My first train was an O guage NYC 0-4-2 made by Marx. I got it for Christmas when I was five years old back in the late 1960s. It consisted of the engine and coal tender, a box car, a three bay open hopper and a caboose. I literally ran it to death by the time I was about ten or so. Though it no longer runs, I got it out of storage and cleaned it up a few years ago and have it displayed on a shelf in my train room.
Lionel of course. Two switches and a steamer with about 4 freight cars and a caboose. That thing logged a couple thousand miles around the mid fifties living room floor.
My first HO was a cheap present with rubberband drive. Lasted about two days, and I went back to the Lionel.
Jon - Las Vegas
An American Flyer NW switcher.
Tom
A Tyco/ Mantua F7 set, still have most of it (the set) and the loco still runs!
A life-Like Diesel set.
In the house a Hogwart’s Express. For me it was Lil Guy.
American Flyer set Atlantic steamer box car gon and cab withe a circle of track {never ran straight ] From Santa in the early 50’s. Cox 47
My first train set was an American Flyer HO New York Central 4-6-4 Hudson with about 6 freight cars. Man, that train was bullet-proof! Talk about used and abused! I got it when I was about 8 and it got handed down to my nephew when I was 18. The smoke unit and “chug” sounds still worked perfectly. I know it lasted for years after that until my nephew sold it to a friend of his years later.
I can’t begin to imagine how many hours run time it had on it while I had it, had to be in the hundreds of hours, especially during the winter. It was the only train on my 4x8 layout, so it got lots of use.
I thought it was really realistic at the time.
The first one that was truly mine was a Tyco Sante Fe F7 freight set, in the blue and yellow colors. I still have some of it. In fact the caboose is right here on my desk.
But there is an old home movie (not video - 8mm MOVIE) of me at age 2 running the trains around the Christmas tree. Once a train nut, ALWAYS a train nut. About the only time I did not have trains of some sort was when I was in college and for about the first year after I graduated. Then I met a girl who’s father was a model railroader and I caught up on all the old Model Railroaders I missed in the previous years.
–Randy
Mine was an Atlas N scale trainset. It came with an E-8 a couple of cars and a caboose.
My father had a fairly extensive HO layout and complement of engines and rolling stock, but my Mom sold everything after he died (I was ten). When I decided to get into it myself I started with the one engine I had always wanted; a brass N&W Class J. I still have it, and it looks and runs perfectly. That was now 30+ years and many dollars ago.
I was about twelve, 45 years ago, it was an HO set, I don’t remember manufacturer, an F something and about four cars and caboose with an oval track under the Christmas tree. I do remember that it was rubber band drive.
I was 10, it was Christmas, 57 years ago and I got a Marx wind-up, Two years later I got a Lionel electric freight set with a Pennsy S-2 steam turbine. Later on I kept adding to it and eventually had an ABBA diesel Ipainted SP black widow, and an ABA I painted SP Daylight. Looking back from here, the paint jobs were truly awful! I don’t remember whatever happened to them. I have been in and out of HO over the years, and even did a fold-up wall mounted cork message board with an N guage layout on the back, that was in the early '70’s when the kids were little. Now I model GN in the Cascades circa '47-'50 in HO.
mine was on the sidewalk in front of Safeway, gramps would put a quarter in in and I would ride it and go woooo wooo wooo. Was my train MINE ALL MINE
My first train set was a lionel. I received it for Christmas when I was 10, that would be 1949. It smoked too. I would drop these little white pills into the smoke stack and it would puff away. I never knew what happened to that train set. I went into the Army and my younger brother had it at home, he was about 5 when I went away. When I got back 3 years later, the house was torn down, and many of my things were lost because they had been stored in a damp, dirty, dirt floor , no central heat, cellar. I sure wish I had that train today.
i was around 4 or 5 so 1959 or 1960 . it had 3 rail track in an over-and-under figure 8 , i recall the engine being very heavy so i think it was all metal and had a smoke unit but i don’t remember any type of sound , although it made a satisfying clickty click as the wheels went over the rail joints [:)] . tender , boxcar , tank car and caboose were all plastic . and i think it all came in a huge yellow box
ran it for endless hours until my brother got an HO set one xmas and we ran that combined with our HO slot cars for several more years until i figured out that girls are different from boys
somewhere along the way my parents asked if it was ok to give the set to a kid down the street since i wasn’t using it anymore . seemed pretty reasonable at the time , but now i’m thinking i want it back !
when i was 23 i bought an N scale set and built an oval of track on a piece of a packing crate i got free from work . didn’t run trains on it much though and after i discovered harley davidsons it ended up in my father’s workshop , i’d still like to see him build something out of it .
so now i’m 51 and i have 19 years worth of Model Railroader magazines here on my shelf i figure it’s time to start my model railroad . the plan is coming along nicely, my wife has authorized space in the basement , i just need a good idea for the main city/yard area and i’ll be ready to start construction
I had free run of Dads HO ‘trainset.’ It was a simple layout, and over-under figure 8 with some sidings, all Atlas snap track. This is was in the late 50s. His favorite road was the Santa Fe and though we were right next to the NickelPlate, as Kid I followed his interest in SF. I wanted a Lionel, and so he broke down and bought a Super O setup for me that I could run on my bedroom floor among my other toys. It was a 'work train; set with a Santa Fe SW1500, crane car, flats with an 8 wheel crane and crawler shovel., a car with a raising platform for ‘inspection’ a seachlight car, and a work caboose. I had plenty of track. Later, as a teen, on I went back to HO and my folks sold the Lionel. Now in my early 50s I once again purchased all the same cars and loco from that Lionel setup, along with LOTS more, like the famous Santa Fe warbonnet Fs with gleaming aluminum passenger cars. I enjoy collecting postwar era Lionel as a side interest to ‘serious’ scale model railroading. I still have some of Dad’s HO rolling stock, and remember the hours we spent together quite fondly when I look at it. Most of it has disappeared over the years before I got to what was left, but I am happy to have the small collection, and to have re-created the Lionel I had as MY first train. BTW, today we model in On3 and O standard, but maintain a collection of HO to run on friends layouts. HEY YOU DADS OUT THERE…Please iinvite your daughters into your RR hobby. My Dad did, and by so doing he gave me a gift of many memories with him and a lifelong interest in trains. I have met several women active in both railfanning and modleing, all of whom were introduced to trains by their Dads.
I bought an “N” scale Life-Like GP38-2 Conrail colors 6 years ago.Was going nice then and still is although not seeing much use now.I’ve gone DCC and don’t feel it’s worthy of retrofitting but won’t part from it,souvenir I guess…
My first train set that I could truly call my own was an N scale set put out by Aurora, Postage Stamp Trains, it was a freight set with a Santa Fe 0-6-0 with tender, had a UP boxcar and a Peabody coal hopper, and of course, a caboose, dad and I switched to HO about a year later, I do O scale now…[8][8][8]
My first HO train given to me by my parents in 1956 was a Varney Aerotrain, complete with Kemtron “Aero-drive!”