He ran the Packaging and Design Department. Montgomery Ward featured American Flyer trains in its catalog and retail store operation. MW would photograph American Flyer trains for its seasonal catalogs and the Christmas catalog. The trains and track and everything else to support a layout would then be transferred to the Sample Department for exclusive employee discounted purchases. My Dad had priority in his department head position. He would buy American Flyer stuff for pennies on the dollar and bring those purchases home. As far as the retail stores were concerned, they took American Flyer equipment from their in-store stock for Christmas layout displays and then stored it for future Christmas displays. I assume that the Sears stores did the same thing with their Lionel trains. By the way, Momtgomery Ward and Sears were fiercely competitive in everything that they did. As kids, we were forbidden to even enter a Sears store. We had a Sears store within walking distance of our apartment, but we always took the streetcar to the nearest Montgomery Ward store, about 5 miles away. Rich LOVE the personal side stories, Rich! Tom Tom, this thread immediately brought back childhood memories! Rich
tstage richhotrain My father spent his entire career at Montgomery Ward in its Corporate Headquarters on the near north side of Chicago. He ran the Packaging and Design Department. Montgomery Ward featured American Flyer trains in its catalog and retail store operation. MW would photograph American Flyer trains for its seasonal catalogs and the Christmas catalog. The trains and track and everything else to support a layout would then be transferred to the Sample Department for exclusive employee discounted purchases. My Dad had priority in his department head position. He would buy American Flyer stuff for pennies on the dollar and bring those purchases home. As far as the retail stores were concerned, they took American Flyer equipment from their in-store stock for Christmas layout displays and then stored it for future Christmas displays. I assume that the Sears stores did the same thing with their Lionel trains. By the way, Momtgomery Ward and Sears were fiercely competitive in everything that they did. As kids, we were forbidden to even enter a Sears store. We had a Sears store within walking distance of our apartment, but we always took the streetcar to the nearest Montgomery Ward store, about 5 miles away. Rich LOVE the personal side stories, Rich! Tom
richhotrain My father spent his entire career at Montgomery Ward in its Corporate Headquarters on the near north side of Chicago. He ran the Packaging and Design Department. Montgomery Ward featured American Flyer trains in its catalog and retail store operation. MW would photograph American Flyer trains for its seasonal catalogs and the Christmas catalog. The trains and track and everything else to support a layout would then be transferred to the Sample Department for exclusive employee discounted purchases. My Dad had priority in his department head position. He would buy American Flyer stuff for pennies on the dollar and bring those purchases home. As far as the retail stores were concerned, they took American Flyer equipment from their in-store stock for Christmas layout displays and then stored it for future Christmas displays. I assume that the Sears stores did the same thing with their Lionel trains. By the way, Momtgomery Ward and Sears were fiercely competitive in everything that they did. As kids, we were forbidden to even enter a Sears store. We had a Sears store within walking distance of our apartment, but we always took the streetcar to the nearest Montgomery Ward store, about 5 miles away. Rich
MW would photograph American Flyer trains for its seasonal catalogs and the Christmas catalog. The trains and track and everything else to support a layout would then be transferred to the Sample Department for exclusive employee discounted purchases. My Dad had priority in his department head position. He would buy American Flyer stuff for pennies on the dollar and bring those purchases home.
As far as the retail stores were concerned, they took American Flyer equipment from their in-store stock for Christmas layout displays and then stored it for future Christmas displays. I assume that the Sears stores did the same thing with their Lionel trains.
By the way, Momtgomery Ward and Sears were fiercely competitive in everything that they did. As kids, we were forbidden to even enter a Sears store. We had a Sears store within walking distance of our apartment, but we always took the streetcar to the nearest Montgomery Ward store, about 5 miles away.
LOVE the personal side stories, Rich!
Tom, this thread immediately brought back childhood memories!
And ones that I can relate to, Rich. We never had any Lionel products but I and my siblings did grow up on American Flyer. Even at 2 years old I was smitten.
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
I certainly remember Lionel display layouts at stores. The local hardware store just an had oval on a sheet of that greenish grassy stuff. But it had the operating crossing gates and the switch tender who comes out of the shack, both of which captivated me. And I think it was Lionel's actual O line not O-27.
The larger department stores in downtown Milwaukee had larger and more elaborate layouts, possibly with the assistance of Lionel itself, and usually featuring the over-and-under elevated track piers that Lionel sold. And the same emphasis on noisy and colorful operating accessories, incuding the milk can reefer, the coal dump, the log dump, the newsstand with the newspaper boy and the dog circling the fire hydrant, etc. Sometimes they'd also have a simple oval or circle in their display windows which were also captivating to me. I think those displays sold a lot of train sets.
