What was your first train?

[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

[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.

[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

[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

[Anonymous]

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