Tom McComas was kind enough to send a review copy of their latest toy train video to me, the first part of a new series entitled “Lionel Nation.” It’s a DVD that runs about 65 minutes including the credits (which are worth watching) but not including some very entertaining and informative outtakes from their other videos. Tom McComas and his colleagues, most recently including Joe Stachler, have played a seminal role in reviving and nurturing the toy train hobby these last three decades or so. In the 1970s and 1980s initially by publishing unique and definitive collector’s guides, and in recent years issuing videotapes, and now DVDs of ever growing beauty and sophistication. Lionel Nation is one of their best, although they’re all worth watching if you like toy trains. And I should emphasize toy trains. While the scenery and verisimilitude of layouts are much improved from the 1949 Lionel showroom layout in this video, or the Gilbert Hall of Science layout, the layouts and subjects featured in most TM Videos are predominately of interest to those interested in and passionate about the collecting, historical and toy aspects of three (or two) rail trains.
As the years have gone by, the production values of TM Videos have gotten ever more impressive. Little touches like precise narration, use of a Lionel billboard to introduce each segment as a train runs past, selective and economical use of subtitles, and constant train activity, even during exposition, all make a cumulative difference. This DVD is visually stunning, leavened with humor, and captures the sights, movement, sounds and color that evoke the essence of toy trains. Only the odors are missing. The program has something for the layout builder, and the prewar, postwar and modern collector or operator in its seven segments.
The first segment is a motion packed, colorful, visual an
