Vintage Model Railroads

I know people collect lots of things.  My cousin collected Coca Cola bottle caps from random countries and I once met this hobbyist who collected sweet wrappers.  There’s something special about collecting classic model locomotives though.  When you collect something that actually still does what it is meant to in the world it is different than when you take that thing out of the world.  So it’s not like you are just looking at them in some book or on some wall.  You can get just as much satisfaction from them as when they were first sold.  Try doing that with your stamp collection!   

What kinds of locomotives do people collect?  Here’ the large three:

Lionel [train|locomotive]s:  

We have to set the ball rolling with the large tuna, Lionel trains.  Lionel locomotive has been the longest lasting toy crafting obsession.  Lionel locomotives once topped the toy training community.  Baby boomers will remember the Lionel Christmas displays they saw as children. Lionel still has a cachet that most model locomotive companies would kill for.  Famous folks like the rocker Neil Young and the actor Tom Hanks have been long time Lionel fans.  These locomotives are such favorite items because many grown ups recall them from their childhoods when Lionel displays were often placed in hardware stores.  For this reason the whole brand is embedded in a sort of 1950’s nostalgia.  The fact is that Lionel was slowly being dethroned by other brands during that time and that most of us, like Neil Young, didn’t actually get Lionel trains as Christmas gifts only makes Lionel more popular now as a collector’s item.

American Flyers:  

The only model locomotive brand that can really give Lionel a run for its money is American Flyer.  Although Gilbert failed to displace Lionel with his S scale train in the 50’s, American Flyer locomotives are perhaps even more sought after today than Lionel’s classic trains. Many collectors will absolutely swear by the quality of these locomotives. The uniqueness of s gauge adds to the magic of the American Flyer brand.  They are so popular among collectors and fans that Lionel LLC, the current holder of the American Flyer patent, plans on re-marketing many of the most popular trains from this period.  Watch out for them.

Ives:  

If you really want to find a locomotive nobody but the true collector has, go for an Ives locomotive.  Ives was the third challenger in the Lionel versus American Flyer triumvirate.  An old Ives model locomotive is a real find.  Like Lionel, Ives operates on O scale. 

Clock operated [train|locomotive]s of the Victorian era:  

These toy trains from the very early period of model training are really a find.  These are mostly shown at museums these days but if you can actually find one, you’ll have a locomotive that is really a part of the creation of model trains.   These clock operated locomotives, however, really give you a sense of how such trains were viewed before model training became so popular.   These classic model locomotives were clearly made for young people. No plugs, no batteries, no electricity—these are wind-up locomotives in the truest sense.  They were largely purchased by the rich back in the day and that’s who can afford to collect them now.  They clearly had the children of the well off in mind.  These trains can really capture the imagination of another age.  These trains were part of the German obsession with development, and came to us along with kindergarten.  Both were part of Germany’s obsessions with childrearing in the early 20^th century.

There is great joy in restoring one of these old toy locomotives.  You could choose a far worse hobby.

Here is more information on Model Steam Trains. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Model Trains.