Fond Christmas Memories

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f1_indy2000

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Any of you have one or several of those special Christmas mornings? I remember back in the 70's my sister and I ran to see what Santa had brought us. Oh boy to my surprise all layout on the carpet and ready to go was the Santa Fe tyco trainset! Wahoo!, out of the way sis we got freight to roll :D I recently found a picture of what I got and what got me definaltly started into Model railroading. I have some remnants of that original layout but none of it really works. I guess I was pretty rough with it, but got tons of fun out of it. Thats probably my favorite Christmas memory.
 
Christmas morning, 1959, age 5 - that's when my hobby 'fire' was lit: A Lionel set with a 2-4-2, three freight cars and a caboose, was waiting for me under the tree. Dad had already installed a loop of track on a 4x8 in the basement on Christmas Eve, all I had to do was take 'em out of the boxes and put 'em on the track!

That was probably my most fun Christmas, ever! :D
 
Hmmm...1974...age 6.... NYC 0-4-0 Dockside Switcher HO scale Mantua train set. Still have it today...the whole set and still runs!
 


1954. My dad and two uncles has been in the basement for a week and I wasn't allowed down there. They built a 15x15 Lionel layout with two separate loops with two transformers, one for a classic Warbonnet three car passenger train and the other for a 44 tonner pulling two high cars and a caboose. It had an airport with a rotating beacon and a water tower with a lighted bubbling water column feeding the tower. One of the high cars was a milk car with milk cans that loaded and unloaded at a station platform and the other was a stock car with cattle that looped in and out of the car when stopped at the cattle pen. The passenger train had a boattail observation car with working tail lights. I can remember seeing that layout first thing on Christmas morning and thinking it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. It seems like only yesterday.

Our family was not well off and it was many years later when I realized what an expensive train set my dad had bought me and how many hours of overtime he put in to afford it. I had the chance to tell him thanks, a few years ago, a few months before he died. His face lit up just like that Christmas morning. If you had a dad like mine and he's still alive, take the time to thank him this Christmas.
 
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When I was six, my parents/Santa got me this really cool Tyco car racing track setup. It had curves, crossovers, etc. It didn't work that well for me, but did for my uncle and his friend who were helping set it up the night before.

After 9 months of going back and forth between Tyco and JC Penney to get the set fixed, my father boxed it all up, and sent it back. He offered to get me an HO train in its place. He purchased a Athearn SW7 painted for Southern, an Athearn Railbox car, a Athearn Santa Fe Thrall hopper, and a Tyco caboose with the little conductor who stuck his arm out to pick up train orders while moving.
 
UP2CSX said:
If you had a dad like mine and he's still alive, take the time to thank him this Christmas.
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I wish that I could do that, but my Dad left us for his reward in 1964.

I had 3 different train sets as a child, the first was a Marx 027 set for the New York Central with tinplate cars. The next one was a Marx made 027 set with the Allstate name on it from Sears. It featured an F unit and plastic rolling stock. I still have that set even though I had to rewind the motor several years ago. I also have the Loco and one car from the earlier set.

Another Christmas I was the recipient of an HO set featuring an F unit, War Bonnet. I got lots of hours of play from that set, but I have no idea now what happened to it after we moved to North Carolina.

My most memorable christmas though was coming downstairs to find that my Dad had spent the entire night with an Erector set, building a ferris wheel, complete with motor drive. When I came down the stairs, my eyes just bugged out, I was in awe and I was hooked on erector sets. I wish they were still made, at least like the originals.

Just for the record, yesterday was my dad's birthday, he would have been 108 if her were still alive.
 
late 60s or early 70s, whatever, it was one of the 1st Christmases that the new Athearn dual-motor DD40 was available.....it was pretty expensive but Dad knew that's what I really wanted. I had to blind the center axles to get it to run on my layout.

I still have it but with a new body and rebuilt innards after some storage damage while away at college. and yes, i replaced the blinded wheels.

yeah, it ain't the greatest model in the world, but sure packs some memories.

My dad just passed away this past October at 84.

It will be my 1st without him.
 
Happy Ramahanukwanzmas or Merry Frickin Winter ;)! Just Trying to Keeping it PC:D!

My favorite memory is gettin a Tyco train set! came with a Tyco/Mantua 4-6-2 and several freight car's.
 
UP2, lovely Christmas story. really glad you got to tell your dad. THOSE are special memories.


wish I had stories like that. All my family ever did at Christmas was fight.
 
This could be the one....

Like many across our great land, I have had the good fortune to have many fond Christmas memories over the years. But I believe this one will go down as one of the most special to me.

