By Ben Marks — In the 19th century, the railroad was the Internet of its day, connecting people with one another and moving merchandise and raw materials across great distances at unprecedented speeds. In the United States, trains delivered coal and cotton to markets in peacetime; they positioned heavy artillery for attack during the Civil War. "Anything that ran on electricity at the turn of the century was absolutely cutting edge." Naturally, children were eager to play with pint-size versions of this...

Prewar Lionel Toy Trains, from Gondolas to Blue Comets

By Maribeth Keane and Brad Quinn — The first train I ever played with was during World War II in New York City. At the time we had blackouts because officials were worried about German submarines lobbing shells into the city. We would sit on the floor of my cousin’s apartment and play with the toy train—all of the windows were covered with blackout curtains. To this day I can still smell the ozone, which is the electric smell produced by the train going around the track. It’s like the smell of grandma’s cooking for some...

Robert Schleicher Tracks the History of Lionel Model Trains

By Jessica Lewis, Collectors Weekly Staff (Copyright 2009) — My dad got me a big Lionel train set when I was about 8. Prior to that, when I was a really little kid, he would take me to watch the train switching cars in the Burlington yard in Cheyenne, Wyoming. I played with Lionel until I was about 12 or 13, and then I switched to HO trains, which are half the size. They were more realistic and involved – you had to build them. You actually had to put the cars and the locomotives together from kits. The locomotives were made of metal, and the freight...

The Beauty of Brass Model Trains

By Maribeth Keane — We’ve been operating Dan’s Train Depot, which is the parent company of BrassTrains.com, for about 11 years now. We bought out a very large brass dealer about five to six years ago who owned the site and we revamped it. I started out as a collector and I still enjoy the hobby. I don’t have a huge personal collection because we have such a huge turnover here. Generally I fill up my display cases and then something new comes in that interests me a little more. I got into trains just like...

Train Talk with the National Model Railroad Association's Brent Lambert

By Maribeth Keane — The NMRA library’s original purpose was to focus on model railroading, but over time we’ve also received donations that have helped us become a historical resource for information on prototype historical railroad subjects. I’m interested in railroad history, more the prototype than actually modeling, but I don’t collect personally. I’m from Chattanooga, and of course we have a rich railroad heritage here, so that’s one factor, but I also love history. I was a history major in college, and I...