Toy Train Help?

[chanteuseCarey]

From the link on this link, I see that Lionel also came out with a large scale (G-scale) version as well. However, the Lionel large scale is not made for outdoor use. I have a few pieces of Lionel large scale and they are really nice.

The Lionel O-scale Hogwart's HP train looks very much like the Narnia train in The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe, and Prince Caspian films. Some day I'm going to buy it for a really good price, and repaint it- so our Victorian seaside USA East Coast O-scale Seasons Bay layout can also stand in for England at Cornwall in the 1940s.

http://www.collectibles-articles.com/Article/The-Lionel-Polar-Express---The-Holiday-Train/31535

 

[Foofoogal]

very nice set up chanteuseCarey. thank you for those photos.
every year when our children were small we would take them to a home that had trains and all kinds of toys set up. The man had the trains and the lady had rooms of dolls. Amazing gift to the community but not sure I would be so brave.

 

[Diamondback]

The 1/43 scale ones also work well.

True, but 1/48 ("Quarter Inch Scale" in archaic parlance) is bang-on--I used to be a hardcore modelbuilder before these $%$@#$%$ hand tremors set in , and my workbench is still piled high with half-finished ships, planes and things waiting for a moment of control so I can do a little more on them.

--Diamondback, dreading the task of applying car names and handrails to his brand-new 20th Century Limited...

 

[Sir Tom]

I would recommend a simple O gauge starter set from Loinel. I think the Pennsylvania Flyer set would be perfect for a twelve year old. http://www.google.com/products/cata...ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBgQ8wIwAA#ps-sellers
The set comes with a durable 2-4-0 smoking locomotive a simple power pack and Lionel's new track called Fast-track. This track has a plastic gravel looking base and is really durable when put together. On a smaller set like this it can be slid under the bed or hung on the wall when not in use.
The power pack has an art deco look to it and is basically 1940s technology older vintage engines can be run on the set though one at a time. The power pack also allows you to use accessories like gates and other track side animated goodies.
A simple set like this will allow for upgrades later. If interest is lost it can simply be put away where it will last for years. O is the way to go as HO and N are more modelers trains and are delicate.
Since this is for a girl, Loinel offered a pink locomotive and pastel colored cars in the 50s and 60s specifically for girls. Sometimes these locomotives and cars can be found on Ebay in working condition and would work well with the The Pennsy Flyer or other Lionel starter sets.
It would make a great birthday gift. If taken care of it could last for generations.

 

[dhermann1]

I think there were a couple other toy/model trsin thread started here. Maybe we could turn this one into this year's "Show us your Christmas train layouts" thread. This is really inspiring me to try to get some of my guys down around the tree this year. I love them and miss them a lot!

 

[Edward]

My big Christmas gift from Santa in 1979 was a Hornby train set... My mother insists that on Boxing day, Dad played with the train, while I made a train out of eggboxes.... Not how I remember it, but hey ho. The house we lived in in those days had an attic room that was our dedicated 'playroom' - one side had a huge tabletop setup for little brother's Scalectrix, the other, my trains. They're still all in my folk's place too, I believe. OO gauge, I think? Several of those did indeed smoke, an effect achieved by dropping a couple of tiny drips of fluid into the chimney.

 

[chanteuseCarey]

I have the repro version of the "girl's train"!! It was a bomb when it first came out, but due to that it later became highly collectible. It was reissued twice many many years later. Its a fun one. BUT no whistle!

Since this is for a girl, Lionel offered a pink locomotive and pastel colored cars in the 50s and 60s specifically for girls. Sometimes these locomotives and cars can be found on Ebay in working condition and would work well with the The Pennsy Flyer or other Lionel starter sets.
It would make a great birthday gift. If taken care of it could last for generations.

 

[chanteuseCarey]

I started this one:
A Golden Era favorite at Christmas- TOY TRAINS! Show us yours!
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=46061

I think there were a couple other toy/model trsin thread started here. Maybe we could turn this one into this year's "Show us your Christmas train layouts" thread. This is really inspiring me to try to get some of my guys down around the tree this year. I love them and miss them a lot!

 

[David Conwill]

What a great thread, I can’t believe I missed it the first time around. Last year, I went a bit nuts buying O-scale toys for my then-one-year-old daughter, with an eye toward her eventually getting a Lionel set when she was old enough. After a thorough admonishment by my wife and in-laws, I didn’t do that again this year, but given that she’s started playing with the O-scale stuff quite a bit, I feel vindicated, and may get her some more stuff next year. A Plasticville building or two, perhaps. I’m trying to keep it toy-like, and not scale modelish.

I’ll have to keep my eyes open for a TCA meet, that sounds like the ticket. I’ve always loved toy train shows.

-Dave