Lionel Trains - The Unsung Heroes Of A Christmas Story

[@KibuFox]

This brings back memories to me, though not for the reason you'd expect. Back in the 1982, when I was just in kindergarten, there was this old department store which we'd regularly walk past when our teacher would take the kindergarteners out for walks. I loved this place, even though it had long since been shuttered, because in the window of it remained an old display. That display being a vintage Lionel train set, large oval of track, and several cars. The display must have been there from before the store closed, and sure the cars were all sun faded... but I loved looking at that static set and dreaming. At some point, maybe two or three years later, the building sold and I was saddened, because it was announced that they were going to clean the building out. My father took a day off from work to head over there and talk to the owner, and purchased that old train set for me. He spent some time making sure everything would run, and then gifted me the train set on my birthday. I still have that thing floating around somewhere, though I don't run it like I once did. Still brings back fond memories to see it.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

That's a great story! Thanks for sharing!

[@jenniferwhitewolf3784]

I have been watching an unedited first chapter of this film again.. and now believe there may be a 2nd freight train. As the trains first come into view, the Berkshire moves from left to right on the upper level, and enters a tunnel portal just above the red wagon wheel. As we watch the train enter the tunnel, immediately start counting cars... as only the 4th car enters the tunnel, on the level below, a black locomotive appears' to emerge from the tunnel below. I cannot imagine a curve so sharp, and grade so steep, that with so little of the train having entered the tunnel, it would already be exiting below. I now believe it to be yet another train, one that we don't get to see in any other movie view. As has been discussed elsewhere in these comments, there ARE two passenger trains, a 250-E Hiawatha and a 752W M-10,000. It seems far more likely there are 2 loops on 2 levels. with a train on each loop, hence 4 trains. Sadly, if this be the case, we only see a very blurry and very brief bit of the 4th one as it emerges from a tunnel on that lower level.. Two separated levels explains the 2 different passenger trains easily.. and no manual running or automation would be needed to keep them from end to end crashing as would needed on a single large 2 level loop with grades. Display RRs are set up to just run with minimal intervention, also a reason to believe 4 total loops, 2 on each level. There is also a portion of one of the 'reflection' scenes where the train passes very close by some white light bulbs that brightly illuminate it. Again, soft focus, and complex combined direct and reflected image conspire to hide details, but as the train passes, we can make out some colors, helping to confirm red transformer, WP feather car, green REA box and red NKP "banner" cupola caboose.

[@pjasyl]

Boy this video sure brings back memories of Christmas as a kid in the middle to late 1950's wishing Santa to place any Marx or Lionel trains or accessories under the tree!! Watching the Christmas display through Bowring's, & Ayres's department store windows just a few doors apart on Water Street when with my mother shopping WAS A REAL THRILL!!. Sadly both stores long gone. These were the days LONG BEFORE shopping malls.

[@williamsantangelo]

Excellent Memories

[@98755785]

The movie is set no later than 1940. There's no mention of WW 2, and the decoder ring is the 1940 issue. I realize they used postwar trains but since they are not the focus of the movie some artistic license was used. And most movies have anachronisms of one kind or another. The producers figure only a small portion of the audience are going to notice.

[@YouSimon1000]

I think you're right. Another clue are The Wizard Of Oz characters in the department store. Oz premiered in August of 1939, and would have been a contemporary subject for kids in the winter of 1939/1940. It was not a commercial hit at the time, so it's unlikely that the characters would have appeared at a later date.

[@98755785]

@@YouSimon1000 Right. Plus the Little Orphan Annie radio program was not broadcast after 1942.

[@SPCLPONY]

My favorite Christmas movie! May I also point out the fire truck that arrived at the school yard when 'Flick' fell for the triple dog dare, is a 1937 Ford American LaFrance. How do I know? Because my Volunteer Fire Dept still owns an identical fire pumper that was purchased new in 1937 from the (now defunct) American LaFrance Corp. only a few miles away in Elmira, New York! It is a 'one year only grill design by Ford,' and I helped in it's restoration in the late 1990's.

[@renardgrise]

Agreed... The lack of any mention of the war always made me think the movie was set in the late 30's...

[@J-1410]

There is a couple in what looks to be army dress at 4:42

[@frankw7266]

"Zoom in on that reflection!!" Lt Horatio Caine puts on his glasses..... "YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" 😎

[@Redbuzzcut]

I love the opening of that movie too. Get to see it all day tomorrow! Oh, did I see a Lionel Lines 752W Locomotive Union Pacific with passenger cars 753/754 (mustard yellow brown roofs)? WOOHOO!

[@Waty8413]

Dude needs to be recruited by the FBI. This is more detective work than most P.D.'s do in a month.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

I wouldn't want to harm my reputation by working with that organization these days! ;-)

[@myjunkisstuffgarage967]

One of my favorite movies and certainly my favorite Christmas movie! Thanks!

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thanks for watching!

