Lionel's Showroom Layout, Part 1

Classic Toy Trains, the magazine for the O gauge collector and operator, presents vintage newsreel footage of the legendary prewar and postwar O gauge layouts built by Lionel for its New York City Showroom.
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[@rickwienke4234]

I remember a store in my home town that had a 6 x 12 Lionel train layout. I could have stayed there all day watching the trains. My dad bought some of those trains for me. I have them on my train table in the basement. I still enjoy seeing them run around the table.

[@lawrencefried5027]

in the 60s, in a small apartment, my dad got me a 6'x4' piece of wood from the lumber yard. We covered it with green felt and laid the tracks on it. I kept it against upright against a wall when not in use.

[@loulasalle5480]

I first saw this as a six year old in 1949, and i have been a train guy ever since.

[@OregonRailfan83]

Our Dad, took my brother and I there regularly. Once, my brother and I took a bus from New Hyde Park, Nassau County, Long Isand, to the last stop ion the E Train. The got on the train and got off at the right stop, picked up our repaired Lionel locomotive, and went to my Dad's office n the Chrysler Building on foot, and met my dad for the ride home on the Long Island Railroad passing all the GG1s at Sunnyside Yards, Queens. I forget the address of the Lionel layout, but the experiences were awesome. As were my later visits to Madison Hardware on Madison Avenue when I worked in Manhattan and rode the LIRR twice daily. Thanks for the memories!

[@MemoriesRR]

Outstanding memories. 😀

[@larryloveless2967]

My guess is this is from the early 1950s but maybe earlier. My Dad started building a large Lionel layout in our basement in 1958. I recognize some of the accessories. It was three levels and he painted cement for the mountain effect. We had a 1960 Santa Fe passenger set and there was a Lionel steam locomtive with freight cars along with a running maintenance car. The layout came down when I started college in 1971. Must have rubbed off on me years later not to be a model railroader but from taking weekend to weekend trips on AMTRAK to see The West. Thanks for this video on KZbin. Also great memories of seeing layouts at department stores.

[@prsearls]

This brings back happy memories. Of all the toys I wanted as a kid, a Lionel train was at the top of my list. I got one for Christmas when I was ten which started a life-long hobby of model trains. They were 10% realism and 90% imagination and were wonderful. I still have HO brass, 0n3 and two-rail 0 scale equipment although l’m no longer active in the hobby.

[@Dingus266]

what the commercials don't tell you is that it takes takes double the time to build the scenery than just to set up the train set.

[@Stussmeister]

I may be an HO-scale model railroader (O-Scale Lionel is a bit too big and expensive for me), but I can very much appreciate the wonder and appeal classic trains such as these had. I also remember my mother showed me a picture from the 1950s of her two male cousins playing with their Lionel train layout. If I remember correctly, it had a figure-8 track setup, which is also what I put into my current layout design.

[@ericmcfadden7800]

I love historical model trains

[@rubber20021]

wow! Simple simple classic... thanks for showing the remorbilia

[@simplywonderful449]

So even back then, at 1:17, they had crazy people trying to beat the train at a crossing!

[@TexasRailfan2008]

Lmao

[@Vinyl_guy]

A little part of me wanted to see that Hudson absolutely plow that car

[@emdman1959]

Very cool. love watching old Lionel trains run.

[@hankwretzel6442]

Definitely 1950's. MY brother and I as well as 2-3 of our friends used to go into Manhattan once a year to go to the Lionel showroom (on 24th street?). The trains were always running, but definitely not at these speeds, and the accessories weren't operating. But then again, I don't remember seeing anyone at the control panels on a regular basis. Everything was behind glass as I remember. From there we continued down to Madison Hardware to buy additional trains or accessories for our layout.

[@jaymorgenthal9479]

E 26 near Madison Sq Park

[@dieselelectricrazor377]

I usually bash Lionel but I can see the Appeal in Classic Lionel

[@OgaugeTrainsplusslotCars]

Spectacular 👍

[@jaymorgenthal9479]

I saw the 1959-62 version of the E 26 st showroom layout several times with my Mom and older Brother. You could bring broken stuff there and get it fixed.

[@lancesteel4594]

It's great to see an old American Company that cared about making an excellent, long lasting product, it seemed that today companies make products designed to break or fail after limited use.

[@johnphillips4342]

The old Lionel trains were built to last. I have 3 pre-war trains as part of my collection including my father's tin plate passenger train from 1939, and they all run exceptionally. Just periodic cleaning and lubrication. Today's highly electronic Lionel trains will not be running as well 80 plus years and you won't be able to work on them to keep them running unless you are knowledgeable in electronics and have access to the parts.

[@robertmackenzie1775]

This is great!

[@lionel0824]

Amazing video!

[@martymartin6191]

so cool!!!

