Model Railroading > Train under Xmas tree FAIL

When my kids were little I purchased a Lionel G gauge set for under the tree, power was a little 0-4-0 engine.
As time went on, I decided they needed a bigger engine, hence the Big Hauler ten-wheeler arrived one Christmas.
Now 25 years later my youngest daughter has a son, Jimmy, and she asked if she could put the train around her tree for Jimmy.
I gave her the box of track and Big Hauler with two freight cars and caboose.  She called me the next day saying the
train keeps coming off the track and sent me this first picture shown.

She lives in Dallas, I in Tyler two hours east of her, so I called her and told her she has to have the same amount of curved track
at each corner (3 Lionel sections)  and the same number of straights across the tree from the other side.  Fortunately she understood
and fixed it per pic two here, and Jimmy is a happy boy now.  God love her.

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Thanks for sharing this little story of the joy of electric trains and a boy and a Christmas tree. --Kelly

Didn't know that Lionel offered G gauge once upon a time.  Learn something every day.  Glad you made a happy grandchild that could become a model railroader someday.

Great story. I remember when my folks gave me a lionel train set.
So wait til Jimmy discovers the 8th run, haha!
I remember when I did and I sure heard about the results.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

> Didn't know that Lionel offered G gauge once upon a time.

Lionel made a really good large scale Thomas set and a good James set as well. I gave a set of each to a couple grandsons of a good friend. The secret was to convert the Thomas set to Lionel's knuckle couplers. It ran better on good LGB track and they played with it for many years.

They also made a pretty-close-to-scale GP7 and were going to produce a four-motor unit, which got cancelled when Neal Young bought the company. I was very disappointed because I had three on order. No Santa Claus that year!

Forgot the most important part.

Jimmy determining if this Big Hauler uses Baker or Stephenson valve gear.

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That size train was made for those small hands.

A great start for that boy! Thanks for sharing the story.

Ryan Wilkerson
Fair Oaks, CA

That train looks like the Bachmann Big Hauler.....Lionel does have a G gauge set this year, battery operated with a remote.  I had a lady come into the store with some tracking issues and said let me test the cars on my G gauge track.  Cars will not fit, seems that Lionel G gauge track has a wider gauge than everyone elses G gauge track.  Go figure.  Why would you invent a new gauge of track and all the set G gauge?

Jeff Smith
Lakewood, CA
RailMaster Hobbies

UPJeff Wrote:
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> That train looks like the Bachmann Big
> Hauler.....Lionel does have a G gauge set this
> year, battery operated with a remote.  I had a
> lady come into the store with some tracking issues
> and said let me test the cars on my G gauge
> track.  Cars will not fit, seems that Lionel G
> gauge track has a wider gauge than everyone elses
> G gauge track.  Go figure.  Why would you invent
> a new gauge of track and all the set G gauge?

Agree.  Strange.

steeplecab Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > Didn't know that Lionel offered G gauge once
> upon a time.
>
>
> They also made a pretty-close-to-scale GP7 and
> were going to produce a four-motor unit, which got
> cancelled when Neal Young bought the company. I
> was very disappointed because I had three on
> order. No Santa Claus that year!

Curious what you mean by a four motor unit?  In some respects, the GP-7 is a "four motor" unit.

Rob

I think the look on his face says it all for Christmas.

PRICELESS ...........ENJOY!!!

> > They also made a pretty-close-to-scale GP7 and were going to produce a four-motor unit,
> > which got cancelled when Neal Young bought the company.
>
> Curious what you mean by a four motor unit?

Each axle had a seperate motor. Like the real thing one might say.

WrongWayMurphy Wrote:
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> Forgot the most important part.
> Jimmy determining if this Big Hauler uses Baker or Stephenson valve gear.

THAT made me laugh!  Great shot!
I have a similar shot of my eldest daughter at about 2 years...wide-eyed with awe.  Priceless.

HH

A few years ago Lionel made a nice looking G gauge Polar Express set. It’s battery powered with plastic track and a wireless remote control. I have one, which my five granddaughters (ages 4 to 11) enjoy every Christmas.