[@greglivo]

Great detailed analysis! I've always cherished this movie. I noticed long ago that the trains were postwar or later despite the movie taking place in 1940, but that opening scene really establishes the magic of a Christmas toy display. One could also argue that there was nobody there to wind up the clockwork tank that drives by in one scene. I also noticed that the Hiawatha loco had fake smoke in its stack that later disappeared.

[@danielkinder8260]

I recall when I was a young child in the early to late sixties seeing nice displays in variety and other stores that were Lionel electric trains at Christmas time.

[@genemanno1533]

Wow, you are quite the Lionel detective. This was quite an undertaking by you. Yes, it was extremely enjoyable. In conclusion the trains were not all of correct date to support the 1940 decoder ring as one mentioned. The 1937 Oldsmobile 4 door Touring Sedan being 3 years old would support the 1940 ring. Average people would commonly have a 3 or 4 year old used car. I watch Christmas Story with “Little Ralphy” every year along with Chevy Chase’s Christmas movie. Thank you for sharing.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

I have always liked this film as a time machine, despite its anachronisms. Although my father was born later, I imagine things were somewhat similar in his childhood, and The Old Man reminds me of what I can recall about my grandfather who passed away when I was very young.

[@TMA62]

I always thought that the movie was set in the late 1940's. But further research indicates that it is set in 1939-1940. Hence, the Hiawatha passenger train would be accurate for the display but the freight train definitely would not.

[@chicagolandrailroader]

Aw fffffffuuuuuuuudddddgggggggeeee! Really great work identifying the equipment seen here. I never gave it much thought.

[@johnknippenberg-LandmarkYards]

I had to watch this again, 'tis almost the season. 🎅 🎄

[@gmaneis]

I really enjoyed your fantastic detective work. Gotta say, though, that it's probably impossible to pinpoint the era the movie was supposed to be set in, based on the trains, because of the great chance the continuity editors of the movie cared very little about the trains. They probably went to a Lionel collector one of them knew and asked him or her to provide trains that would look plausible for the 1940 to 1955 era. Now for all the memories you have stirred in me! I lived in suburban Chicago from 1955 until 1965, and vividly remember displays like the ones in the movie, set up every year at Marshall Field's store in downtown Chicago. In those days, Mom would leave me at the trains while she and Grandma went shopping. They would return in about an hour, and I would still be enthralled by the snow white, multi-level train display. I also remember steam driven commuter trains on the Chicago and Northwestern Railway. My dad rode them every work day, and I loved watching them pull into the station and pull away, often having to use their sand domes during the icy winter months. C&NW went diesel in 1956, which broke my heart. I will NOT run diesel on my O gauge toy layout! Thanks again for this super fun to watch video, another in the long chain of excellent videos you have produced!

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Great story! I read once that the trains were provided and operated by a Cleveland area Lionel operating club.

[@lennyfries3878]

JD, Thank you for describing the Lionel Trains in "Christmas Story" !!! I have always recognized some of the engines and cars of this movie! It has always thrilled me to catch this at the beginning of this!!! Thanks again, Lenny 👍😉❤️🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃

[@davidstrainsandlego]

I always get real close to the tv when this scene comes on

[@henryszubielski8601]

Very enjoyable! Thanks for your video post!

[@mariamellor1355]

I've seen this movie easily hundreds of times, and this display still never fails to evoke the magic, wonder, and exuberance of childhood and Christmastime. This info makes it just a little more magical. Incredible sleuthing work, and astounding knowledge of your hobby and craft - thanks for this, and a Merry Christmas to you and yours

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thank you!

[@johnpontin9276]

Thx so much for this vid. I always wondered about those trains! 🎄🎅

[@therosejewelrailroad489]

Good detective work. If there is ever a Lionel train in a crime scene. I hope they call you. Lol.

[@jonsmith4669]

Thanks for the memories, greetings from UK...

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

And greetings to you, too!

[@coverdalemineoscalemodelrr7074]

Cool video I always studied the beginning of that movie at the trains😎👍

[@jasonbrown4239]

This was my favorite scene one of them because I always loved trains

[@joeystrains.9316]

Man, you have investigator skills! Awesome video, I never saw the reflections on the window. Oh, fuudddge!😂😂

[@jimaspinii7579]

Sweet! What an in-depth study of those two trains!! Job extremely well done!!! A+

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thank you!

[@kensbackshop6399]

This video is totally awesome i always thought that was a 736 now i know thanks for sharing this info again a super awesome info video,,,,,thank you Ken and merry xmas to you and family.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thanks for the comments, and Merry Christmas to you!

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

I love that movie it has one of my favorite actors Darren McGavin who was call Shack The Night Stalker.

[@rwheatley0206]

Great video. Just subbed your channel.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thank you!!

[@ronalddevine9587]

One of my all time favorites.

[@huntercoleman460]

This is one of my favorite Christmas movies and I love they had Lionel trains in that brief scene. However the aquarium car wasn’t around in the 40s. Some of the other trains weren’t around in the 40s either.

[@5chan]

A guy who serviced my '88 Hiawatha told me that he knew the man who provided all the trains for the film. He said he got to meet the cast, and had breakfast with them. He said there was two guys the production crew asked to come help out - himself, and another man who had all the retro toys. Both were Cleveland-based collectors.

