Somewhere around Christmas 1982, I found a large, flat, rectangle box under the tree. Inside was a loop of track, an engine and a handful of cars, and a coppery box proudly stating its company of origin: TYCO. For the next few years, I could count on getting a little plastic house, maybe an engine, or chunks of track as gifts for Christmas, birthdays, or any other time. When I was just old enough to be trusted to roam unattended, I took my allowance down to the hobby shop to choose my own additions to the sleepy little town that lived next to the dryer and the furnace in the basement. Sure, it wasn’t perfect: while I was trying to build a realistic small town, I found myself the recipient of such non-small-towny features as a Burger King, a carousel, and a Howard Johnson’s, but I made due. The fun part was running the trains, using switches to keep more than one going without a Gomez-Addams-pleasing crash, and imagining what it would be like were I a tiny engineer riding around in infinite circles in my basement.

Lionel trains, are, of course, the original and premiere line of model railroads. Started in 1900, Lionel trains were some of the first electric trains. At the time, electricity was a new commodity and electric toys were rare. Inventor Joshua Cowen came up with the idea, and began manufacturing electric trains without much commercial interest. As time went on, however, Lionel trains became a traditional gift for father-son bonding. In the idealistic image of Lionel trains, children bounded down the stairs on Christmas Day to find a circle of three-rail tracks assembled around the base of the Christmas tree, one lone train revolving around the trunk. Surviving wartime on military contracts and a cardboard version of their miniature railroads, Lionel grew into an iconic producer of the perfect gift for little boys. Lionel trains grew more detailed and accurate, ingenious mechanical features, like automatic crossing gates and cargo unloaders, allowed the budding engineers to fill their pretend world with all the trappings of a real railroad.

In the 1950s, however, modern technologies like rockets and jets took boys’ attention away from the retro-appeal of model railroads. The Lionel business began to falter, making the owners look at alternative ways to follow modern trends. Building off the fame of GI Joe and the ongoing Vietnam war, Lionel hired an ex-military man to help turn their line around. His solution: railroad cars that carried tanks, shot missles, and even exploded. Unfortunately, it was not enough. Plastic HO scale trains were dominating the market, and military-themed trains departed from the wholesome ‘dad-and-son’ time that revolved around replicating a bygone era.

The Lionel line passed through several hands, and was eventually reborn in the model of its origins: in the 1980s, Lionel returned to its roots, producing accurate replicas of trains, feeding those who desire the nostalgia of the large electric trains and satisfying the desire of fathers, who were raised with a Lionel train in their bedroom, to relive those experiences with their own children.

A number of companies began producing HO scale railroads, primarily in cheaper and easily-molded plastic, starting in the 1950s and gaining significant attention through the 1960s and 1970s. The smaller trains allowed more railroad to fit into a smaller space. This appealed to the train aficionados interested in producing realistic train layouts without sacrificing the entire basement to the endeavor…although some did exactly that. The even-smaller N-Scale arose around the same time, but never quite reached the devotion that HO modelers had for their small trains. Tyco was one of the more common ‘entry level’ manufacturers of HO scale trains, while other companies like Bachmann, Atlas, and Athearn each staked out their own claim in the market.

As a quick guide, train scale can be judged by the track “gauge” (which, incidentally, is one way real railroads are measured as well). O Scale, the one used by Lionel and other ‘vintage’ train sets, is over two fingers wide and has three rails, like those on the right. HO scale track is about as wide as an index finger, and N is narrower than the average pinky-finger. A larger scale, G Gauge, rides on almost 2″ wide track.

Much of model railroading as a collection focuses on usability: most model railroaders will not stand for isolating their prized posessions behind glass. Many manufacturers released limited-edition cars and engines, ranging from ultrarealistic renditions of real trains to stylized cars commemorating the Bicentennial or promoting GI Joe. Manufacturers and retailers lent their names and logos to custom railcars, the likes of which were never seen on real tracks, and appeal to brand-specific collectors.

Lionel, with its long and full history, is highly desirable. Original lines and accessories are rare in working order, and are much sought-after by those working on completing specific years or lines. Because Lionel has produced trains for so many years, essentially unchanged at the basic level, a learned eye is necessary to distinguish a genuinely antique train from a newer version or reproduction. Other manufacturers are collectible, but primarily due to the quality or a specific appeal of a particular toy.

Like many other boys, I grew out of my model railroad as I got further into my teen years. Somewhere, alongside much of the rest of my childhood, the tiny railroad and the various residents and landmarks of the tiny town are boxed up and in storage in my parent’s basement. Now that I’m a bit older, with kids of my own, I’m beginning to miss the ozone smell and tiny clickety-clack of a miniature diesel engine. This Christmas is right around the corner, but I can always hope that next year, Christmas morning will greet us with the clickety-clack of a train circling the base of our Christmas tree.

---

================

Gotta Collect? Then You Gotta Connect - Join our Collectors’ Community!

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 21st, 2006 at 2:26 am and is filed under collecting fyi. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.