[@sharkyfish3492]

this commercial it is our youth

[@modelrailpreservation]

Funny in a way, that people say the 1949 showroom layout was dismantled in 1957, yet the newsreel article about "Christmastime in the LIonel showroom" dates to December 2, 1957. Library of Congress is a wonderful thing here, got that date from them. Plus, according to weather records I was able to find, New York City was hit by some warm weather towards the end of November 1957, and the attire of the visitors reflect that too. Plus there are a couple pieces on the layout that were introduced in 1957. The radar tower and the 746 N&W locomotive.

[@ClassicToyTrains]

Thanks -- we should have part 2 up in a couple of days.

[@MrKenichi22]

Well, Toys for boys and girls.

[@user-mp2tl8zv2t]

Hallo. Very good video. Like.

[@ericmcfadden7800]

Cool

[@watchandreact1601]

Lol did anyone notice at 5:29 that light bulb go out

[@bakerfamily3]

Oof, yep I saw it

[@davidkoehler136]

The Lionel race track

[@arnoldberk7686]

They could have any Lionel product they wanted for their layout, all they had to do was cross the Hudson unless they had an inventory at the showroom. I understand that their were repairs done there.

[@nolanjustus2215]

I made it 100 likes :) good video!

[@bluecomet9072]

1:56 lucky no one was hurt

[@johnjeanb]

Thank you for this great video which brings back memories of the Lionel museum in Sarasota (Florida), sadly now closed for quite some time. What is this introduction music you play please?

[@billsalvey]

that little toy car almost bought it.

[@ClassicToyTrains]

It didn't miss by much!

[@SJTYSKA]

how did it move on its own?

[@cam_worrior]

dude really its on a controller are you really that dumb?

[@dbluepickle40]

@@SJTYSKA This comment is 2 years old so you'll probably never see this reply, but here it goes. The toy car is probably a windup. Also cam_worrior2007 there is no need to be rude.

[@neilblumberg3341]

Most of the footage appears to be from the 1950s. Many years before MTH and Mike Wolf existed :).

[@bobbybrooks4826]

You think it's many years before Wolf existed huh.... Please tell me your not math major

[@neilblumberg3341]

@@bobbybrooks4826 Mike Wolf wasn’t born until 1961. Not a math major but I can add.🥳

[@bobbybrooks4826]

@@neilblumberg3341 which still puts him in range... There's nothing Godly scared etched in stone culturally or historically when someone blurts out " the 50s",. He wasn't SOOOOO far removed from all that ,, HE wasn't only playing Nintendo computer games during his childhood ...... THIS WAS THE POINT .... THE POINT IS that your wrong in your attempt at TRYING TO ACT SMART by SAYING HE CAME ALONG well AFTER THE TIME OF BIG ELECTRIC TRAIN POPULARITY BUT NONETHELESS STILL LOVED TRAINS!!!!... YOUR WRONG ON THAT COUNT AS FAR AS THE CONVERSATION HERE GOES... DON'T MESS WITH YOUR BETTERS JUNIOR.

[@neilblumberg3341]

@@bobbybrooks4826 Right. You are so right. Mike Wolf got into toy trains about 1980, which is three decades or so later. He definitely was heavily involved in these videos :). Let's do the time warp again. Or not.

[@bobbybrooks4826]

See The Little girl pushing away the old coot with his arm around her.

[@robbieyh]

Great video . Any of you train collectors know if any train manufacture will build the New Hope Ivyland train that's in Pennsylvania? Thanks

[@chriswright8464]

Made in NJ.

[@arielfilmsinc1926]

shows aalmost all layouts except the first and the Super O one That was 1958

[@ericmcfadden7800]

That was historical

[@richardthomas1566]

These trains might have functioned like the video for the first week but from their it was down hill.

1:18 700e abuse! If someone saw me running one like that they'd scream in horror.

1:54 almost 2 years later and watching that 700e take a nasty fall still makes me cringe

[@dylanhale7300]

KnexPäerdz it's on foam, I'm sure it was fine! hell they probably boxed it up and sold it the next day!

I kinda doubt they used foam in the late 30s - it looks like hard plaster but what do i know?

[@SJTYSKA]

Doesnt look like a 700e to me, most likely a 226e. You can see prewar style trucks with journals on the tender and the cars in that set were too small for a 700e

[@markmccummins8049]

KnexPäerdz: there was foam in the ‘30s. Pincore, a natural resin from trees. It would easily have cushioned that 226E.

[@bitesizedcreations8020]

What song is that at the beginning please tell me

[@sudriansignalman9387]

3:00, hold up, that was either a girls set or boy's set, never thought they ran on the showroom layouts

[@goldenmanuever1176]

Your right and wrong. At 15 E 26th the 16x32 main layout that everyone knows was also accompanied by a smaller 6x14 layout on the other end. You are seeing that corner layout which some called the "island layout" in some of this footage.