[@GuntersGarage]

That was awesome, thanks for sharing and hope you have a Merry Christmas!

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thanks for watching, and Merry Christmas to you as well!

[@markslioneltrains]

Great Detective work Mike.! Really enjoyed the video.! 👍😀

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thanks! It's been a work in my head for years! Every time I watch the movie I try to catch more details.

[@matthewwood4983]

Noticed the Lionel trains the first viewing I had of the movie in 1986..... Watched it the movie again here three days ago this weekend. Also noticing the Hiawatha !!!!! Years portrayed are not completely clear however not the point of this great Classic film.... !!!!!!

[@bluedoris88]

A great movie,I’d love to see it again

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

It'll be back next year, I'm sure! Thanks for watching!

[@mal15102]

Just saw this. What a great video, thanks. I was about 4 when my dad and grandad got Santa to bring "me" a 2026 and the 3 green passenger cars. They and I loved it and I have been a fan ever since, occasionally collecting and running lionel for the kids and grandkids and admittedly mostly me.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Nice set! Thanks for watching - and keep the trains running!

[@atsfevan0242]

This sure was interesting, nice to learn something about my dads favorite Christmas movie.

[@TheKurtsPlaceChannel]

Very nicely put together video and very entertaining as well. Thanks for posting this.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thanks for watching and for The kind feedback!

[@Stussmeister]

A very nice analysis. I plan on modeling the 1940s-50s era on my model railroad layout, though more in HO scale than O scale.

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

When they cut away to the kids you can see the trains move in the glass of the windows the reflection so cool

[@clydeferguson519]

The Radio Flyer wagons are from the 80s, as those schemes were on the modern wagons at the time of the movie's release.

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

A fun video! And it's hard to believe "A Christmas Story " is almost 40 years old! Wow! Where do the years go? Now on to the trains. We had quite a discussion of the trains in the store window on the "Classic Toy Trains" magazine on-line Forum several years ago. If nothing else the couplers on the freight train identify it as a post-war product. Just about everyone on the Forum picked up on that (and other things) but we all had a "Aw, so what?" attitude, just the sheer nostalgia for everyone who remembers a time when just about all retailers in downtown areas had trains in the display windows at Christmastime. One very good attention to detail is the trains being run are appropriate for the area. Jean Shepherd's semi-autobiographical novel "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash!" takes place in the fictitious town of Hohman Indiana, just over the Indiana-Illinois border and not far from Chicago, so the Midwestern trains like the Hiawatha and the UP's M-10000 are spot-on for the locale. The film-makers DO play a little "fast n' loose" with the time frame. In the novel the story's being told by an adult Ralphie who's a WW2 veteran, so the age of young Ralphie in the film isn't quite right. But if Jean Shepherd didn't mind why should we? "In God We Trust..." is a VERY good read by the way, very funny at times and bittersweet at others, and I can recommend it highly! Again, a fun video! Thanks for posting!

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thanks for watching, and thanks for the feedback!

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks You're very welcome!

[@ponderanceofagravedigger2564]

That was a wonderful video! Great idea! Great detective work as well. Thank you!!

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thank you!

[@Railhog2102]

We have the Greenbergs Train Show here in NJ, It tours Secaucus and Edison and I'm going to the November show, The K4s ran here in NJ on the NY&LB until 1957

[@MrBsHiawathalandRails]

That was great. Loved it!

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thanks so much!

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

My train shop had an M10 000. It was all painted in red and I was going to repaint it in Orange I thought it was so cool to have such an old Lionel engine that worked great and I didn't have to worry about repainting it. The train shop owner had a heart attack and while he was recuperating he stripped the red paint off the m1000 and painted it with the New York Central lightning strike scheme with hand done lettering at no charge is doctor told him he needed to do something to keep him occupied and so that's what he did and it was such a beautiful job he did on that engine I could not break his heart to repaint it orange to match my train cars so I use it in my pen Central o' gauge layout instead the Union Pacific was so stupid to scrap that whole train simply because the locomotive engine needed to be rebuilt they should have rebuilt it or replaced it with a brand new 567 diesel. Love the videos Merry Christmas Happy New Year and all that good stuff

[@drakefallentine8351]

Really enjoyed your in-depth analysis, right down to the reflections in the window! By mixing some earlier production rolling stock along with 40's era pieces, including possibly some kit-bashed models, gave that freight train a unique personality. My love for trains all started with my first Lionel engine...that Berkshire, complete with a whistling tender and smoke pellets. Good Memories!!!

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thanks for the comments. Love the Berkshire

[@davidmolin8944]

I actually have 3464 nyc operating boxcar, the plunger doesn’t really work well and the man sometimes keeps popping out but it still works quite well, cool to see a car I own in this movie

[@16-BITFPV]

The TV show ALF and Young Sheldon has quiet a few good Lionel clips. My favorite is definitely ALF and the Adams Family. I love ZW's.

[@3dartistguy]

my grandfather always used to run his Lionel trains for me as a child and i always enthralled by them and still have some of his trains today and still run them every Christmas. I have the Number 3464 New York central operating boxcar which is my favorite.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Love it!

