An Appreciation of Ron Hollander

I second that emotion!  I started with a Marx outfit in the early '70s because that is all our family could afford. I got into HO in the late '70s and moved on to other interests until I was in the public library in 1982 and saw "All Aboard" by Ron Hollander.  That was the beginning of the infection that has lasted ever since.  I checked that book out of the library at least 10 times before I bought the softcover version and the updated re-issue hardcover version years later.  I still try to read the thing cover to cover every couple of years.  

I was sort of "drifting" in the years before I really got into trains and honestly believe they were a HUGE part of keeping me on the straight and narrow all these years. Thanks Ron Hollander for being the catalyst for the passion I have for all things model trains!!

Great topic, Art. I heartily agree.

Ron’s influence on the re-kindled interest of baby boomers in the toy trains of their childhood was incalculable. His writing style in the 1981 book evoked memories long hidden. 

After going to a Greenberg show at Towson State University in 1980, I asked my parents to bring my trains down from the Bronx when they visited for Easter.... Ron’s JLC Lionel Train book hooked me forever....I haven’t stopped since that time.

Peter

Thank you for bringing up the topic, Art!  While I have not read the JLC book, I do find Ron's articles to be the highlight of the Quarterly for me.  There is lots of other great information in the Quarterly, but Ron's comments really resonate with the personal experience!

Yes, agreed. The Hollander book is absolutely must-reading for any model train fan.

I met Ron at York a number of years ago. He was standing next to me at the same member table eyeing a close to pristine Lionel Cattle Car and Platform. Had a chance to say hello and complement him on All Aboard.

Oh, he bought that Cattle Car Set. 

I wish I had had the opportunity to have met Mr. Hollander! Alas, I never made it to York for a variety of reasons.

The latest article by Hollander in the Quarterly is all about the fantasies generated in his then-child's mind by the catalog images of the late forties and early to mid fifties. His trained journalist's prose style is clearly evident in this piece, and he once again nostalgically evokes the childhood memories of the joy of perusing those wonderful Lionel wish books! Check it out on pages 22-25  in the October issue. You will not be disappointed!  ☺

I met Ron a few years ago after he moved to Long Island, he had gotten my name from another train guy and he needed some repairs. He has since become a friend and joined us as a member of the Railroad Museum of Long Island. Ron is a great guy and he is a pleasure to be around. If you ever get to talk to him make sure you ask him if he has a minuteman missile car on his layout, I'm sure he'll smile and mention my name.

Ron used to set up &  sell and sign his books right between the front doors to the yellow hall under the grandstand.

My first copy of All Aboard was a paperback, then years later I found a mint hardbound copy, and finally the second edition hardbound! A true classic up there with Louis Hertz's fine works. I am, and have been, a huge fan ever since! Definitely bears repeated readings!

I can honestly say that Ron was the individual--through his book--of getting me back into the O gauge segment of the hobby. Prior to reading his book, I had spent a number of years in N scale. His book was truly inspirational.

I also have to chime in and express my love of his All Aboard! book.  It's actually become traditional reading for me when Fall starts to get colder and turn into Winter.  It's one of those books I have to read and reinforces my love of toy trains.

I was wearing out the spine on the first one I bought, and as luck would have it, I found another copy in a local thrift shop!  So I have backup now!

All Aboard! has been with me since my early teens. Living in Kansas in the 1980's there was very little Lionel around, and, obviously, no internet. I was 12 or 13 when I purchased the book, and it was the first time I saw Lionel catalog art and discovered the Lionel story. I've read and re-read the book over the years, and it still makes me happy to think about those memories. 

As posted above, it was what got me seriously into O-gauge trains, and has been with me all these years. Because of this topic, I just pulled the book out and skimmed over it again. Absolutely the best book about O-gauge, and possibly all model trains, ever written.

I never heard of Ron Hollander until I read the above post and replies, which inspired me to take a look at his article in the October, 2018 issue of the TCA Quarterly.

