In the January 2008 article “Field Trip to Paradise,” Patrick DeMarco states that the photos of the Lionel Showroom Layout were taken in November 1957. These photos are of the showroom layout built in 1949 and dismantled in late 1956.
Jack Kindler started the construction of the 1957 Super O layout in late 1956 and it was completed for Toy Fair in early 1957. There’s no way that these photos were taken in November 1957!
Skip Natoli
Typos and mistakes happen from time to time. I was going through a new book last night, about the Chessie System, and found a few errors (engines ldentified as something they are not, ex. SD9-40, which was a SD-40, and there were more). Did this annoy me? Just a bit, but it is not the end of the world. This book still has great pics and a lot of useful info. Getting back to the article, you state that the layout was “dismantled in late 1956”, maybe someone meant to hit the 6 key and intead hit the 7, or maybe the author just got his dates mixed up.
I believe that Roger Carp edited the story and I’ll point this out to him Monday.
Judging from a comment on another forum, I think some may think I was making an editorial comment, but the author of the article is Raymond Crapo. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
The article is excellent…the date is wrong!
I’m betting Roger didn’t edit this story…he would have definitely picked up on this one.
It wasn’t me and Kent usually does the layout track plans and tech stories, so Roger is probably the fall guy, er, editor of the story.
In looking at the pictures of the Lionel layout, I noticed a 2350 New Haven EP-5, a 6464-400 B&O Timesaver Boxcar, a 6468-25 NH Automobile Boxcar, and a 6418 Bridge Girder Flatcar on the layout. These items were all introduced by Lionel in 1956. Maybe these pictures of the old layout were actually taken sometime in 1956 prior to the dismantling of the 1949 layout.
I questioned the date as soon as I saw the article and reported it to Roger Carp. At the time we pretty much agreed that the photos must have been 1956. Since then, I have done a bit of research trying to determine exactly when the Super O Layout was built. I’m trying to find some documentation other than the intereview with Jack Kindler. There are several things I still have a problem with. I do believe the layout was built between the end of December and Toy Fair in March, But I still wonder about the year. Was it early 1957 or 1958?
One reason I question this is that Super O track first appeared in the 1957 Advance catalog. Generally, Lionel has not produced the year’s new items until after Toy Fair. It is at Toy Fair where they receive the orders and know how well a new product is accepted by the buyers. This why we often see things in the advance catalog that never were produced. So, my question is, would Lionel have had the production Super O track as early as January 1957?
The letter that Lionel included with the 1958 advance catalog, (the year after Super O was introduced) states that “. . .we had only a linited number of sets last year equipped with the Super “O” gauge track.” This implies thatthe track was in short supply in 1957. So would they have had the track in January of that year?
I have also checked Lionel’s employee magazine, All Aboard, and Lionel’s annual reports. Neither of these mention the showroom layout. Although in the story about 1957 TOy Fair, there are photos taken in the showroom, none show the layout.
So, my question is - Does anyone have any information, other than the Nov. 1997 Ctt article, with regard to exactly when the the 1949 layout was dismantled and the Super O layout built? Surely there must be some other documentation. I hope someone can shed some more light on this. Thanks for your help.
Best to all,
Bill Schmeelk
Well, that is how much I know! I enjoyed reading the article and didn’t much care about the dates.
Now, that my head is filled with all “the important information”, I think I’ll just block it out and go “play” with my trains. [;)]
Bill, those are some interesting points you make. I just looked at T&M’s Great Toy Train Layouts book for dates surrounding the Super O Showroom Layout. All I could find regarding that layout was that it opened in 1957, but I did take note that construction on the original 1949 O Gauge Showroom Layout started right after Christmas Day, 1948 and was completed in time for the February Toy Fair in 1949. Would Lionel have used that same time format for the 1957 Super O layout? It seems possible that it could have, hopefully someone can supply us with some more information.
Sorry Skip, I took it as an editorial comment as well.
Either way, what an adventure for a kid to have.