[@charlesbard2331]

I also liked the Airplanes on display too....

[@markharrison3445]

A little research reveals that the decoder ring in the movie was the 1940 version. Little Orphan Annie went off the air in April 1942 and Ovaltine was not a sponsor past 1940. Hmm. I always thought the time period was the late 1940's. The Wizard of Oz came out in August 1939.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

There are lots of anachronisms. The White Sox player mentioned was with Chicago until 1946. The "Monsters of the Midway" monicker for the Bears began in late 1940, but it's unlikely the Old Man would call them "Chipmunks" when they were winning their first of 2 consecutive championships that year. The model of Red Ryder gun described never existed at all until the movie.

[@lirrfan3879]

Great video. I always figured the steamer was a 726 give the outline and size of the tender seems to be a 2426W. Could be a 736 just as easily. Well done

[@AJScola-cq2ec]

Terrific work. Love the video!

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thank you!

[@brianturner8477]

This layout at Higbee’s was put together by TCA members. It may have been featured in TCA Quarterly. I have some digital stills stashed away somewhere that show some stages of construction with Darren McGavin looking on.

[@paulmatulavich7321]

Good to know I'm not the only person to have freeze-framed old films and tv shows to study the Lionel trains in them. I have done this for virtually every appearance - from The Day the Earth Stood Still, to Holiday Affair, Four's a Crowd, The World, the Flesh and the Devil, Night of the Meek (Twilight Zone), The Electric Train (Ozzie & Harriet), Beaver's Trains (Leave it to Beaver), and numerous Addam's Family episodes. Even Dennis the Menace had an episode with trains. By far my favorite is The Electric Train from season three of Ozzie & Harriet. Never before or since had Lionel trains been featured so prominently in a theatrical production. This, due to Ozzie Nelson's actual love and fascination for Lionel trains and accessories. He insisted the west coast reps from Lionel build a dealer display layout exclusively for this episode, and made sure it had all of Ozzie's favorite operating accessories on it. Nelson had his crew build a replica of a hobby shop true to the period (1954) and the best parts of this episode take place here. No mere glimpses or blurry background shots - we see the best that Lionel had to offer in beautiful closeups and full operation. The story itself is pretty good too, with a plot we can all relate to, and fine performances by all involved. For these reasons, The Electric Train is unquestionably the finest example of Lionel promotion, demonstration, and sheer fun that has ever been filmed. We owe it all to Ozzie Nelson.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Wow! Great story!

[@paulmatulavich7321]

@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks Worthy of note, for those of us old enough to remember RADIO programs, Ozzie & Harriet began as a radio series before the dawn of television. The Electric Train was first produced as a radio episode, with most, but not all, of the same actors. The hobby shop owner was voiced by Frank Cady (Mr.Drucker on Petticoat Junction) whereas for television, that role was acted beautifully by Dan Tobin.

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

Have you ever noticed that when Gomez blows up the trains on the "Addams Family" layout he NEVER blows up the steam engines? Just the diesels. Not on the TV show anyway.

[@danshobbies123]

I seem to recall a small (1 page) write up in an old issue of Classic Toy Trains describing how a local club provided the trains for the film. I believe they said they even recreated a display within the department store, but it didn't make it into the movie.

[@paulhoffman6371]

I still have a bit of Lionel 027 and I have the later transformer car. I recall having the "Fort Knox" gold car, also. I model in HO now.

[@paulbervid1610]

Great video

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thanks!

[@americansaxon2101]

And these trains were on set in my city of Cleveland Ohio

[@williamkinkopf7125]

Did you see the UP M10000 from about 46 seconds in ?

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

I think that's the rear of the Hiawatha. The Lionel versions used the same cars.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

You're right! It's the M10000! I totally missed that!

[@plunkervillerr1529]

I believe the movies time period was between 1942 and 1947, because of the inability to buy new tires.

[@robertnewman7111]

Nice analysis of the trains. What about the City of Portland set running on the lower level?

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Believe it or not, I completely missed it while I was making the video!

[@michaelcierski2880]

@4:48 we also see a M10000 prewar ( I think)......

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Yes. I missed that! Obviously, they did multiple takes and swapped out the passenger trains!

[@Nscaleguy1]

I think the million dollar question regarding these trains now is where they are nowadays Like I find it crazy to think that there's probably some prop warehouse in Hollywood that has these ultra-rare prewar and postwar lionel trains in storage and the studios that own said warehouse have no idea how much they're worth.

[@jonsmith4669]

Most likely on someones wall not being played with !

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

According to an old magazine account (I cannot recall which magazine) the trains were supplied and operated by a Cleveland area Lionel club.

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks That makes sense. Parts of the film were shot in the Cleveland area, in fact the "Christmas Story" house where some of the exteriors were filmed is a bit of a local attraction. The department store in the movie is (if I remember right) is the Cleveland Higbee's department store, THE place to go in the old days.

