I didn’t really know my grandfather too much. He passed away when I was pretty young. But based on photos and lots of stories, I’d say Grandpa Abe was one heckuva guy.
Pretty much my only memory of him is a real minor one. I have a real vivid image in my head of me as a kid sitting in their NYC apartment. I was in one of the bedrooms on the floor playing with one of those old classic model train sets. You know the kind. Klunky plastic tracks. Super heavy trains. One big honkin’ power supply.
I just remember sitting on the floor and playing with it as Grandpa Abe looked on with a big smile on his face. It’s odd, though, the snapshot in my mind only shows him from the waist down. He just always seemed so much larger than life to me that I just recall him watching over me as this giant pair of legs. Which is pretty funny, because just like the rest of my family, he was far from tall.
I have no idea what brand of trains it was, but there’s a good chance it was a Lionel Trains set. They’ve apparently been around for 113 years now. And for good reason. They rock!
Despite being long in the tooth, Lionel Trains is anything if not modernized. I was recently asked to check out their new iPad app Lionel Battle Train. (Free in the Apple App store!) To be honest, I said yes but really wasn’t that excited to check it out. I figured it’d be some cute choo choo app that made me feel like I was Thomas the Tank Engine or something. So I put it off for a little while.
And then I finally installed the app this weekend. And tried it. And… well… wow. I’m mad at myself for not installing it first!
From the instant the game starts with a rockin’ heavy soundtrack, you just know this isn’t a preschool affair. To sum it up, it’s actually a customizable, upgradable locomotive shooter! As someone who grew up on Spy Hunter (look it up, kids), this game is just full of win!
Your train moves by itself by you control when it switches tracks to avoid obstacles and crush enemies. Yes, enemies. These robotic machines are following you on the track and actually shooting at you! You earn coins for completing missions, and use those coins to customize and upgrade your train! Buy more weapons. Add on another boxcar. Beef up your engine. there are just a ton of possibilities here. And for a free app, it’s seriously an impressive display.
What’s neat is that the virtual trains in the game, correspond to physical train sets you can buy. I don’t have enough coins yet, but you can see in the screenshot above, that I can work my way up to a Santa Fe engine! It’s a great tie-in to the entire Lionel Train brand.
I showed Lionel Battle Train to Jason and Ryan and not only did they catch on to the gameplay super quickly, but they loved it as much as I did. There’s gonna be a lot of fighting going on in the next few days. And not just between trains…
The Storyline according to Lionel Trains:Lionel Battle Train is set in a land that’s confronted by an evil villain, Dr. DeRaille. The objective is to deliver precious cargo to people across three regions: the prairie, desert and mountains. Each mission becomes increasingly difficult, and requires players to arm their trains with more advanced weaponry as Dr. DeRaille dispatches bigger enemy RoboCars preventing the player from delivering the cargo. In the context of the game, people across the three regions have depended on the Lionel Delivery Company for 100 years – and it is the player’s charge to ensure that the train accomplishes each mission.
Download Lionel Battle Train FREE for the iPad
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The super nice folks over at Lionel not only make a killer iPad app, but they’re incredibly generous too! They’re offering up a physical Lionel Train set to one of my lucky readers! You can win a Santa Fe Super Chief Passenger Set ($439.99 value), just like the one featured in Lionel Battle Train by entering the giveaway below!
Win a Lionel Trains Santa Fe Super Chief Passenger Set
(A $439.99 value!)
Set Includes:
- FT diesel locomotive
- Two streamliner coach cars
- Streamliner Observation car
- Three straight FasTrack track sections, eight curved O-36 FasTrack track sections, a FasTrack terminal section
- CW-80 Transformer
- MSRP: $439.99
- Full details
If you’re looking for more Lionel Sweepstakes, you can enter the Lionel Trains Polar Express Sweepstakes over on their Facebook page! One winner is chosen each month for October through December!
Giveaway ends on November 2, 2013 at 11:59 p.m. The 1 winner will be chosen at random and announced on this site. Giveaway is open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States (including District of Columbia), who are at least eighteen (18) years old at the time of entry. The 1 Winner will be notified by email and has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
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The first time my Grandson, who is obsessed with Thomas, got to ride on a train. He was so excited, it’s a great memory.
Train memory—Spirit of 1776/1976 train that went buy and we took lots of pics..way back then.
My favorite train memory is riding on the Crossroads Village steam train in Flint, Michigan!
in elementary school every year we took a train ride to learn about trains. I remember it being a fun day every year.
When I lived in NYC I use to ride the subway train with my grandmother all the time.
jofo120 at yahoo dot com
When my oldest was younger my hubby bought him a Lego train set…. He was 4 at the time and couldn’t build it, so being a sweet heart my hubby worked for over 2 hours getting it together and putting stickers on just right and placing the scenic pieces around for that perfect look. WIth a huge smile on his face he went to get my little guy to show him only to find out he fell asleep lol
He was very excited the next morning though when he seen it 🙂
My son going to the circus and his favorite part was the train we drove past on our way home
My 10 year old grandson and I had 5 electric trains going at once in my living room – Yes, we had to move some of the furniture. Great fun !
