1937 Sears Catalog anyone?

Thanks Chris, it's always fun to see what our grandparents had to pay for their toy trains. How would you like to walk into your LHS and grab two Lionel remote control switches for $6.75?

Yea, all of our dreams come true with yesterdays prices with todays income.

http://www.wishbookweb.com/

Thank you for posting this. I've saved it to favorites.

That's the ticket, yesterdays prices with today's wage wages.

Remember the average income on 1937 was only about $1700.00

that about $33.00 per week.

Train enthusiasts of the time were quick to dismiss the new remote control, saying that it cheapened the hobby, and what was one supposed to do if their remote broke in a few years and Lionel stopped supporting it? 

They were very upset that the locos did not have a conventional operation option as well.

I was born in 1937.  I know my parents couldn't have afforded those prices. 

.....

Dennis

$6.75 was a lot of dough back in 1937.

Rusty

I found this at the same site, from the 1933 Spiegel Catalog

Not labeled Lionel but does seem to be 3 Rail, any idea who made it

Chris:  Could this be it? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkHMZ5OpJcc

This says it was made by Hoge.

Bill

I don't know about the top set in the Spiegel catalog, but the bottom two sets are American Flyer "outfit" sets which included stations, signals and tunnels.

Peter

To clarify I was referring only to the top train set on that catalog page, “The Tom Thumb” Passenger set, which is shown in that linked video with the manufacturer identified as Hoge. 

I agree with Peter that the other two are American Flyer as the wind-up train on the bottom is identified as AF in the text and also on the cars plus the electric train in the middle has many of the same accessories that are included with the wind-up train.

Note that they have the wind-up train posed on 3-rail track!

Bill

That looks like it, cool to see it running