[@williammeszaros1671]

An excellant movie I worked in maintenance in Cleve land Ohio at Higbee co when this movie Was filmed Bill

[@Dick_Shinn]

@@williammeszaros1671 I spent a lifetime in Cleveland, between Thanksgiving of 1968 to October 1, 1969. I was stationed at the 3rd Battalion, 65th Artillery on Richmond Road, Warrensville, Ohio (now the site of the Eaton Corporation Building). The sun didn't shine all winter except for the one day when I had KP and had to peel potatoes outside!!. This was the headquarters site, with other launch sites near Burke Lakefront Airport and A Battery in Painesville, Ohio! I later got sent to Selfridge AFB with the 28th Artillery Group from October 1969 until I left the Army late September, 1970. Didn't get to spend much time in downtown Cleveland, except for changing trains in Terminal tower. One train came in from Shaker heights, and then I switched to another train to Cleveland-Hopkins Airport. Remember seeing the "backside" of Jones-and-Laughlin Steel...gruesome!!

[@PUPWATCHRAILWAYS]

I wish there do movie about the Christmas trains.

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

Did you know the trains that they used in the Twilight Zone episode with Art Carney we're also the ones that they used in The Addams Family? I like the original layout that The Addams Family had on the TV show as opposed to the hyperextended layout that the movie had it was so exaggerated the original one was so much better.

[@motherlandone6300]

The movie 1941 had a quick shot of a Lionel coming at the camera and it looks appropriately prewar. A Christmas Story takes place in December 1940 according to Wikipedia.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

The calendar in the kitchen says 1943. The White Sox trade The Old Man talks about was in 1946. There are many things that point to various years. Since the original book is a collection of short stories based on various memories of the author's childhood, it's not surprising that it is vague on its historical accuracy.

[@keithmiller3120]

This video was very interesting… also wanted to know what the train were in the movie thank you

[@deanebuckingham7241]

Not sure if it’s been pointed out yet, but I can guarantee that this layout is two levels of two separate loops. They just used a similar locomotive on the inside bottom loop. There’s no way that same upper level steam freight went down some kind of crazy steep spiral. Thank you for making this video! I was also interested to know which trains they used. I could just watch a looped video of this display!

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

So they made two identical freight trains instead?

[@MrBnsftrain]

A few years ago, I was looking at this freight train in the movie (since they showed it all day on December 25th on TBS) and noticed many postwar cars. I then Googled what timeframe it was supposed to be set, and it said right before WWII. There was also a Toronto PCC car seen with small upper windows in other shots in the movie, and PCC cars were not built with upper windows until after WWII. These really ruin the illusion of the timeframe the movie is supposed to depict. I do like the theory that the freight train might've been a custom run or from a different manufacturer in that universe. I also noticed at 4:52 the passenger train on the lower level is an M10000, running on the same loop as the Hiawatha.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

See the Notes in the video description. Thanks!

[@Steamer96]

I like the trains from The Greatest Show on Earth. Some sources claim they're Lionel while others claim they're custom live steam models.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

It's been a while since I've seen the film, but I do remember thinking it was a Lionel 773 and Irvington cars when I watched it.

[@jenniferwhitewolf3784]

EDIT: Locomotive is either a 726 or 736, but the tender is absolutely a 2426W. A clean print stop frame shows the wheels clearly outlined, and the shape of the rear deck behind the bunker, very clear and very unique. END EDIT EDIT: A better print now reveals the first boxcar to be a Pennsylvania 6454. ( I now agree with you, first boxcar is not an Erie 6454.) Though out of focus, the 'blobs' of lighter lettering match the Pennsylvania. END EDIT The tank cars are frustrating, as they show lightness near the dome, but I suspect that is 'snow' added by the prop department, just like we see on the caboose. If that is the case, then they are likely 2855 or 6025. Later in the train, the 'gray' boxcar is the correct color for 6044 Airex in blue-grey. The light pattern on the other unknown dark red boxcar could be another X6454 in Pennsy, or a 6454 Erie

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thanks for the spotting!!

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

I'm not sure on the "Erie" ID. It looks to me like the top line of white data is much longer, like "Pennsylvania". Here's the Erie car for comparison: photos.app.goo.gl/xysoVkaBXTEQMUbM9

[@jenniferwhitewolf3784]

@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks Some good sleuthing there... Having to try identification from such poor source material is a challenge. All we have are these small color and light/dark blobs going by, and everything out of focus. Thanks SO much for continuing to work on likely identity of the cars.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

@@jenniferwhitewolf3784 Thanks!

[@Shipwright1918]

Not Lionel, but one vintage film with a memorable model train in it, at least for me, was Donovan's Reef with John Wayne and Lee Marvin. At the tail end of the movie, "Guns" Donovan (Wayne) gives his comedic foil/feuding partner and old navy shipmate "Boats" Gillhooley a Marx train set as a Christmas present. Gillhooley goes and sets it up on the long bar of the eponymous Donovan's Reef (Guns owns the place) and is quite enthralled with it even as his girlfriend is talking tying the knot with him. "Sure, baby, sure........Whoo-Whoo!" In the next scene, he's still happily playing with it with a big stogie clenched in his teeth on the front porch of the local church, which is finally getting its leaky roof fixed (something Gilhooley promised to do a long time ago) since Guns slammed him into the bar's busted slot machine during their final punch-up a few scenes back, naturally knocking loose the jackpot so Gillhooley finally got the dough to pay for the work. Even as the workmen are hammering away, they keep stealing glances down at the train too, happily racing around the track with the whistle hooting the whole time. Always makes me smile, those scenes. Just a big kid playing trains, ain't we all?