My favorite train memory is watching my dad set up his Lionel train set that he has had since he was a young kid.
I got to spend some time in Europe while in Highschool. We traveled the back country of France on a train. I loved it!
I rode in a train to go to St.Louis and it was awesome! I really had a good time and then getting to take my grandson on the train, he loves trains and the look on his face was worth everything.
When I think of trains my mind goes to the Harry Potter series and the many scenes aboard the Hogswarts Express. I enjoyed reading that series very much in my youth.
i took a train ride with my family as a child and it was really fun!
Had like 10 HO Scale trains growing up..
My father had a giant train set in our basement that he was always working on – great memories! Thanks for the amazing giveaway!
Riding a train in South Dakota when I was younger.
We had a train track suspended from the ceiling at the last dental office hat I worked at…it was so cool
I enjoy going to Day out with Thomas with my sons. These are great family events.
When we lived in Florida, there was a little diner that had a train track that ran up close to the ceiling with a train that went throughout, even passing through the kitchen- I couldn’t tell you what we ate, but I can tell you it was one of my girls favorite places to go.
We went to a train yard when I was really young. It had the old dining cars and caboose.
One of my favorite train memories is when I bought my oldest son his first “little kids” train set for Christmas. I think he was 3, and he was so thrilled! We spent most of Christmas day setting it up and then running the train around the track!
i liked ‘station agent’. i also rode the train with my girl last month!
My favorite Train memory was watching the train go around the tree at my grandparents house.
My favorite train memory was when I was a child and got to visit a train museum in Iowa. We got to go into the caboose and play for hours, we also got to blow the train whistle. Afterwards, we got to ride in a kids ride train, LOL hey I was a kid. But how exciting that whole day was.
My favorite train memory is when my oldest sister and I were little. My parents had taken us to the railroad museum and the people that worked at the museum would tell us all about the trains and how they worked and ran on the tracks. Then we would go tour the caboose and the front part of the train that was there at the museum and they had a track around the musuem and they would let us get on the train and give us a ride around the museum. It was so much fun and I want to take my kids to tour them one day.
when i rode the train at Springs Preserve with my bf 🙂
Two years ago we took a train up to a ski resort to go sledding. I loved that.
Trains and Christmas go together.
I love taking the train ride through the zoo my kids.
My favorite train memory was watching my Disney Christmas train go around the Christmas tree!
I remember watching the movie The Polar Express for the first time and fell in love with trains!
When we were in Pigeon forge we got to go up one of the mountains on a train. It was so beautiful. Loved it!
I remember having a train around the christmas tree
putting a penny on the track when we would here it coming
Decades ago my son worked on the railroad.
When I was a child, a friend had a relative who was a conductor and he would allow us to go on short rides on the train.
I remember my uncle’s train set that was put up each year under the tree.
Every year we used to set a garden up under the Christmas tree and I would sit for hours watching the train
I remember having a simple oval shaped train set when I was a kid.
brich22 at earthlink dot net
Our friends growing up had an entire room in their house dedicated to trains, including a train track set up, etc. It is one of my favorite memories of time with them!
My memories are still being made! I have 3 grandsons under 6 years old and trains are their lives 🙂 I know the names and numbers of all the engines on Sodor, I know what a switch and a buffer is too. I also know that Deisel 10 is an asshole!
I loved riding the train from Portland, OR to the east side of the state during our Christmas trips to family. Snow along the Gorge. Picture perfect memories.
I love the train under the Christmas tree.
I have a lot of great train memories but my favorites have to be when I lived in NYC. Going over the bridge at sunset was beautiful.
My fav TV show train scence was Breaking Bad, where they stopped the train and got the chemicals they needed and Jessie had to hang onto the train to close it up….Fantastic.
I remember getting a train for Christmas I was a kid and putting it together immediately and playing with it. I can still remember how excited I was that the train actually blew smoke.
We always had a train under our Christmas tree.
My favorite train memory is taking my grandson on the Polar Express!
Hogwarts train- would love to ride it
A train ride during the fall season! Beautiful!
We live near Crossroads Village in Michigan and I love to ride the train there. So pretty in the Fall of the year. When I was younger, I remember thinking about the people who used to ride that train long ago. Still do!
watching the model trains at Christmas time
When we were kids we would go see rge train display at Cincinnati Gas & Electric Building (know known ss DukeEnergy)
. It was 50 miles from our house. Two lane roads most of the way back then.
Ladyblueeyez1960 (at)(aol)(dot)(com)
I remember one time my dad got me a train for my b-day. It was a Mickey Mouse train and my mom said I wouldn’t like it (probably because I’m female) but boy was she wrong. I loved that thing!
My favorite train memory would be from just a couple months ago. My youngest is obsessed with trains so we took him to a train museum about an hour away from our home and rode in a steam engine for the first time. Seeing the smiles and excitement on his face was priceless!
