I am glad to see more about enjoying the trains, and less of the collections. We’ve all seen the stuff, so who cares who has it? The idea of the hobby is enhanced if you enjoy your trains. It’s all about running them.
Of course, I have better trains than everyone else around here. [:P][:P][:P]
First off, let me say that I love CTT and enjoy reading every new issue that comes! However, I must say that overall I like the older issues better. I myself am almost strictly a prewar and postwar collector when it comes to toy trains. The articles on modern-era and highrail layouts do interest me and I like reading them, but not nearly as much as I do articles about prewar and postwar toy trains. In the older issues, this really seemed to be the main focus and that’s why I generally prefer them to the latest ones. I liked the “wall of trains” articles, especially ones that featured collections with really fine rare pieces. But, as others have said, toy trains are meant to be run. I couldn’t agree more with this. Some of my favorite CTT articles in the past have been ones on collectors with traditional tinplate prewar/postwar layouts, which is the type of layout that I have. There were a lot more of these then than now. Other favorites of mine are the articles on unique finds that collectors made where they find a mystery toy train and go on a search to find out what it is. Again, past issues contained many more of these articles.
I’m a member of the younger generation (I’m 18), so I wasn’t around in the postwar era, but I know that I’m unique in that respect as far as prewar/postwar collectors go. I can understand the reasons for CTT’s shifting focus, but I’d rather that they stick with more classic trains.
Also, a suggestion for the editors of CTT. In the 90’s, you ran an essay contest entitled “My Greatest Find”, in which the top winners were published. At the time, you talked about what an overwhelming response you received. Why not run that same contest again? I’m sure that it would be a big hit!
To that end, I have a story to share. I have some train collector friends. In particular, a father and son team. The son turned 40 this year, and has always lived at home. Twice a year they go to York, and upon their return, they invite a bunch of us over to share their most recent stories and finds.
Visiting their “museum” is fun, good friends, food and conversation. Most of the time the company is the same familiar faces, but once in a while someone new is added to the mix. Most recently, a fresh face was added, a very interesting guy. He brought along a couple of new MTH engines for show and tell. Of course, I was the one most interested.
By the end of the evening, the new guy was invting us to his house, to see his layout. The day after Thanksgiving we went. More good food and conversation, with a slightly smaller group, but the father and son team was there. Then came the moment I had been waiting for, the trip to the basement. Of course I was the first one down the stairs.
At the bottom of the stairs, there were some shelves filled with trains. There were lots of cool engines to look at, but after a couple of minutes, I turned around and saw the layout.
It was great, it went around the walls, covering half of the basement. Four main loops done with Atlas and Ross track and switches. It had both TMCC and DCS. Our host cranked up four trains, and handed me a Cab-1 to control a beautiful K-line Santa Fe passenger train.
To this group of primarily collectors, seeing these trains run was most strange and wonderful. It almost seemed as if they were possessed. As for me, I felt right at home. The room was filled with sound and smo