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Yes, it's a cool Marx set. I read once that they wanted Lionel but they couldn't find any where they were filming in Hawaii. They contacted Louis Marx and he had a complete set flown out!

[@Shipwright1918]

@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks Good ol' Marx, friend to the budget train runner and Hollywood alike. Often wonder what happened to the set afterwards.

[@clydeferguson519]

In the 71 movie The Homecoming, Ben Walton also receives a Marx train set for Christmas.

[@noahwestin]

The film makes no mention of the Great Depression. Also, there is no reference to World War 2. Arguably, if the film were set before about 1938 or in December 1941 or after, there would have been some mention of these events. While there are few explicit references to the date, there is one unmistakable detail: Ralphie’s decoder ring, which he received in the mail and, conceivably, current at the time, was marked “1940”.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

The decoder ring points to 1940, but a wall calendar says 1939. The sports events mentioned occurred as late as 1946. The Bing Crosby/Andrews Sisters music was recorded in 1945. When looking at the lamp from outside, the neighbor is wearing a Miami Dolphins hat! Then there's Scut Farkus and his Davey Crockett hat. The teeth in Miss Shield's drawer were invented in 1950. At the department store we see a woman in a post-Pearl Harbor Army uniform. The director stated in several interviews that his goal was to create a "foggy memory" of a time rather than to nail a specific year.

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks Seeing the soldiers in Army uniform kinda-sorta made me think it was Christmas in 1940. A peacetime draft was established in 1940 as a deterrant to possible German agression and as a way to establish a military baseline "Just in case." Wise move considering the "just in case" DID happen.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

I think you could also argue 1938 or post 1942. The arguments for prewar: Money is tight (cannot afford new tires), no mention of WW2 (invasion of Poland in 1939, Lend-lease, the draft in 1940, etc). For during or postwar: The Old Man is significant older than Mom - fewer eligible young men - rubber is difficult to obtain, desegregated school indicating migration of southern Blacks to Chicago for wartime factories. If you look at it as the "foggy memories" of Ralphie looking back, you can see how childhood memories would focus on the happy events rather than the war, and how some events would be "misremembered" chronologically.

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks Another reason I picked 1940 was in one scene in the Christmas festivities you can spot some people dressed as characters from "The Wizard Of Oz," such as the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion and I think Dorothy as well, and "Wizard" was a 1939 movie. By the way, 1939's been called "The Watershed Year For American Film," more classic movies were made in 1939 than any year before or since. 1942 or later? Well, Lionel wasn't making trains having switched the factory to war production work, in fact most toy production was suspended for everyone unless the toys were being made of non-strategic materials like wood or paper. But really it doesn't matter. Over-analyzing the film just ruins the fun when you come right down to it and "foggy memories" of Ralphie is a good way of looking at it.

[@Cilla0415]

Whenever I watch this movie, I always think how sad neither Ralph or Randy wanted trains. And when they went to the toy store, they looked at the trains and I always hoped they would get trains but alas no. At least the trains wouldn't have poked your eye out.

[@F40M07]

I almost burnt down my train room last night 12/2/22

[@Steamer235]

Would like to know about the trains in the movie, "People Will Talk" if you've done any research on that one.

[@TLS6723]

If you look at the Rado Flyer wagon in the window, you will see that wasnt even close to period correct. That was a brand new wagon. I guess they couldnt find a restored one from that era.

[@Petemonster62]

I have a question with the freight train. Would it be possible for a locomotive to pull that train if all the cars had " lead sled " trucks? I had thought the cars were reproductions with Delrin self-lubricating plastic trucks and fast angle wheelsets. I recall seeing in a Classic Toy Trains article in the 1990s about someone who offered a service of installing ball bearings in metal trucks. That magazine also had an article about a Scout steam locomotive with a plastic body that could barely pull the tender, boxcar, gondola, and caboose it was packaged with. It seems the large steamers of that time pulled six cat freight trains or four car passenger trains.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

When properly lubricated, the Postwar metal trucks run fine. Between the weight of the boiler and (possibly) Magnatraction, a Lionel Berkshire would have no problem with a 15 car train. And, yes, the original plastic boiler Scout could not pull 4 cars on level track. That locomotive was quickly replaced with a diecast version. Mine can pull 6-7 cars.

[@Petemonster62]

@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks - That is interesting - that a Berkshire could pull that many cars! I once took a Marx wind-up steam locomotive and coupled it to a post war car - it wouldn't budge. I then coupled the steamer to a MPC tender, flat car, hopper, & caboose. The Marx wind-up engine rapidly pulled them along the track!