My favorite train memory is from when I was younger and use to spend one day of every school Holiday with my Aunt Sandy, my cousins and my sister. One Holiday my Aunt took her son, my sister & I on a train ride around the city. It was really fun and the only time I ever went on the train right next to the Carousel Mall!
My brother had a train set which we both enjoyed playing with when we were kids.
My best memory, was that my dad always bought train set for me for Christmas when i was a kid, he would build all these tunnels and bridges for them all the time, I can still remember the smell of them to this day!
When I was five years old my dad bought me a small train set for Christmas and built a large table in the den to set it up on. Every year at Christmas I would receive additional cars and village pieces to add to it.
By the time I was in my late teens it was huge and the table had been added onto several times.
It was one of the things that he and I thoroughly enjoyed doing together over the years. And something that I looked forward to every Christmas.
jweezie43[at]gmail[dot]com
My fond memories involving toy train sets is mostly about Christmas. It involves family and tradition. I had one older sister and two older brothers. It was a family tradition to decorate the tree, create holiday treats and under the tree went the train track and train. I have one remaining brother left, and everyone else is now gone. Two years ago I finally sold off the train set which we found in my fathers garage packed away…the best pieces had been damaged so we only got $75.00. But I remember as a child playing with the train and showing my friends when they visited at Christmas time. It was in our family a very long time.
My husband, his dad and grandfather all had trains as kids.
Going on the Christmas Polar Express train with my nephews!
Growing up, I fell asleep each night listening to train whistles in the distance. Thinking of where they were going & how much I’d like to go to. I even applied for a job with the railroad once,when I was 18. As a kid-I would not have believed I’d get this old, having never ridden a train!
Growing up, I fell asleep each night listening to train whistles in the distance. Thinking of where they were going & how much I’d like to go to. I even applied for a job with the railroad once,when I was 18. As a kid-I would not have believed I’d get this old, having never ridden a train!
I love Polar express when the man is on the top of the train. and the ride when they sing about the hot chocolate
sibabe64 at ptd dot net
My great grandpa was a train engineer and he used to tell us stories of being on the trains. My cousins and I always called them grandma and grandpa choo-choo. They have both passed on but we still have the photos coworkers had snapped of him while he was working on the trains.
we had the lionel train and track set up t go around the christmas tree on the living room floor. Great childhood memories ….
By far the best memory is the little engine that could book!
When my dad bought a ride on train at an auction. Even though he never did get it going the excitement of getting it was huge.
My best memory is taking a train ride through town and meeting one of cousins for the very first time.
Taking a train ride to Chicago as a kid.
when I was a kid my dad built a huge track in the basement. Everything ran on those little tracks and we’d sit for hours and play
Loved taking the train from NYC to Montreal.
My great Uncle was a huge train lover. He had a whole room dedicated to them. I always remember going into this room and looking at everything…without touching 🙂
Best train memory is taking my husband to a train museum inside a castle in Germany. He had so much fun. It was like seeing a kid again.
Train in my grandparents upstairs attic room.
My favorite memory is taking my son his first steam train ride when he was 2. He loved it!
When I was younger, my parents took us on an amazing National Parks trip. We flew to Chicago and then took the train from Chicago to Montana. It was one of the best parts of the trip. The sleeper car, eating on a train, seeing the Dakotas out the window…. it was a dream experience for kids! 🙂
Riding the train at the zoo when I was little.
I remember my first train ride to Chicago. I was scared and excited!
we always ride the train when we go to DW…the kids love it.
My favorite train moment is watching and reading “The Little Engine that Could” story! It has such a great message and I used to love it as a kid and still do!
One vacation, we visited a safari park. When I got on the train, I hit my head and sliced my scalp open… it wasn’t bad, but it bled everywhere. After a trip to the first aid station, and an ice pop, I felt better… Funny, I don’t remember if I actually rode the train later or not.
I remember going on the “Road to Paradise” train ride in PA with my family. It was very nice.
I went to Kansas & back on a So. Pacific train when I was eight I loved having Shirley Temples w/ th adults in the Bar Car !!!!!
every christmas we would vist a family friend who had trains set up running through a christmas village
When we went to the Golden Spike Train switching station, which is the world’s largest switching station.
I loved riding the train to Washington DC as a kid!
There is a Polar Express Ride @Seaworld that we go on every christmas. Its usually me, my boys and my dad. It’s fantastic fun!
We took a train trip from Vancouver to Calgary on our honeymooon. It was awesome!
my parents set us up a train set around the Christmas tree every year
My son got a train set for his 1st Christmas and now, 7 years later, he still loves it!!
We took a haunted train ride one year with my mother in law, the kids had a blast!
Riding the train on a vacation with a group of friends.
I love the Train in Harry Potter, The Hogwarts Express. Now thats a Cool Train
My first train ride was when I was 18 and I was all by myself. I was a little scared but as soon as the train started I sat back and relaxed and enjoyed the ride. I want to go across the country with my husband by train.
Favorite train memory is when we went on the Polar Express at Edville Railroad.
