This is a really neat story, some may not find it very stirring but I thought it was great because it was a little part of my Dad’s childhood that I really never heard before: one main story I hear from my Dad about World War II is when Pearl Harbor was attacked, his Dad (my Grandfather) heard it on the radio and just hugged my Dad and held onto him.
A couple weeks ago, we were at a train meet and a dealer who always has some amazing Prewar Lionel had the Lionel Wartime Train. This one was complete, including the instruction sheet and envelope with dowels, save for a couple pieces that came loose from the sheets. In seeing it, my Dad told me a story of when he was 9 (in 1943) his Uncle took him to a local shop to get a small toy or something. Since our family were railroaders, the first toy always on my Dad’s mind was (and still is) a train.
So, he asked the person at the counter if they had some trains. The woman behind the counter said they had something he may like, and handed him a yellow box with the artwork of a boy and a Lionel train!
At looking at this, my Dad’s 9 year-old mind boggled at what it was, since it listed on the top what the box contained. But there wasn’t any way a Lionel train set would be in a box this small!
The woman related that it was something Lionel put out for the War, since materials were being used for other things and this was their train for the year!
My Dad was fascinated with it, and chose that as his toy for the trip to the store. At home, he said he built it as best he could, and although it would keep coming apart, his reassembling it here and there, to him, made him feel like a real railroad worker, maintaining the equipment.
The train, over time, ended up being thrown away. But after working out a price with the dealer, a Lionel Wartime Train came back into my Dad’s life, 70 years later.
Just wanted to share that with everyone.
