Did You Ever Think About the Original Owner of Used Postwar Trains You Have Purchased?

I don't have any history for the majority of the items in my collection, but it really does add to my appreciation for the train when I do.  Even when I don't know anything about the original owner, the trains with normal playwear tell that they were loved toys... and the ones that a lot of battle scars tell me that they were played with a lot!  I am a bit puzzled by the trains in like-new condition - were they so cherished that they were only brought out on special occasions?  Or was the original owner not a train fan, and the toy sat unused and unappreciated for all those years?  Hmmm...

I have an early Ives clockwork that came from the son of the original owner, and some other Ives trains that were discovered decades ago in the basement of a hardware store by a person who held on to them for years before selling them to me.  A co-worker gave me the remnants of a Marx set that was purchased for him when he was born.  The story behind the train can turn even a common item into something special.

I also have my dad's Marx electric train set that was a Christmas present in the early 50's.  It was a gift that was made possible because the local REA co-op had just got electricity to the family farm!

For the record, I still have my first train set, or what is left of it.  Let's just say I got my money's worth out of it... maybe someday a person will look at it and wonder how it ever got into such bad condition!

Gabe always mentions how often he finds fragments of Christmas wrap in old train boxes, or newspapers from the train’s first Christmas. A lot of what he has were Christmas presents more than once, with original stickers, then “used“ ones for maybe ten years later from some long-gone hobby shop, usually because the original recipient was the age for cars and girls. It’s good to think of a kid waking in the night because he thought he heard a whistle. Each new Christmas only adds to that, you know?

I'll admit I've got no photos but being only 23ish I hope I'm doing the original owner of the Lionel 1656 and 2035 I have proud! As far as I'm aware these two engines came from the same household, I got them from a auction thing my club did and they were both in the same box of donations that the club was given at one point. The only thing I really need to do with them more aside from fixing the bell and whistle respectively on the two engines is bring them to more shows, I have too many command control engines at this point so my conventional stuff just stays home unfortunately.

The trains that I would find often had bits of green sawdust, tinsel, or dots of pine sap on them (I rarely was able to afford new "back then"). But there was one item that made me feel a bit sad: an Icing Depot that still had the ice cubes sealed in its envelope and the track clips never extended, and no wear on the car trucks. The owner said he couldn't figure out how to hook it up (two wires and a button and instructions in the box). Of course, I ran the living h-ll out of it for the years I owned it.

This is a thread that makes grown men cry. Or at least this one.

Yes, I often wonder, while walking through the halls at York, who all those kids were who owned all those toys. Some of the dealers have 30 or more steam engines lined up on a table, from the cheap 027 ones right up to the Berkshires and Hudsons.  Who were the original owners, and where are they now? I try to grasp just how popular the toy train market was that produced the hundreds of used trains that are still for sale. With all the historic knowledge out there, does anyone know the actual production numbers of, say, the 2055 or 2056 locomotives, or the SP version cabeese? There seem to be hundreds of them, just at York.

I often think of who had owned it before I did.  Once received a set from a friend of mine who had it as a kid and I noticed that they had "repaired" their locomotive in a similar fashion that I did when I was a kid.  It was fun to see that he did the same type of haphazard repair that I did back in the day.

Fortunately I have my first two sets, 1954 and 1959, my fathers Engines and cars, and my brothers first set plus most of his rolling stock.  We never sold anything, but have passed it along to sons and daughters, and their children.  And recently a near perfect 1955 set with original boxes went to the grandson of a USAF Colonel who has passed. The stories go with the trains.  But back to the point of the thread, I started to delve into tinplate, colorful and reliable, and yes, I often admire them and think what these meant to the lucky owners and families during the depression or during the WWII.   If the trains could tell the tales...?

I wonder if someone got this as a Christmas present?  I picked this up from the Seattle area.

I picked up an Ideal Auto Factory toy once that had a sweet handwritten message on the box to the original recipient. Not a train but a similar situation.

Not quite on topic but I purchased a prewar Lionel #96 set a couple of years ago. It had the box, replacement bulbs, manual, and even a receipt from a toy store in Atlantic City. It’s safely packed away, I remember thinking of the child or children who were fortunate enough to receive such a cool set. I have similar vintage pieces on display that I wonder what they looked like under their original Christmas trees.

This is a great thread. I have been enjoying hearing the stories of other collectors and their perspectives on their trains.  Like many I consider myself a steward of the toys I have collected.

I've been actively collecting toy trains for over 40 years. The majority of the collection is prewar American Flyer however examples of the production of other manufacturers have also sneaked in. It isn't often that I get any information about the trains that I have added to the collection or their owners. In our previous home I belonged to an HO model railroad club just so that I had other train guys to associate with. The president of the club often contacted me when someone wanted some information about prewar trains or had trains to sell.

On one occasion I followed his lead and contacted a woman who had a set of Lionel trains she wanted to sell. It turned out that the trains had been given to her son for Christmas one year.  He had played with it and enjoyed it.  He had recently died and now she wanted to dispose of the train.  I asked her as I always do if there was someone else in the family that might like the set.  She explained that she was a widow, he was her only son, he had been married and divorced with no children and had been an alcoholic for most of his adult life. She wanted it to go to someone that would enjoy and appreciate it. 

While a sad story of a previous owner my grandson now plays with it and enjoys it when we play trains together.