I remember my parents taking me to see my grandparents on a train when I was little and how cool it was to sit and watch the towns go by!
My dad worked for the railroad, so every Christmas we had a huge train track set up around the Christmas tree.
I think my favorite train memory involved me and my Grandpa setting up his train set around the tree when I was 4 or so.
We took our parents on a train ride in CO that we will always remember. It was snowing and just magical in an open train ride.
I loved riding the train at the zoo when I was little girl.
My father in law sets ups a lionel village around the Christmas tree every year. The kids love it even though they are teenagers!
We went to see the #4449 which was the Freedom train in the 70’s.
When I was a kid my dad would get his trains out and set them up around the Christmas tree.
I miss being a kid waking up on Sat. or Sun. mornings listening to the sound of the train whistle as it went through.
Train tracks and trains taking over the floor Christmas morning.
My favorite train memory is when my family and I went to a park for Christmas and rode mini trains that went around a lake! 🙂
My favorite train memory is a wooden toy train that I played with when I was little and was able to pass down to my son
setting up the train at christmas time
I remember going on a haunted train ride! It was a lot of fun!
My dad collected trains his whole life. I remember watching him paint them when I was little. I thought it was the neatest thing.
I have a ton of great train memories since I have 2 boys that are train fanatics, but the most memorable one was of waking up in a PA hotel to the blast of a train horn and watching a 100+ car train pass by while my 2 year old screamed excitedely “CHOO CHOO -CHOO CHOO” the whole time !
My favorite train memory is taking my nephew Jiovanni to a train show at the convention center in St. Louis. It was huge. We had so much fun.
Riding the train to D.C. when I was younger! Loved waving to the people!!!!!!!!!
Loved seeing a train around the Christmas tree .
We used to have a mini train at a park in town. I loved riding it.
I remember taking my son to Griffith Park in southern California to ride the miniature train. So much fun!
When the kids were little we took a train ride up the cog railroad at Mount Washington in New Hampshire. It was a really cool experience to be on a coal operated railway and when we got to the top, we were in the clouds. It was a great experience. Thanks for the awesome giveaway opportunity. Keep up the terrific blogging.
Playing with my brothers and their trains….
When my little girl first heard a train whistle on a set I set up for christmas.
Loved watching brother-in-law play with his trains when he was little.
Wine train in Napa Valley. 🙂
I liked going on train rides
When I was little we used to take the train into the city every Christmas to go shopping and out for a special lunch.
I remember getting on the Knotts berry farm train as a little girl and being freaked out by the actors pretending to rob the train.
My favorite train memory would have to be watching my son play with his Thomas trains. Or his first train ride (at the Fort Worth Zoo) he just kept yelling “CHOO CHOO” at the top of his lungs lol
A train ride I took as a kid.
My favorite train memory is when my family went to visit a life-sized Thomas the Train Engine exhibit.
I remember many happy moments from my childhood, on the D train in the Bronx, seeing homeless men (we used to call them “bums” back in the dim, dead ’60’s), flash me. It was an eye opener, to say the least. (Not to mention a fly opener, I suppose).
Taking my granddaughter to the “Day Out With Thomas” experience. My husband loves trains so being able to see how excited she was about trains was great.
Around Christmas the whole downtown area used to look like a winter wonderland. One of my favorite parts was the train window display outside the big department store.
going to my uncles home and seeing his train collection!
i loved in Home Alone (the movie) when the little boy put cardboard people on a train so as it moved it would look from the outside like there were people walking around to robbers.
Years ago, my mom took us on a train from Fort Smith, Arkansas to Dallas, Texas to see her dad. I will never forget that one and only ride on a passenger train. I still remember it!
Up until a couple of weeks ago, I would have said seeing the Christmas Train come into town when I was in college. I was at my boyfriend’s (now husband) fraternity, and we heard Christmas music playing and it was moving. We went to see what was going on. Then we saw Christmas lights…on a train. We all took off running after it, and found where it stopped. So cool! They even gave us coloring books. They had to be shocked to see a group of college kids excitedly running after them. Lol!
My new favorite train memory came from taking my almost year old son on our zoo train. He loved it! He stood in my lap, just quivering with excitement. He pointed out every tree to me along the wooded trail, and even waved to strangers. He is a naturally happy little guy, but that is the most excited I have seen him!
Thanks!
Riding the train at the zoo.
My son used to be in love with Thoms the Train when he was little =(
Anything with trains just fascinated him. Good memories =)
Trains have been loved by several generations of my family.
I have just always love riding in trains. They’re amazing!
I remember as a kid playing with my brothers train set, he always set it up around Christmas time. I really miss him he hasn’t been with us for 2 years now.
When my grandson was about 2 and very much into Thomas the Train, my Mom, my daughter, granddaughter, grandson and myself took a local train ride. It was so much fun watching our grandchildren in awe.
Trains will always remind me of Christmas! We would always set it up to go around the presents. 🙂
When I was 9 or 10 my aunt took me to stay at her apartment in Chicago and we took the train. It’s the only time I’ve ever been on a train and it was so exciting!!