No question about it, Ron Hollander has a great writing style.  I thoroughly enjoyed the article, which eloquently describes the allure of the Lionel Catalogues, especially in the late 1940s and early 1950s. For Ron, those catalogues had a greater impact on him than the trains themselves. He starts the article by saying: "I want to be buried with it," referring to the Lionel Catalogue, not the actual toy train depicted therein.

I had a different experience as a child. I vaguely remember getting a couple of those Postwar Lionel Catalogues, but they did not get me dreaming as much as seeing the trains in action on a high, scenicked layout, especially on the layout in the toy department at Macy's in NYC, and on the beautiful large basement layouts that two of my first cousins (who were older than me) had. 

Ron Hollander's TCA Quarterly article is extremely well written, charming and very enjoyable. I also highly recommend it.

Arnold

Arnold....I think you would enjoy this book....

https://www.google.com/url?sa=...ust=1539737901357860

Peter

I can echo all of the nice things that have been said here about Ron Hollander.  I also bought the paperback edition in 1981.  I had it for several years until I lent it to someone who never returned it.  I bought the hardback edition last year.  An enjoyable read.

Add me to the list of admirers of Ron Holland and his books. I have both editions .

Ron Hollander is the poet, while Louis Hertz was the clinician of toy train writers!

Did Ron ever finish the layout he was working on in his NY home? I saw preliminary photos in TCA quarterly but never a final photo.

Everyone, thank you, thank you!  I am so touched and moved by your kind and generous words.  Warms my writer’s heart.  Who knew when I set out in about 1978 to find out who JLC was that we’d still be talking about it 40 years later!

Yes, I do write from the heart  I’m just so happy that your own have responded so tenderly v

Best of Lionel (on fhe road to York),

ron

Three words to sum up Mr. Hollander's writings: nostalgia, inspiration, authenticity. THANK YOU!  ☺

I LOVE that book.  I did a book report on it back when I was in 5th grade.  I still have my original copy. I actually just pulled it out a couple of weeks ago & read a few chapters.  Still awesome! 

I too enjoy Ron's writings, especially his stories in the TCA Quarterly. I can never stop in the middle of one of his articles. Always have to finish it. Great job Ron!

For many, "All Aboard" cemented us back into the Lionel Train Hobby as adults. I was 28 years old when I first picked up a copy and I still keep one at home and one in my desk draw at work. I met Ron at York sometime in the mid 80's and immediately related to his love for Lionel Trains. Thanks for everything Ron.

Putnam Division posted:

Arnold....I think you would enjoy this book....

https://www.google.com/url?sa=...ust=1539737901357860

Peter

I still have my copy, and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Time for a "re-read" I'm sure!

I particularly identified with Ron's desire to go back to that Brooklyn apartment to look for traces of the old layout as he describes in "All Aboard".

My trains had been given away to a now long-lost relative years before my renewed interest in Lionel O in the early 1980s. 

Wishing for some trace of the old trains, I had the idea to search my father's old toolbox which somehow had survived and had been passed on to my sister. Sure enough, hidden in a miscellaneous screw jar, was one Lionel track pin!

It is now framed and has a place of honor in my train room! 

Thank you for putting the feelings of many of us in words, Ron!

Jim

I too am a Ron Hollander fan!  His recent articles in the TCA quarterly are must read, including the two parter on the Delta Lines.  The last one on the Lionel calalogs is a very special read.  For me, the calalogs were great works of art and in reality, for the vast majority of us growing up in the post war era, the catalog was about all we could afford, except pehaps  on that special birthday or Christmas, that we actualy got something in the catalog.   

Guys, yet additional thanks, especially to those responding to my posting.  Writing in part is an attempt to express one’s internal world to the external universe, and it is so rewarding to hear from so many of you that I’ve been succeeding in that. 