A couple of weeks ago, while visiting relatives, my six year old nephew came up and asked if I was going to get him any trains for Christmas. I skipped last year, and the previous year I got him a small battery operated train. I never thought he would play with or remember that train, it was just kind of expected from "Uncle John" at Christmas. Well needless to say, I knew I had to get him a train. His parents don't have the means to purchase any extras with mom out of work and dad just holding on.

So I set out to build a small layout on wood, so that he would have something set up to play with and be small enough to manage. I had some new-in-box tyco cars that I had gotten along the way over the years, stuff I was probably gonna cut up for some project down the road. Some sectional track and four or five building kits and a decent little power-pack too. The one thing I didn't have, was a locomotive. There were no train shows, stuff on the auction sites is way too much due to overbidding, so I was stuck. Would I be able to this after all?

You may be wondering why I was fretting over paying a small amount for a simple set. But for us, like many others this year, money is tight. And there are some other variables I won't go into. But suffice to say, we have had better news in the past. It was not wanting to let my nephew down on Christmas.

So I did what I felt would be the best way for me to purchase an inexpensive, good running locomotive, I put an ad on the forum and hoped for the best. And what do you know, a reply came from a member who said he could help, and in time for the holiday. After a few PM's, the deal was struck and the locomotive arrived without a hitch, and is now part of a neat little layout.

I won't mention the members' name, or just what the deal was. Just that we should always remember to be kind ot people near and far in our daily lives. It is tough at times, and when tempers are short, but there are some very good people on our little planet. An, to me, in the grand scheme of things, that's all that really matters.

Yes Virginia, There is a SANTA CLAUSE !!

Johnny
 


Wow, that is a great story, Johnny. Your nephew will remember his "Uncle John" for the rest of his life. I don't know who the other member was but good for him (or her). It's nice to see that people still know how to help each other when times are difficult and that the idea of the real Christmas spirit lives on even today.

"God bless us, every one" :)
 
Thank you, LTF. Our family wasn't perfect either but my dad and I had a strong love and affection for each other our whole lives. He always did something special for the family even when we had very little money. He was an engineer and could build things like Ferris wheels from scratch with nothing but scrap metal and an old motor from a mixer. I'm sorry you didn't have such great Christmases. I used to work a lot of Christmas day shifts as a young deputy and some of the family fight calls we would get were really sad. :(
 
I never had a train when I was young & don't ever remember anyone else having one.
We lived in a fairly poor neighborhood & almost all my friends got used tricycles or bicycles for Christmas & that was a great joy.
My first train wasn't until I got married in 1959 & my wife got me a small train set to start a layout on our porch. I built my 1st layout from that set.
I still have one of the Rivarrosi engines.
Larry
 
UP2CSX said:
Wow, that is a great story, Johnny. Your nephew will remember his "Uncle John" for the rest of his life. I don't know who the other member was but good for him (or her). It's nice to see that people still know how to help each other when times are difficult and that the idea of the real Christmas spirit lives on even today.

"God bless us, every one" :)
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Thanks Jim,

My hope is that he hangs on to the story about how the train came about and of the generous nature of someone who was a complete stranger. I was indeed inspired myself. For just when you thought that those days were gone.., a kind soul appears on your doorstep. With times as tough as they are, and getting tougher by the day, it's important to step back and look to see what we've done to contribute lately. I know I have room for improvement. Don't we all?

I will try my best to capture the moment he sees/finds it. But it will be an image I will never forget.

Johnny
 
what a lucky nephew!

Since I moved from home, and don't have family living with me anymore, (FINALLY convinced them to get their own place!!!) I'm having the Christmas of my dreams this year.
got the sanctuary up and running, a wonderful open house planned for the horses which is coming together beautifully.
and, for Christmas, I'm having lots of friends who are also single and/or have no family to spend it with, over for the day.
Turkey with all the trimmiings, a lovely tree, and a day of eating, talking, lying on the couch, lounging, eating....

presents if you find something special, otherwise definitely not required. just, good company, and lots of good conversation. some will stay the night, others will go home , but everyone will leave happy.

think its time to start baking some cookies. :)
 
Sounds like you're making up for some lost time, LTF. I'd love to stop over for a cookie but cars from Alabama can't drive in snow. :)
 
Christmas in the late fiftties.

My brother and I had friends that had Lionel and Flyer "S". We were envious especially of the friend that had flyer. I just couldn't forget the white walls on the Northern and the heavyweight green passenger cars. I just remember that his layout seemed huge. We had Marx as we weren't to well off. Christmas that year brought us three Marx NYC passenger cars. We ran them forever. That was a great Christmas.
Wayne
 
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