I remember my cousin having a train that really smoked and I thought that was cool, but I wasn’t allowed to play with it. I’d love to win this for me, my husband and son!
hogwarts train is the best! i love harry potter
I love trains.
When we were kids my brother and I built a landscape and city for his toy train. It was so fun putting together all the model buildings.
I saved money and bought my father a train set for Christmas. As the oldest of six children, he often went without Christmas gifts and always wanted a train set. The look of joy on his face when as he opened the gift is my favorite memory!
When i was a kid at disneyworld riding the train around the magic kingdom
I rode by train only once… So that’s the only happy thing about trains I had :D, but I liked to watch scenery a .
I remember going into New York City in December and seeing a massive train set in the middle of the lobby of a department store amidst a cornucopia of holiday decorations. Wow!
I remember when I was a lot younger my dad had a train set up in the basement and we used to go down and play with it all the time.
the model train my cousins always set up to circle their tree at Christmas. beautiful!
Doing our Christmas train garden in the basement.
My dad used to have a model train out in the garage. It was such fun to go out in the garage, especially around the holidays, when he set it up on this giant green board. Even though the concrete floor was SO cold out there!
My absolutely fave toy train is our New Bright Christmas train. We have collected all of the cars.
When I was 10 years old, I took a train across the length of Greece. It was such an amazing experience to feel the rails beneath my feet!
My memory is riding the Essex Steam train and seeing the Fall colors along the way. Than hoping onto the boat that went down the CT River.
I think my favorite memory is going to the National Toy Train Museum with my kids and seeing the joy on their face on seeing all the old trains. And of course all of the train rides we go on with them! They love trains!
We gave a train set away to a needy child at a garage sale last year..so that was my best train memory!
I remember taking my son to see Thomas the Train in St. Thomas for the first time.
My older brother had a Lionel Train given to him by a Santa Fe engineer.
I’ve never been on a train or anything. I’ve always wanted to go on a train trip, though. There’s just something nostalgic about it.
We took our grandson to Tweetie Railroad to see & ride Thomas The Train, he was so excited.
I will always remember the warm feelings my family received while watching Polar Express. What a wonderful movie.
I’d have to say my favorite train memory is when I went to Tweetsie Railroad as a kid. Sooo much fun! Riding through the old Western towns watching all the cowboy and Indian fights. . . but the best part was the constant chug, chug, chugging. . . the lurching and the swaying with the crisp air blowing full into my face. . . it was the best!
Taking my nephews to the Thomas the train event.
Thanks for the chance.
mogrill12@gmail.com
Setting up my train set with my father around the Christmas tree!
My favorite train memories are all about my train obsessed son…so many memorable moments but it would probably come down to either Day Out With Thomas, a dream come true for him…or our cross country trip-just me and him- via Amtrak, which we made 3 times…such a fun experience and one I highly recommend for all train fans!!
We used to ride the train at Crossroads Village as a child. I loved it!!
I remember every Christmas, when I was a child, having 3 or 4 different kinds of scenes on a large section of plywood, covered with cotton with a train,complete with homemade tunnels going around the various scenes. I did the same with my children. What a wonderful memory of my Italian heritage.
I remember playing with my train set with my grandpa growing up. He always made it so much fun.
My grandpa used too get us all together to watch Polar Express and afterwards he would get this train set out that went close too the tree it was amazing
my husband becoming a kid again with his first train set up and running again
I used to love riding the train at the zoo
My husbands uncle loved Lionel trains. When I first started going over to their house they had a huge storage barn full of train this and that! It was jam packed full of toy train things, tracks, cars, everything!! It was so neat!! My son is showing interest in trains and I think he would really really love this!!
we live near a trolley car museum that gives rides along the river – it’s beautiful during the fall when all the leaves are changing
Favorite memory is riding the train from Kansas City to St. Louis when I was a kid.
When I was young a dear friend of mine had a whole village set up in his basement and we would spend hours playing with his trains.
I liked riding the train with my grandmother when we went into the city for special events.
My sister and I would set up our Lionel train each Christmas around the base of the Christmas tree. Every time I hear the brand Lionel, it brings me back to that simpler time.
I just love trains. We don’t have a local one any more, boo.
My favorite train memory was watching Thomas the Tank Engine series with my little ones….when they were little. They’re now 17 and 14 year old young ladies. I miss those days.
My favorite memory is going Tweetsie Railroad.
My Uncle Ed’s dad worked for the railroad…how fascinating to know about the past trains, the schedules, the way of life as a railroad worker.
Maybe winning this very special train could help me share the adventures with my family now.
I took a train from Philly to Boca Raton. It was fun but long. At one point I thought we had stopped in the movie “Deliverance”. LOL
My memory is riding a 22mi track on a coal burning train in Boone Iowa
When I was a young boy of only five years of age five my father took me for a little spring excursion one Saturday on Missouri Pacific’s Passenger Train. Our destination was Jefferson City, Missouri where we spent the day visiting historical landmarks where my father told me about a lot of the areas history, which I can still recall quite vividly. However the point that stands out in my mind the most is our departure from Union Station in St. Louis. At the time I was seated on the engineer’s lap while he told me what to do to get the train underway to begin our journey and I remained in control all the way through the city. Then we went back to the observation car where we were able to enjoy the scenery of the countryside. This was quite a memorable event for me!