Dave Nelson
NP Eddie ALL: Did Lionel sell or loan Christmas layouts to major department stores in the US and Canada? What happened to them after the holidays? I saw a picture of Frank Sinatra purchasing one for his house. Ed Burns
ALL:
Did Lionel sell or loan Christmas layouts to major department stores in the US and Canada? What happened to them after the holidays? I saw a picture of Frank Sinatra purchasing one for his house.
Ed Burns
I remember going to the Sears store on the Northside of Pittsburgh late 50's with my dad. I was 6 or 7 at that time. It had a nice selection of Lionel trains and accessories with a small layout demonstrating all the latest offerings. My dad always bought at least one thing for the Christmas platform be it Lionel ot Plasticville. That year it was the Lionel floodlight tower (4.95). To this day I remember that special Christmas time memory with my father as clear as a bell. That tower still working fine on the Lionel layout and the original box sits on a shelf in the trainroom. Alot to be said about this hobby.....not just toy trains...but a lifetime of wonderful memories.
peahrens Maybe a tangent, but I remember as a kid in Manhattan ('50s) that we went to see a large Lionel layout downtown at the holidays. Maybe 23rd St or so, maybe their headquarters...? Perhaps Lion knows...
Maybe a tangent, but I remember as a kid in Manhattan ('50s) that we went to see a large Lionel layout downtown at the holidays. Maybe 23rd St or so, maybe their headquarters...? Perhaps Lion knows...
yes. Lionel had a showroom store in Manhattan with a year round display layout. There was also a hardware store In Manhattan I can't think of the name of that was another "showroom" for the same in Chicago. You were probably in one of those Paul.
also Lionel did sell the display layouts. Like a super delux train set. Minus the table/ bench work. There was a bunch of designs all listed as display layouts. Starting with D- like D109 as product. number. Not sure how many there were. Those were what one would see in must in store displays
display layouts. Are a whole side interest for Lionel collectors. Thing SIG group.
Shane
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
wrench567 I don't know how many people remember the indoor slot car emporiums?
I do. "May's On The Heights" at Warrensville Center and Chagrin. I was too young to participate but my mom would "park" me in the basement where the huge, was it 8 lane?, track was set up with the banked turns. I would watch for hours.
The racers beought their cars in special travel cases with tools and spare parts for tuning up in the "pit".
There's got to be photos of them somewhere?
US_Steel by Edmund, on Flickr
I don't know how many people remember the indoor slot car emporiums? My brother and I had 1/32 scale cars. One of the emporiums also had a model railroading club. While we had Lionel at home, it was there in that slot car track palace where I was introduced to HO scale. The realism of HO turned me off of Lionel.
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
My mom and aunt were live models for the May company department store in downtown Cleveland in the early forties. Pre WW2. They had to dress in pajamas for the window display. The other window was the boys display and usually had tinplate trains. Not a bad gig for after school and weekends for the holidays. Every week was a different display of different parts of a house. The week before Christmas showed the trees and decorations they sold.
richhotrainMy father spent his entire career at Montgomery Ward in its Corporate Headquarters on the near north side of Chicago. He ran the Packaging and Design Department. Montgomery Ward featured American Flyer trains in its catalog and retail store operation. MW would photograph American Flyer trains for its seasonal catalogs and the Christmas catalog. The trains and track and everything else to support a layout would then be transferred to the Sample Department for exclusive employee discounted purchases. My Dad had priority in his department head position. He would buy American Flyer stuff for pennies on the dollar and bring those purchases home. As far as the retail stores were concerned, they took American Flyer equipment from their in-store stock for Christmas layout displays and then stored it for future Christmas displays. I assume that the Sears stores did the same thing with their Lionel trains. By the way, Momtgomery Ward and Sears were fiercely competitive in everything that they did. As kids, we were forbidden to even enter a Sears store. We had a Sears store within walking distance of our apartment, but we always took the streetcar to the nearest Montgomery Ward store, about 5 miles away. Rich
Well, there is this one. The whole film is worth watching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kT4W6bi1Mo&t=85s
My father spent his entire career at Montgomery Ward in its Corporate Headquarters on the near north side of Chicago. He ran the Packaging and Design Department. Montgomery Ward featured American Flyer trains in its catalog and retail store operation.