[@floridianrailauto9032]

Pretty sad to think that a lot of these kids are old men now

[@brt987train]

Yep I agree I've been going to train shows I'm in my late sixties and I feel like a kid at the train shows cuz I'm one of the younger ones

[@bunn_7215]

Did anybody notice the consist in daylight colors at 3:42

[@eddiecarlcalhoun]

Who is the Boy in the last several minutes of the video...he's very familiar as an actor to me....

[@jerrylisiakowski6146]

The boy in the vintage toy train video played Danny Thomas's son "Rusty" in "Make Room for Daddy" back in the 1950's and 1960's. Sadly he killed himself back in 1990 at the age of 42!

[@eddiecarlcalhoun]

I THOUGHT THAT WAS HIM....

[@daveygivens735]

6:39 How in the world did they get that shot?

[@watchandreact1601]

At 0:34 anyone know the number of the signal with the bell on it?

[@bliesberg]

Lionel No. 79 crossing signal.

[@dbluepickle40]

That is a Lionel No. 79 crossing signal. It never came with the bells seen in the video. The bells were added on by whoever built the showroom layout. They come from the Lionel No. 69 crossing sign, and ring constantly when activated (not the typical ding ding ding of a real railroad crossing).

[@rayszymarek2920]

Put it this way and get to the Point. Boys and Girls did ask for trains for Christmas. Absolutely. Reason Why? Create your own layouts be artistic. Make your train layout your artistic display. Today you have Electronics Electronics and more Electric Games. Kids stayed glued to the computer games. No communication no talking no imagination. They let the electric computer games dictate what they have to do and abide by the computers directions. You cant change it face it like it or not. Kids just don't want to start train collections like they used to????????

[@bliesberg]

Trains are quite a bit more expensive nowadays than they have ever been. There are plenty of children out there interested in model railroading, but the cost of a cheap set now is ridiculous! In the past 15 years the price has skyrocketed. Also I wouldn't say that videogames or electronics remove communication or imagination, just offer it in a different way... I imagine people felt the same way about these electric trains "Back in my day we had to pull our trains around with a string! none of this new fangled automatic switches and E units!".

[@dbluepickle40]

@@bliesberg Yes indeed. It is worth mentioning that lot of the older postwar stuff is generally cheaper (and reliable). Although, I doubt kids and parents would want to spend the time hunting that stuff down.

[@JAILRail]

What is the opening theme called?

[@ClassicToyTrains]

+JacksonAndLansing Railroad Thanks for watching -- the opening theme is called "Vintage News" and it is one of the musical pieces included with Apple movie editing software.

[@JAILRail]

ClassicToyTrains Thank you.

[@loveoldmovies]

The trains were running way too fast to be realistic and look very toy like. I suppose that's what the kids wanted

[@99ize18]

Yeah, like kids had any say. They got what they were given (or not).

[@williamschlenger1518]

loveoldmovies That's all the technology technology available at that time.I tried so hard to slow mine down but they would just stop🤣

[@MrKenichi22]

Just Australian Railfanning Yes

[@MrKenichi22]

Well it was like this, They were brightly colored and brass like pre 1946. So by the late 1940’s up to the early 1960’s they were molded to look like real trains. They got unrealistic again when they were trying to turn model trains into G.I.Joe like toys. (though I don’t think kids cared about war with their model trains, rather the action and fun).

[@brt987train]

That was part of the fun race in the trains but now I'm older and I run them as slow as can be I've had them since 1966 on my N gauge and about the same for my HO but it's still fun to race him once in awhile

[@SJTYSKA]

3:42 doesnt look like a lionel model I know of? May even be 2-rail O scale or HO

[@dexecuter18]

Think thats American Flyer S scale. Owned by Lionel, they made the more realistic models at a slightly smaller scale and obviously 2 Rail.

[@SJTYSKA]

dexecuter18 Lionel didn't purchase American Flyer until 1967. Before that, they were owned by AC gilbertco.

[@markmccummins8049]

Model Railroader could have injected that little clip when they edited this.

[@bliesberg]

4:07 how old do they think dad is?

[@rashadyudhanegara4637]

Why the music is troll?

[@rashadyudhanegara4637]

Could you get like Amadeus Mozart?

[@richardgordon8110]

NOT ANYMORE. MAYBE IN 1952. BUT NOT IN 2019.

[@goldenmanuever1176]

What’s not in 2019? Lol

[@robertthomas2001]

looks like 1950

[@robertolamalfa5160]

Questi sono veri modelli di treni no quelli che fanno adesso, che usano materiale da Quattro soldi...

[@stevejoshua9536]

Notice, in typical 1950's fashion, there was absolutely no attempt at marketing model trains to girls. The gender lines were clearly drawn by society, although I'm afraid in this case a little too much.

[@machia0705]

Wrong. In 1957 Lionel made a set for girls.

[@randykoger4646]

Good lord that cheesy annoying music is abysmal.