Peace!
the polar express movie!!!
Christmas train — came out of the closet, went around our Christmas tree each year. Nothing fancy, but it made train noises and still they remind me of Christmas.
my granpa had a train set and my uncle sold it when he passed wish i had it today
My grandfather setting up his train set with village ever year at Christmas time. He had passed before my son could enjoy it. My son is a big train lover.
We rode the train to Richmond in elementary school and visited the Wonder Bread factory, among other places. Best field trip ever.
My Dad got Lionel trains when I was born using the excuse a boy needs a train. I didn’t get to run the trains until I was six, and then only at half speed. But I sure loved the live smoke of the engine with the whistle tender coal car going around our layout. As a teen the train moved to the base of the Christmas tree in a large circle layout. Great memories, thanks.
because I was a girl, my cousin would only let me watch as he played with his trains. I was so jealous
Our twin boys are absolutely fascinated with trains. We went to see them at Union Station. They were so delighted! Seeing how happy the trains made them is a great memory. X)
I traveled all over Europe by train for an entire summer.
A train ride with my mom and brother from Arkansas to michigan.
Playing with trains when I was a kid
Riding a train with my mom and dad when i was little
My favorite train memory is riding on the French Lick, Indiana train for the Murder Dinner Mystery Train ride.
Giving my son a train for christmas
Taking the preschoolers to the Transportation Museum and watching them enjoy their first train ride.
My memory is of reading “The Little Engine That Could.”
riding the heber creeper when we were young kids with my parents! It was so much fun and great memories
Watching my son play with trains.
My favorite store as a child used to have this amazing train that ran around a track on the ceiling. I don’t remember the store, but I will always remember how incredible that train was.
my mom would take from grand central station to hudsons in detroit
I remember getting a great train set when i was about 8 years old and spent years buying little things here and there to upgrade it. I sure do wish we had saved it for my boys now.
My favorite is watching it run around the Christmas tree for hours and hours.
Visiting the train museum as a child and getting to go on my first train ride was a fun and memorable experience. I loved the experience. It feels like you are traveling back in time. In fact, I loved it so much that we took our oldest son their a few years ago and will go again soon since our younger son is now into trains as well.
Lionel Train Sets first began in our family somewhere between 1950-60’s. My Grandfather bought the first set for his three children to put up around the tree each Christmas. Each year, as soon as everyone had cleared the Thanksgiving table, my Grandfather would start putting up the Christmas Tree platform anchored by the christmas tree and the Lionel Train. These platforms were small intricate cities that normally took a week to set up. Each year they got more and more fantastic. Many years the local newspaper would come out to feature his platform in the news! As his kids grew, they each bought several smaller trains from Lionel, but once my grandfather was too old to put it up each year, he passed the set down to my Father. From that point on, his kids would rotate who had the train each year. We had yearly competitions to see whose platform was the best, elevated train tracks, more intricate track routes, multiple trains & cool tunnels for the trains! Of course, whomever had the original Lionel train of my grandfathers always won!! Lionel Trains is apart of our family memories!
never been on a train, but I do love the polar express!
My favorite train memory is riding in a private compartment on a lovely train through the German countryside on my way to Trier, believed to be the oldest city in Germany.
My favorite memory was picking my grandpa up from the train station. I was so excited to see him. I can’t wait to take my daughter on a train.
The small town I grew up in has a train festival every year. They take the fire engines out of the fire house and turn the whole bay into a giant toy train display!
I remember setting up my first train every year around the Christmas tree.
every thanksgiving going to my grandpa’s he had trains in the basement
My son got a train for Christmas last year and his reaction was priceless. He is autistic and often does not express emotions but when he got his train he was so happy. Thanks for the awesome giveaway 🙂
Renee
fattybumpkins at yahoo dot com
My girls had a toy train that they played with often. They still talk about it to this day
My favorite train memory is watching my son play with his first train, Thank you!
I remember my first train ride as child five, the big wheels metal rails and the rocking of the cars
A Christmas every year when I was little my uncle and grandparents took me downtown to see this train set on display it was so cool
My favorite train memory … this is hard. Let me put it this way. Daddy has a website with over 10,000 train photos. He’s a “railfan,” as they call it.
My favorite train scene was from the Polar Express when they were signing the hot chocolate song 🙂
We lived next to a retired gentleman who collected trains when I was young . His basement was full of different tracks with buildings, trees, and even a lake. He was kind enough to let the neighborhood kids visit sometimes to enjoy them.
we have a train near us that gives special rides thanksgiving thru Christmas , love thinking my boys
This is just like the first train I got as a child. I would love to have this to share with my grandchildren.
My favorite train memories are watching my children with my grandfather and his trains.
