I just wanted to know if people still buy trainsets for kids at Christmas. I will never forget mine. Mine was a Bachmann F7 red and silver Santa Fe Warbonnet HO scale. I got it when I was just 5 or 6 and that still ranks as one of the best Christmas ever. Now that I’m 22 I just have a hard time telling mom and dad if they want to get me something goto the hobby shop and by some train stuff. They just still don’t seem to understand but I tell them it was there fault since they did buy me my first train set as a kid? [:D] Also I know the big department stores don’t offer to much as train stuff goes these days but you could list stores near your home town that would be a help to people who might read this tread. I have noticed some of the ACE hardware stores have started restocking trainsets in some stores.
Yep–got a Life-Like set for my nephew’s birthday (we can’t visit at christmas and his birthday is early December, so we just make a combo present at Thanksgiving.) He already has it set up, and will hopefully get a chance to play with it once his dad is done with it…
nope. i don’t have enough money to get any sets for my 2 year old cousin. i’m busy buying my own stuff right now. my mom gave my grandma a list of books and kits and calenders to get me for christmas so i gurantee A) She’ll get the wrong size stuff B) Some calender or book of a railroad i don’t even care about C) some cheap set with stuff i won’t use. thats how she is. or most likely she’ll end up getting me a t-shirt that will be to big and i’ll end up giving to my dad.
I will be joining the model railroad club in our area after christmas, my son can get experience on a large layout running at scale speed , etc.
I have taken him Railfanning with me since he was one year old. Since I don’t have the room in my home for a layout we go out on Sundays and watch .
I don’t have any kids…I’ll buy a set for myself…(the Spectrum Frontiersman…drool) [;)]
buying for my great nephew…that boy loves trains
I won’t be buying the kids a train set for Christmas - they’re 31, 28, and 26. I did when they were younger though. My wife last year bought me a Lionel set for Christmas. It’s all fun.
Enjoy
Paul
I answered “No” because my kids are grown. They’re also both girls, and I know that’s not supposed to matter, but when they were kids, the older one had no interest whatsoever. I thought the younger one did, she would come visit me in the layout room and ask questions and run stuff and listen to my ramblings. One day the wife told me that she came to her and said, “I wish Dad had a son so I wouldn’t have to pretend I liked trains.” After that revelation she didn’t have to anymore!
Now I’m hoping I’ll get a shot with grandkids some day. The older daughter is real close to getting engaged to her guy of 7-8 years (they met in high school). He’s more of a railfan than a model rail, but I’m hoping to win him over as the new layout begins to take shape in the basement. The daughter isn’t crazy about his “addiction” but I did persuade her to actually fork out the $$ to buy him Rail Driver for Christmas as he’s a computer guy by “trade” and he’s really into MS Train Simulator (I’m more of a Trainz guy).
And back to the original poll question, I got into the hobby back in 1956 when Dad bought me the almost “mandatory” Lionel train set and set it up under the tree. What a great Christmas morning surprise that was! The rest is, uh, history.
My wife found some (apprx HO) battery powered trains at our local discount store. Loco & cars on a card, other cars on cards then track sets on cards.
We packed them up as sets and took them to the Fire Dept… Every year they have a Grand multy scale display setup for all that come in with with a gift for a local child.
We brought in eight sets that could be made up as a figure eight.
So we got a free hot apple cider and a cookie plus a very good time.
Burt & Sue