Toy Trains and Victorian Christmases Past

Did you ever receive a toy train for Christmas?

  • Yes

    Votes: 19 55.9%
  • No

    Votes: 8 23.5%
  • No, but I wanted one.

    Votes: 4 11.8%
  • Still do. I love trains!

    Votes: 3 8.8%

  • Total voters
    34
I visited this railroad when I was in New England in the Fall. In fact I posted some pictures of it in the camp fire chat in my thread something for the railfans. It was before the railroad forum got going. I'm going to try and get back there when I'm up there for Christmas and I'll definitely post some pics if I do. It's a cool operation.
I missed this thread. Thank you for mentioning it ~ I'll go look.
How about this for impressive, jump to 5:21 in the vid and witness something magical, almost beautiful.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8grHpQAB1jA
Wow! I think "magical" is the perfect word. That is a gorgeous visual.

I like the sound too. I have a train-themed background noise video that I use sometimes to block out the noise around me. It's less severe than the sound in this video, but it has that gentle rhythmic roll.
 
Its great isn't it, next stop platform 9 3/4
First of all, kudos to your police for coming up with such a clever solution.

Second, I can totally picture this:

"We threw all our stuff into some bags and boxes and ran out of the door of the bothy at the same time as the train is coming around the tracks,' said Mr Cluett.

"The train is getting closer, we're running down, stuff bouncing everywhere, big smiles on the kids faces. It all started to be fun at that point."
 
"The amazing thing was it wasn't just any train. The next train that was passing was the Jacobite steam train - the Harry Potter, Hogwarts Express steam train that goes up and down that line."
Except that it wasn't ! the train was "The Jacobite" which runs regularly on certain days in the high season to Ft William and Mallaig, truly one of the great train journeys in Britain, or even Europe if it comes to it.
 
Except that it wasn't ! the train was "The Jacobite" which runs regularly on certain days in the high season to Ft William and Mallaig, truly one of the great train journeys in Britain, or even Europe if it comes to it.
It does state in the article that it was the 'Jacobite', WCR run it as the Hogwarts express, for some reason they don't market the original Hogwarts Express 'Olton Hall' but I guess that they can rename it what they want. The Jacobite has also been in a couple of movies (Highlander and Local Hero) I've had a look at the WCR website and they are selling tickets for the Hogwart Express even though its the Jacobite. I'm not sure what's happened to Olton Hall but I did read that someone spotted it in the Yorkshire area.
 
Videos were great...as a very young boy growing up in the Heart of the Anthracite Coal region...I remember locomotives belching black smoke pulling great numbers of coal hoppers to and from the breakers...one section of town was named smoke town ..as the heavy sooty smoke engulfed the homes in that area..
Can you imagine what it was like in Britain in the 1930s/40, Britain is only a small island but it had a massive rail network, smog and soot was everywhere, as far as I know we didn't use engines fired by wood, it was all coal. I never did find out what happened to the thousands upon thousands of tons of ash that those engines created.

Ah the good old days when men had lungs of steel.
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That video is lovely!! I have to admit I like trains, especially train excursions. I'm also a big fan of Amtrak.

What a great video! Thanks for sharing! I'm a huge lover of trains - traveling by train is something I prefer, if possible. I had my first taste of train fun as a little girl on Strasburg Railroad and their trip to Paradise in Amish country. It was so cool - I felt like Laura Ingalls traveling by steam locomotive! Apparently it's still around - https://www.strasburgrailroad.com/

And to get you in the mod they have a Santa Train - https://www.strasburgrailroad.com/christmas-trains/
 
I had a very nice Lionel steam engine model--very heavy, large and fairly realistic (except for the track sections). I don't remember if it was set up around the Christmas tree, but it was definitely set up under the tree in a circle pattern. My Dad (great guy that he was) had lots of other track sections already purchased for later, and he had a design in mind, too, for a layout that would cover the top of a ping pong table with slow grades and a tunnel and other neat stuff. We had a big old house and most of my older siblings had gone on, so we had plenty of space in an empty bedroom for my train. It was typical of my Dad that he had as much fun playing with it as I did. After ten or so years of enjoyment and other interests developing (cars, girls, and other wonderful pursuits), I gave the set to my nephew--my sister's son who is named for me. Her whole family was visiting that holiday. We again set it up under the tree late on Christmas Eve. The funny thing is that my brother in law was having so much fun "testing" out the train for his son that he couldn't stay off the horn and I think he woke my nephew up. It was one of those nice, full-circle sort of exchanges.
 
I had a very nice Lionel steam engine model--very heavy, large and fairly realistic (except for the track sections). I don't remember if it was set up around the Christmas tree, but it was definitely set up under the tree in a circle pattern. My Dad (great guy that he was) had lots of other track sections already purchased for later, and he had a design in mind, too, for a layout that would cover the top of a ping pong table with slow grades and a tunnel and other neat stuff. We had a big old house and most of my older siblings had gone on, so we had plenty of space in an empty bedroom for my train. It was typical of my Dad that he had as much fun playing with it as I did. After ten or so years of enjoyment and other interests developing (cars, girls, and other wonderful pursuits), I gave the set to my nephew--my sister's son who is named for me. Her whole family was visiting that holiday. We again set it up under the tree late on Christmas Eve. The funny thing is that my brother in law was having so much fun "testing" out the train for his son that he couldn't stay off the horn and I think he woke my nephew up. It was one of those nice, full-circle sort of exchanges.


Great story. Thank you for sharing it !!
Is it too soon to say Merry "Choo Choo" Christmas?

Respectfully,
William
c26-B000GL1EEE-1-l.jpg
 
Well, my family started out with Thomas...then Santa brought an o27 scale christmas train, with easy click track..now, half the basement has been taken over by a rail table...with my “boys” husband and son adding new things every year. I do not believe it will ever by “done”....

I remember my brothers having a wind up train than ran on a circular track. Train must have been tin, as I remember the body as being really thin..no idea what happened to that set.
 
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