We live close to a city with a train going thru and my kids loved trains and we put one under the tree every year. now my great nephew loves trains and we have a train table and play trains all the time. we are making memories that he will cherish as my kids cherish their Christmas memories
seeing my son’s face when we saw Thomas the train on a day out with Thomas he was all smiles and it made it so fun
Playing trains with my children.
the train from harry potter is always cool. the train from the tom hanks narrated christmas movie also.
going on a steam train with my boys on a boy scout outing
Playing trains with my son.
Playing with my son!
I love the train scene on harry potter & the prisoner of azkaban!!
Our local train club recently had an open house. We took our daughter and our twin boys. All three were beside themselves, in spite of the cold and wind. They were begging for extra rides and are already asking to go back.
my favorite train memory is seeing my son’s face the first time he played with his train
My favorite train memory was my 10th anniversary trip. We took a three day train ride ride to California. It was beautiful, romantic and one of my top five life experiences.
We had a set of those old, glorious, heavy steel trains…and they only came out at Christmas time to put around the Christmas Tree…great memories whenever I see Lionel trains.
I remember the old train set my dad erected around the Christmas Tree each year.
As a little kid we used to take the subway to get to our dentist. We always got to miss school and my mom would buy us a treat in the train station!
When I was little, my parents had a hog warts train set that would go round and round the tree every Christmas. It was one of the most magical things to me as a child at Christmas.
I remember when my kids were little we would go to the zoo and ride the little train all over the park. My son was scared the first time we went on 🙂
My favorite train moment was riding the train in San Antonio with my family this past summer
annabella @ centurytel dot net
My favorite train memory is when my son was 2 or 3, I took him to see the trains once a week because we had a year long membership. He loved it.
Great memory of riding the restored train in upstate New York. Riding through the cornfields and going back in time. Very nice.
My favorite train memory was taking the Grand Canyon Railway. On our way to the Grand Canyon musicians stopped by our car to play and on the way back our train car war robbed.
Visiting the amazing train town set up in a seniors community by us. The kids just come alive with excitement when they see it! It is really fun!
I love the train scene from Polar Express. I loved the book as a child and the movie was just so beautiful. I can’t wait for my son to be old enough to enjoy it too.
Good call Sara. The train scene in Polar Express is really cool.
My Christmas memories are of when my brother received a train attached to a sheet of plywood and set up in his room. I was almost too little to reach it so my dad would hold me up to watch. I was allowed to actually play with the train when my parents were with me…
I have wanted my own train set now for over 50 years!!!!
My favorite train memory is going on a train trip with my grandparents to visit my great uncle.
My best train memories are of my train set I had as a kid. I spent hours playing with that train. Then, unfortunately, it was damaged when my parent’s basement flooded and it had to be thrown out. I never had another set, but I still remember that one.
I was in Jr High School and I got to go on the Talgo Train when it was in Seattle. I walked through the train because I wanted a souvenir but I made it all the way to the food car and had no luck. I mentioned it to the man behind the bar and he gave me the button right off his uniform and I still have it to this day!!
When I was 3 years old my grand dad
Gave me a pennsylvania flyer lionel train
Set. I loved it and i still use it today. He
Was a huge lionel fan and the entire second
Floor was full of them!
Favorite Train Memory? My boys love trains – and my youngest was really ill (had strep throat so bad and the antibiotics were not working so well for him!) but we went on a REAL train ride in Duluth (after dr.’s approval of course saying he wasn’t contagious!) and it cheered him up so much! He still talks about his train ride and asks when we can go again – all. the. time.
when we were young my dad always took us to Edaville Railroad, they had a lot of christmas scenes set up that you could watch as you rode by on the narrow guage train
when i was alot younger i took a train ride for one town to the next. my granddaddy was the engineer and it was a blast. i really thought i was a big shot for getting to go.
My favorite train memory is setting up the train with my grandfather under the Christmas tree every year.
My sons love trains. One of my favorite train memories is when we surprised our sons and took them on the Amtrak Auto train from Virginia to Florida for a trip to Disney World. They were never on a train before and had never been to Disney. We didn’t tell them where we were going and when we got to the train, we told them we were going to just look at it. After awhile, we were sitting on a bench by the train and my husband and I told them that we were going to go on the train and we were going to Disney. They got so excited. Still thinking about it, I get teared up. This is one of my favorite memories of my sons.
We use to have a train around our Christmas tree when I was a kid, it was the neatest thing. I always looked forward to putting it up each year!
When we lived in California we took our children to the Railroad museum there and road the Santa Train every year. My boys are OBSESSED with trains.
We went to Abeline on a school trip and got to ride on a train! That was my first and only experience, lots of fun!!!
Hmmm, the train memories! I remember when I was a little girl, my dad took me on a train ride around the city. It was SO much fun and one of the best moments I’ve ever spent with my dad before he passed away.
I remember my first “train” ride at a amusemnet park I was about 4 years old. I remember thinking I was riding a real train.
love going on my first train ride with my 1st grade class it was so much fun.
