Model Railroading > What were we thinking...(as kids)?

Ok, so my folks got me a Lionel HO flat car with a flyable helicopter load. You would wind up the pedestal on the flat car, place the helicopter on top. A track side pin at a location of your choice would trip a mechanism, the helo would fly up, hit the ceiling and fall back down onto the layout. Our layouts were more durable back then but still...  Bring that to an operating layout and see what kind of reception you get. (This was in the mid 60's, and yes I know, I'm old)

pilotblue Wrote:
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> Ok, so my folks got me a Lionel HO flat car with a
> flyable helicopter load. You would wind up the
> pedestal on the flat car, place the helicopter on
> top. A track side pin at a location of your choice
> would trip a mechanism, the helo would fly up, hit
> the ceiling and fall back down onto the layout.
> Our layouts were more durable back then but
> still...  Bring that to an operating layout and
> see what kind of reception you get. (This was in
> the mid 60's, and yes I know, I'm old)

I remember my first set I got at Christmas in 1962, a Lionel set with milk barrels that would self unload at a certain point and a log flat that would do the same thing and I believe working crossing gates although, not as dangerous as your chopper, but still fun.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/07/20 13:12 by EL-SD45-3632.

For a while, I had a small HO train layout combined with Aurora Model Motoring. At the grade crossing, the Model Motoring cars could easily take out the Revell F7!

TJY

I had an extensive collection of Tri-Ang trains (did they have this brand in the US ) when I was a kid.I had an operating mail coach that used to pick up and deliver mail bags,and an automatic hopper unloader.Think my Mom vacuumed up most of the scale coal over the years.
This stuff was OO not HO
Regards,DK

My brothers and I had one of those Lionel (center cab??) switch engines that had a movable drawbar that helped change directions with you hit the bumping post. So we set up a single stretch of track with bumping posts at each end and tried to go fast to hit and reverse directions. Yes, after a while we broke it. But then the following Christmas, the old man came up with someone's estate HO collection and we started a layout and were more careful. But I wish we still had those cardboard sided Varney box cars. Just for the memories.
Dave in Missoula

In 1964 I received a Lionel trainset for Christmas at age 4. It had a cattle car with cows that would move in and out of the cattle car by vibration. Might have had rocket on a flat car. Only way to remember would be to check old 8mm home movies. A few years later in the 3rd grade I saw HO trains for the first time and the looked so much more true to scale, everything changed. After that HO trains were what I wanted.

Posted from Android

My first train in about 1940 was a Marx tinplate passenger train that would run around the tree.
It wasn't much but it got me started!!

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

Yes, we "seasoned" model railroaders cut our eye teeth on Lionel/Marx/American Flyer.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

Thanks Bob, I like "seasoned"!

monaddave Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My brothers and I had one of those Lionel (center
> cab??) switch engines that had a movable drawbar
> that helped change directions with you hit the
> bumping post. So we set up a single stretch of
> track with bumping posts at each end and tried to
> go fast to hit and reverse directions. Yes, after
> a while we broke it. But then the following
> Christmas, the old man came up with someone's
> estate HO collection and we started a layout and
> were more careful. But I wish we still had those
> cardboard sided Varney box cars. Just for the
> memories.
> Dave in Missoula

Just "save" a search for Varney on eBay and every morning, you'll get an email link to all the new Varney listings.  Sooner or later, those old box cars will show up, maybe even the EXACT ones you used to own--and they will probably be really cheap!

Hope you are all doing well,

Allen Drucker

We never had the helicopter, or the rocket launch flat car...    we had an Athearn Hustler and a ramp...
Should have lettered that thing for NASA!
SR

pilotblue Wrote:
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> Bring that to an operating layout and
> see what kind of reception you get.

It's the difference between toys and models.

For the same reason, a smart parent waits until their child matures a bit before buying any $300 locomotives for the kid's train set, lest they suffer the destructive fate so many toys meet.

I got the O gauge flying helicopter car in a Christmas set.  Could be dangerous, but fun. 

Bob, you left out Gilbert. MY first HO loco was a Gilbert switcher received from my older brother.
JB

My two favourites as a kid of the 1970s were the Life-Like logging mill and the Tyco unloading boxcar. Ah, the cheerful zap and the resulting flying boxes when that thing worked...

-Jason
 

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