[@williamsantangelo]

Thanks I always wondered about the type of rolling stock, now it makes alittle more sense. But the trains should have been all period correct 😮 to date

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

We'll, very little else in the film was accurate, so... In the scene where they are "admiring" the lamp from the street, the neighbor is wearing a Miami Dolphins cap!!

[@charlesbard2331]

I remember an episode of Dennis the mainis wane He got a trainsat for Christmas and I think they were talking about the Blu camit....

[@plunkervillerr1529]

Prewar Marx guy here, was that tin wind-up army tank a Marx toy? I`m a big fan of the movie.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

I'm not a mechanical toy expert, but it looks like Marx to me.

[@greggilbert7397]

I have a question, at time stamp 4:44, that is not the same Hiawatha Passenger train from the earlier segments. That looks more like the Lionel City of Portland. It makes me wonder if they would risk running two passenger trains on the same line, or if the bottom loops may not be connected to the top loops. Thoughts?

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Yes. See the "Notes" on the video description.

[@vdubfan709]

At the 00:45 mark there's a 752E as well. Bottom level, outer loop.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Correct - and I am kicking myself that I overlooked it in the breakdown!!

[@dj-ez4yf]

loved the vid. who made off brand o-scale at the time for the caboose? and where can i get some?

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

At the time of the film, the best explanations for the caboose would be a scale brass model converted to 3 rail or a scratch build. Since then, I know MTH and Lionel have made similar scale models.

[@dj-ez4yf]

@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks a lot of love and care went into this display. Amazing

[@RetroElectroville]

I wonder if anyone has ever recreated these sets?

[@modelrailpreservation]

That first car behind the Berkshire, I'm thinking it is a 3854 Automatic Merchandise Car. It is longer than the 6454 boxcars, compared to the trucks, the body seems a tad large for a 6464 type. The 3854 used prewar 'scale' style bodies, which visually seem about right, especially compared to the New York Central gondola behind it.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

I thought of that, but the text on the left side of the car is not in the correct position for that car.

[@modelrailpreservation]

@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks I watched my copy, which is a bit sharper, and it appears the doors are the same color as the car on that first boxcar, so the 3854 is out, as those had black doors. To be honest I find mysteries like this, and solving them, to be a lot of fun.

[@georgebenson6036]

I thought the story was set in the late forties not long after ww2 had ended. Maybe I was wrong about that. The Godfather movie had a scene with a Lionel train in it also.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

The book is set in 1939-40. The movie is more ambiguous. Think of middle -aged Ralphie thinking back to his childhood - some historical details are going to be wrong.

[@railfan475productions3]

7:02 those could be 2 K line tank cars. I've got a black Dow tank car that's very similar in livery

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

K-Line had not produced anything of similar size and style at the time of filming in 1983.

[@sct913]

The caboose is most likely a Marx tin eight wheel caboose for the Nickel Plate Road - with the 'High Speed Service" banner. It appears in one of the 'window' reflection shots.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

I agree that it is a Nickel Plate caboose, but I disagree about the Marx. 1) The Marx is a 3/16" scale model, which would make it SMALLER than the Lionel boxcars it is coupled to. Instead, it appears to be LARGER and thus a true 1/48" O scale model. 2) The Marx model features tin lithography, whereas the model in the movie clearly shows raised roofwalks and other details. The cupola on the movie model is centered and has window openings, while the Marx is more off-center and has closed windows and a red roof instead of black.

[@sct913]

​@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks Sounds reasonable to me. Appreciate the clarification.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

@@sct913 No problem! Thanks for watching!

[@jenniferwhitewolf3784]

There were a number of 1/4" scale kits offered in the 1970s of NKP banner scheme NE-6 cabooses. Bev-Bel was one of them. I have 2 of these in my collection. After the movie was made both Atlas O and MTH made plastic factory painted versions.

[@stephenruble7101]

So I don’t know anything about trains but I have a good eye and relentless detective skills. Key things to notice on the caboose: 1. Black roof with red sides/front on the cupola. 2. The white “Nickel Plate Road” banner just under the roof. 3. Black ladders 4. A single side window on the cupola. 5. 4 side windows on the train. The closest typical model that matches most of these specs is the MTH Premier 20-91732 or 91733. The only issue is that these have 2 side windows on the cupola. There is one caboose that seems to match everything but it is almost a ghost on the internet but is an Overland NKP Rolling Stock Nickel Plate Road WOOD caboose with markings on the side showing the number “1207” or “1059”. Again knowing nothing about trains, but it almost seems like this might be a custom kit? Maybe someone with more knowledge can extrapolate on what I found.