My favorite train memory is riding the actual Santa Fe train. 🙂
Before swim class, my 5 year old and I often go up on a pedestrian bridge over railroad tracks to watch for trains. Always great when we catch one, especially when the engineer sees us and gives a horn blast. (Though my son likes the waving, the horn volume is NOT his favorite thing.)
Thanks for the giveaway!
Our favorite train memory is riding the dinosaur train with our boys
oh, my first train ride was a school field trip and i still remember how fast the train was while standing on the platform
I want this, I REALLY REALLY want this!!! I have lots of great memories as a kid with a cool train set, and they all happened on screen. Old movies (classics) have little boys playing with the trains around Christmas, and I ALWAYS wanted this for my sons…a train set in their room, set up each Christmas around the tree…ack, I really want this! So excited to enter!
Hey, P! I can totally see you getting into this with a train around the tree. Good luck!
When I was fairly young we went to the Black Hills on vacation and I went on my first train ride.
My best train memory is going to a place called “Sports & Hobbies” to buy extra cars, additional track pieces, and landscaping accessories before the big boxes wiped out most of those little, small-town shops.
My dad grew up with a train set. He passed it on to me when I was young, and now I have a son who will someday inherit it. Christmas memories around the tree, while working the train are endless!
I can remember when we rode a train during a visit to the Canadian Rockies. After that, I wanted to move on to a train, permanently.
i had a train clock when i was a kid, it had a little train that chugged around it.
My best memory of riding on a train would have been my trip to Germany back in 1970. We went along the beautiful country side, it was so breath taking.
My grandfather ,my father an 3 of my uncles worked for the railroad,,this isn’t amemory but a sad fact,,my biological father was killed in 1955 in a railroad accident while working there,,my mother was expecting me an my sister was 3,,but luckily she remarried when I was baby an had a wonderful “father”it was his brothers an father who was also employeed with the railroad so I grew up going to the train station an getting to be on the trains while in station,,which was cool
Oh, wow, Vickie. I’m so sorry to hear about your biological father. 🙁 But that’s wonderful your mom found someone and gave you a father to raise you. Hopefully you can think of some nice thoughts about your biological father when you see trains. Like think maybe he’s watching over you from the tracks and happy that you’re living a great full life.
my late father in law was an avid train collector. after he got sick his greatest joy was to sit by one of his ponds and watch the elaborate train set up he had built years earlier.
I used to take my son to Th Museum of science and history in Jacksonville to see the trains, he loves them. He would stand there forever pointing out every last detail of the train and the scene built around it.
I remember growing up and my dad had a train set in the basement. Complete with paper mache mountains and everything!
When I was a little girl my family went on the Skunk Train in Northern California. We had a wonderful time.
My favorite train memory was last year when we took our sons onto a train ride and the fun they had.
I took the Amtrak from Chicago to California as a teenager and loved the trip! I would love to take my kids someday.
At Christmas putting up my husbands trains from when he was a kid for our kids.
My favorite childhood memory of trains…does the song “Do The locomotion” count? It was my favorite when I was a kid.
Hah! Yes, yes it does!
Well, my hubby told me his father gave way his childhood set of Lionel trains without even telling him, John still can’t forgive him for that. I would dearly love to win these for our Grandsons, who would have inherited the trains my hubby lost.
Oh, that’s awful, Cindy! As a big comic book collector, I know the fear of your parents tossing out your stuff! Thankfully I trained my mom well and she never tossed a thing. Good luck!
I remember riding a train in the Smoky Mountains when I was younger and getting a conductor hat that I would wear everywhere.
I used to love taking the train with my family to Chicago when I was little!
My son had a field trip and we took a train ride to New Orleans.It was pretty Neat!!
One of my favorite memories is watching my dad set up his train set and watching it ride around the tracks.
Thanks!
As a little kid, we had one of those trains with the heavy tracks and huge power supplies. Whenever we ran it, you could smell the ozone it made. Then when I got older we used set up a train set around our Christmas tree every year. The train got destroyed in a move one year…I’d love to replace it so my sons could know the feeling of watching a train chug around the tree each year.
I know exactly what smell you’re talking about!!! Same smell as when you’d use those old slot racing cars too!
My grandfather was an engineer with the railroad when I was a small kid. One favorite memory was the time he took us to the rail yard and let us ride in the caboose—it was a freight train, and the ride was just a few yards as the train was moved for something. But we thought we were really riding!
Oh that sounds awesome! Even a few yards seems like 100 miles when you’re a kid!
One of my favorite train memories was taking my grandson to the Day Out with Thomas event! He loves trains and it was his first time ever riding on one!
My dad puts up a large train display every Christmas. He and my mom build the model buildings and paint them. They replicated the fair grounds from my home town with all the rides. It was very exciting when I was little to see it put up every year.
That’s too cool. Did you used to put small little figures of yourself in there to pretend you were at the fair? 🙂
I loved it when the kid sgot on the polar express
I love seeing a train going around a Christmas Tree.
It is so peaceful.