In the Q pipeline:  A two-parter called Ron’s Rooms on my various train and hobby rooms in my house; The Train Buy about my recent first buy from the public in years, and all that it stirred up; Say It Ain’t So, exploring Lionel’s classic 30s advertising defining what made a proper Lionel dad, and how my dad impossibly didn’t measure up!; and—this just struck me—a definitive piece in one place on my seminal, childhood, Brooklyn Layout with all the details  

If you have any thoughts, suggestions or questions, please shoot them along. Sorry I don’t know who most of you actuallly are to thank you personally. 

Waiting for the York doors to open on Thursday morning,

ron

I just finished reading Ron's article in the TCA Quarterly.  He is spot on about how we used to view those post-war catalogs.  His writing captured my inner feelings of when I used to read and re-read those glorious pages.  

Hello Friends,

I, too, own three copies of "All Aboard" and have read it more than once.  I was delighted when Ron's recent articles began appearing in the TCQ.  

Much (Too much!) of my time in the hobby has of the "armchair" variety, so I have read a great deal of what has been published about toy trains over the years. Ron's seminal book and now his articles in the TCQ are among the very best I've read in triggering the memories and invoking the feelings of my time, both distant and recent, with toy trains. 

While primarily a Gilbert American Flyer enthusiast, I like all trains, toy or otherwise, and own something from all the popular toy train scales, gauges and manufacturers.  My dad played a big part in installing these interests in me, and he got us started in the Amercan Flyer side of the hobby with his purchase of the first train sets. This was further fueled by the colorful catalogs that he sent away for and that I pour over while growing up.  Needless to say, my interests are strongly tilted toward the nostalgia element of our hobby.

Thanks, Ron, for keeping me deeply interested in my hobby today while keeping me firmly grounded in the past.

Cheers!

Alan

Tinplate Art posted:

The latest article by Hollander in the Quarterly is all about the fantasies generated in his then-child's mind by the catalog images of the late forties and early to mid fifties. His trained journalist's prose style is clearly evident in this piece, and he once again nostalgically evokes the childhood memories of the joy of perusing those wonderful Lionel wish books! Check it out on pages 22-25  in the October issue. You will not be disappointed!  ☺

Very enjoyable article. I had (still have) a love for paging through those postwar catalogs. Pure magic.

I had the opportunity to talk with Ron a bit at York. He is well aware, and has been for some time, of the inspiration he provided that brought me back to the world of O gauge railroading. I had returned to model railroading in my early 40s, but primarily in N and Z scales. Ron's book got me back into O, and the results are fairly evident.

I just got a hard back copy, used library book in almost perfect condition from the link above from Putnam Division. Just click on link, to the left is box "get print book" It brings up a list of sites with this book for sale. I found it under Barnes&Noble for 1.99+4.99 shipping. Ordered 10-16 got it today. It does't look like it was ever checked out. Thought I would share this good luck. Also thanks to Peter.

Chris

Hi All of Ron's fans, I was able to get him to pose today at the Railroad Museum of long Island. He had a great time at York and was glad to meet many of his fans. He has done a great service to our hobby.     Lenny J

LENNY J: THANKS FOR SHARING!  I, like many responders here, am a long time fan!

I used to go to the library in Santa Monica and check it out regularly when I was a teenager. I found a hard cover copy at a train show for ten bucks a couple of years back. It is a great book. Although I am not a postwar guy, I still really like seeing the pictures of those old trains.

I think if we put it to a vote, All Aboard would be the best toy train history book ever! It certainly gets my vote!  ☺

Thnx, Lenny.  Love RMLI, almost as much as your missile launchers!  (BTW, I had a detailed article on the museum in last January's Q.)  Thanks to all those at York who came up and introduced themselves, and shared how much they liked "All Aboard!" or my Q articles.  This is a treat that not many writers get to enjoy, and I thank you all yet again.

Now I have to clean and repair all the treasure I got at York, let alone figure out where I'm going to put it!

Best to all,

Ron