[@jenniferwhitewolf3784]

A recently published article interviews one of the people that loaned trains to this scene production. He had poor overall memory of specifics but was absolutely certain that one of the guys brought a Hudson. Given we have absolutely identified the loco we see the 'most' as a 726 or 736 Berkshire, this more or less confirms my theory of there being 2 freight trains, one on each level. We see the front of s steamer emerging from a lower level tunnel just after the Berkshire enters a tunnel on the upper level. This is not the nose of the Berk emerging below after turning an impossibly tight corkscrew, it MUST be the Hudson reported to have been there by one of the participants. The last big mystery to me is the load in the second gondola, which after examination of every frame in which it appears, seems to not match the load in the cop/hobo 3444 gondola car, nor the 3562 barrel load gondola. There is wood colored structure carried in the gondola, likely with an irregular upper shape, perhaps modeling several crates. I now believe that to not be a Lionel load, but likely a home made load. I am seeking further comments on this car's load. The caboose is likely an O scale kit produced by Ambroid/Gloor Craft/Quality craft for many many years. It is an NE-6 class with 4 windows per side and a cupula. Much later than the era of movie production, both MTH and Atlas produced this caboose in 3 rail. I have acquired the MTH built caboose to take up the tail in my recreation of the freight train, rather than dedicate construction of the one unbuilt Quality Craft kit in my collection. I have 2 more built up, ( in 2 rail ) one with the banner scheme, and the other in the earlier darker red non banner scheme.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thanks for the info!

[@stephenruble7101]

So here’s my take on the caboose: So I don’t know anything about trains but I have a good eye and relentless detective skills. Key things to notice on the caboose: 1. Black roof with red sides/front on the cupola. 2. The white “Nickel Plate Road” banner just under the roof. 3. Black ladders 4. A single side window on the cupola. 5. 4 side windows on the train. The closest typical model that matches most of these specs is the MTH Premier 20-91732 or 91733. The only issue is that these have 2 side windows on the cupola. There is one caboose that seems to match everything but it is almost a ghost on the internet but is an Overland NKP Rolling Stock Nickel Plate Road WOOD caboose with markings on the side showing the number “1207” or “1059”. Again knowing nothing about trains, but it almost seems like this might be a custom kit? Maybe someone with more knowledge can extrapolate on what I found.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

@@stephenruble7101 The film predates the existence of MTH as a manufacturer, so that is not an option.

[@jenniferwhitewolf3784]

I DO know something about O scale being on my 70s and having been in the scale since I was 9 years old. At the time of filming, there had been in production for many years, a craftsman style kit, as mentioned in my post. I own 3 of them, 2 built up as 2 rail models, one in NKP banner, the other in NKP text only. The third example in my collection is unbuilt kit. Decades after the filming, MTH and Atlas-O have produced plastic versions of the prototype, both in 1/48, not the slightly smaller size typically seen in older period Lionel. I purchased the MTH caboose, having found one as new-old-stock and offered at original MSRP, which was lower price than several others found pre-owned from both Atlas and MTH. As I mentioned before, I do not wish to build up my unbuilt kit for this train recreation, even though it would be the exact match for what appears in the movie. The later production plastic cars are of the same prototype, are scale models, and hence have the same appearance.

[@pearsooo6972]

Nice

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thanks!

[@pearsooo6972]

@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks ur welcome

[@BruceBaron-k9c]

The guys from the cleveland TCA lent there trains to the movie and set them up there is a nice article in there quarterly magazine, the black engine was a hudson the man who owned it was a nyc engineer on the steam engines

[@greatscott5054]

the brand new decoder ring ralphy got in the mail has 1940 on it. i always figured that was the year.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

The wall calendar in the kitchen says 1939. The White Sox trade The Old Man talks about was 1946.

[@ILSRWY4]

We do know what year it was. December 1941 because the man talks about a football game that happened that fall. circa 1941. Just because there are pre-war trains and talk of Wizard of Oz and little orphan Annie ring was from 1940, it would make sense, people talk about things of the past, People still talk about Star Wars, that doesn't mean it came out in 2022. The time is December '41

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

The Old Man also talks about a baseball trade that took place in 1946.

[@brianturner8477]

You guys are slightly OCD with a fixation on trains of yore 😂. There are actually some TCA guys who did all this stuff. You may consult the TCA Toy Train Mailing List archives to find a discussion from several years ago. There are even some still shots of when they set this display up.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thanks for the info!

[@3dartistguy]

Why would he want a red Ryder BB gun when he could have had a Lionel train set?

[@gmaneis]

I've often wondered that same thing, but the shenanigans that happened in the back yard would not have worked with a train set.

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

No accounting for taste I suppose.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

He drank too much Ovaltine...or maybe it was Soap Poisoning???

[@gmaneis]

@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks I suspect he had a plan in mind for dealing with Farkus!

[@Petemonster62]

One of my friends had a train set and a BB gun. I imagine there were boys interested in both and received them in different years.

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

The guy who said to layout was Free World War II was absolutely wrong because they didn't have the Berkshires pre World War II it was a post war engine. I remember a hardware store that used to have a TT gauge layout in the winter time and when I walked to school I would always stop and look at it and he would let it run all day and night because even when the store was closed you could stand in the snow and look at the trains go by. Imagine a Christmas where everything under the Christmas tree is All American made including the wrapping paper and everything under the tree. What happened to that America? We know what happened to that America it got killed. How many of us would love to live in that America?

[@dillonohlemiller401]

Such a weird idea to make a video out of considering the trains aren’t even in the movie that long