Am I The Only Person Here Who Likes Electric Trains?

[.:.impossible]

Marklin HO. My parents gave my borther and I a new car every year since I was seven. Every year, wherever we live, we make a point to go see the trains running during the Christmas season. Our set is good, but nothing compared to what they put in at the James Center downtown Richmond or Airlie Gardens Wilmington. Mesmerizing.

[Teasing the Korean]

You guys with HO trains who do not have layouts: You really have to check out this snap-together roadbed track. They've made it within the last decade or so. The track never comes apart, and the trains never derail. Perfect for setting up under a Christmas tree.

[carnivore]

I have HO trains. I don't have a layout, but now that they make that track where the roadbed snaps together, I can run it around the Christmas tree for hours and it never derails. The newer track never comes apart.

I have all steam-to-diesel era freight cars, most of which are vintage Athearns. I have a two-piece diesel engine.

I hate taking down the tree every year because I have to say bye bye to the train.

The one I had as a boy was OO. It was a Hornby Dublo. The one to London is 4' 8 1/2" gauge.

I had a clockwork Hornby - the larger gauge - 'O'? I always dreamed of, but never had, an electric train - particularly the American 'Lionel' brand that we saw advertised in American magazines. It was always all in the detail.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I had Triang - I thought Hornby Dublo engines and stock looked a bit tinny.

When I was about nine, I had a friend whose father managed a shoe shop and lived over it. In the attic - about four floors up - he had a magnificent layout, all laid out at waist height (for his father, not us) and a control panel from which he could set points and flap signals. And the scenery! I was only invited there once.

I wanted to get my daughter a train set, but my wife wouldn't let me. QRT, I guess. If I'd been collecting railways as well as records...

MG

[BruceH]

My dad was a big time model railroader. He was into the O gauge size, and the whole basement was a continual layout-in-progress which he never really completed. I had a Lionel train set- I remember the little tablets that you put in the engine stack to create smoke and the smell of the rheostat as it got warm. Also the little animated mechanical people and crossing guards. I would spend hours looking at the accessory catalogs. I got way into building scenery and using an airbrush. I was also into slot cars- I had a Strombecker 1/32 set that I loved.

We (me, my dad & an occasional train buddy or two) used to travel to various locations to watch trains go by, and my dad would take super 8 movies. I remember feeling the excitement as the train would approach and the loud rumbling sound of serious power. We stopped at Horseshoe Curve (eastern PA) on a vacation once, that was a pretty spectacular view. When possible we would take trips on the train- I remember how cool it was to eat in the dining car. The waiters never spilled despite the unpredictable movement of the car. For some reason pancakes always tasted better in the dining car. I also remember sitting in the observation car.

Wow, I haven't thought about this for a long time. Really vivid memories.

Your dad sounds super cool.

[Teasing the Korean]

It's almost Thanksgiving.

Which means it's almost the day after Thanksgiving when we get a Christmas tree.

Which means it is almost time to SET UP THE HO FREIGHT TRAIN!

(I know this sounds obsessive, but if it doesn't happen Thanksgiving weekend, it never gets done).

[Van Basten II]

Thank God for the model trains, you know? If they didn't have the model trains they wouldn't have gotten the idea for the big trains

[Big Al]

I love 'em. Just love watching 'em. Makes me feel like a little kid all over again. Love going to see Christmas model train layouts. That's always a joy!

[GA Russell]

One of the few things I miss from my childhood is the downtown department store Christmas model train display.

[Christiern]

As a boy, the only gift I loved as much as my Erector set was the Lionel Trains set I received for Xmas 1941. My mother gave it away when I was 14, and I never really forgave her.

She didn't touch my Erector set, which I had received that same Xmas. It came in a red metal box, had a large electric motor, and looked something like this:

Anyone else here have an Erector or Meccano set?

[danasgoodstuff]

Thank God for the model trains, you know? If they didn't have the model trains they wouldn't have gotten the idea for the big trains

OK, this is funny! And then they go in the tunnel, woo-woo!

[king ubu]

I'll take "The General" please... but no model trains for me... would have to cut down my CD expenses, I'm afraid... and no interest whatsoever, not even as a child.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

Do HOs still "smell" ... that's an unmistakable and necessary thing for the proper experience.

[Quincy]

Do HOs still "smell" ... that's an unmistakable and necessary thing for the proper experience.

The engine does, especially if you run it too long trying to haul something it wasn't designed to haul.

[GA Russell]

I had an American Flyer train. My dad liked them better than Lionel because they didn't have the third rail and were therefore more realistic.

Perhaps someone can tell us why the Lionels were so popular. Were they the first?

[Teasing the Korean]

Perhaps someone can tell us why the Lionels were so popular. Were they the first?

Lionels, I believe were first (O gauge), followed by American Flyer (S gauge).

HO was the first train gauge that was truly to scale (the others were not, at least not at the time; they are now).

[Spontooneous]

Still haven't overcome that weakness for model trains. It included a fairly big HO layout in the basement of my parents' home.

Discovered later in life that I couldn't have both the trains and the records. So the records have taken over.

But my lifelong passion for real trains has gotten even bigger. And Kansas City is a great place to indulge in it.

[Van Basten II]

Thank God for the model trains, you know? If they didn't have the model trains they wouldn't have gotten the idea for the big trains

OK, this is funny! And then they go in the tunnel, woo-woo!

For the record it is a quote from the movie A mighty wind

[Teasing the Korean]

Well, the tree is up and the train is running around it. It looks great. All 1950s (and earlier) vintage freight cars, nothing from the era of the giant corporate mergers and ugly logos. The engine is a two-piece Great Northern, of the deco diesel design.

I am piece by piece replacing the cheaper knuckle couplers with Kadee couplers. Also, I am replacing the wheels with higher-end versions that use real miniature springs for the shock absorbers (as opposed to the molded ones.

I am very excited!

[Christiern]

Your post veritably screams for a photo of the tree-circling train.

[Chuck Nessa]

We have a part of our basement devoted to the remains of my father's Lionel collection.

[danasgoodstuff]

Thank God for the model trains, you know? If they didn't have the model trains they wouldn't have gotten the idea for the big trains

OK, this is funny! And then they go in the tunnel, woo-woo!

For the record it is a quote from the movie A mighty wind

That makes it a little less funny, but still...

[Dave James]

When I was kid, I loved trains. After I worked four summers on the Union Pacific, not so much.

[Brad]

Your post veritably screams for a photo of the tree-circling train.

Definitely. How about some photos?

[Teasing the Korean]

I'll have some pix as we get closer to Christmas. I'm still working out some of the details.