I purchased another set of trains that had been in my boss' family for many years.  There was no one who was interested in it and he knew of my interest in American Flyer trains.

It came in the original set box with all of the individual boxes.

As I examined the cars when I unpacked them there was something rattling around in the observation car.

It makes me wonder about the scenarios that his family played out with this train.

Finally, I have a boxed #215 American Flyer Water Tank with an intriguing bit of information.

The box has a tiny remnant of Christmas wrapping paper still clinging to it held on by some tape.

Do you suppose that the fingerprint of the giver might be trapped under that piece of tape too?

Collecting trains can lead to some wonderful exercise of the imagination.

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

I agree that this is a very interesting thread. I wonder about the previous owners of my trains too, but I also wonder about something else. Who owns my old trains? Regretfully I sold my small collection of postwar trains in 1963 to buy a brass HO locomotive. We lived in Albert Lea, Minnesota at that time and I sold them to a co-worker. Not much, just a couple of boxes with a Lionel 2035 and a UP 2023AA, and assorted cars, some Marx and a lot of Plasticville. What makes it a little unusual is that at some point in time I painted the rims of the drivers on my 2035 white, as would be seen in a builder's photo. Over the years I have looked for a 2035 with white rims thinking it might have been mine. Who knows, maybe someday I can answer somebody’s question about the original owner of their 2035. Or maybe I’ll find out that other kids did this to their locos too.

I always wonder who “Swamy” was on this 2018 set I bought at a garage sale. Could be the owner or someone who repaired it. I repaired the smoke unit and it will run for a long time.

Happy New Year everyone.

Here is a link to a story that I wrote back in 2014.  I used to write an annual American Flyer Tale for Christmas.

Reading this thread jogged my memory.

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

https://cs.trains.com/ctt/f/95/p/243368/2711388.aspx

I would wonder mostly of original owners of some of my Pre War equipment. Wonder how old they were and if they went into the Military WW2 or Korea and if they returned home.

CSXJOE, what a great though you had here!! Here is my story.  I have my father's Lionel train set from 1952 bought by my grandparents from a train store that was local here in Warren, Ohio that was actually a house!! They sold Lionel out of there basement. I believe they were in business until the 80's?? The house is still standing to this day and whenever I drive by the house, I instantly think of that Lionel train set. This is what got me started with my train obsession in the late 70's. Just like so many others, the train only came out at Christmas time. It was sometime in the late 70's when we finally had a small train table year around in the basement, great memories I sure miss my father!!

Jeff

Latest purchase, trying to recreate a prewar set.  Wonder how many owners since 1942?

@Gene H posted:

I would wonder mostly of original owners of some of my Pre War equipment. Wonder how old they were and if they went into the Military WW2 or Korea and if they returned home.

Now, there's a haunting thought.  Stories of hot cars sold by parents of guys who went to 'Nam but didn't come back are part of automobilia lore.  I had never made that connection before.

@Greg J. Turinetti posted:

Here is a link to a story that I wrote back in 2014.  I used to write an annual American Flyer Tale for Christmas.

Reading this thread jogged my memory.

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

https://cs.trains.com/ctt/f/95/p/243368/2711388.aspx

Thanks for reminding me of that story, Greg!  I read through that thread with delight some years back, and it will be a real pleasure to do so again.

I found a prewar freight set in decent condition at an estate sale. I hesitated to buy it because someone had initialed both sides of every car prominently. I bought the set anyway, figuring someone had once cared a great deal for it.

Eric

It's getting worse.  Have some orphan postwar engines and have begun to aquire the missing cars to make catalog sets.

I think more about the previous owners of my prewar trains, rather than the owners of my postwar trains, primarily because of the financial sacrifice the parents must have made to buy trains for their kids during the Great Depression. I also think about how many of those prewar--and postwar and modern trains-- might not have come to be if it weren't for the little Mickey Mouse wind-up hand car, the sales of which in 1934 helped Lionel survive the Great Depression.

Eric,

You should be able to remove the markings with paint thinner and rubbing lightly.  That original Lionel paint is pretty tough.

EAW, my brother used to scratch his initials into his trains.  Today I have Dad's, mine, and my brothers, and as my brothers grandchildren come along - they receive his scratched trains, which are in great condition...except for his initials.  I also recently sent a 1954 set to a grandson of a USAF Colonel, and in the box was the story of the original owner, how I received it, passed to me, etc...all in original boxes, including the brown cardboard set box.  I like this thread - toys and memories.  Doesn't get much better.  OGR rocks!

I have a Pennsy Decapod that came from a (cigarette) smoke environment.  After several cleanings, it still reminds me of it's heritage.

@Mike CT posted:

I have a Pennsy Decapod that came from a (cigarette) smoke environment.  After several cleanings, it still reminds me of it's heritage.

Hahaha I feel you on that one.

I have a set of PRR F3s that I swear someone put cologne or potpourri in the smoke unit.

To the original question... not usually.

Mark in Oregon

@Greg J. Turinetti posted:

As I examined the cars when I unpacked them there was something rattling around in the observation car.

It makes me wonder about the scenarios that his family played out with this train.

Greg

Ever since I got my first train set in 1953, it has always been dutifully protected by U.S. Armed Forces.

CSXJOE,

Maybe one day someone will attempt to remove them. On one of the cars it appears that an attempt was made to remove some of the painted initials. At this time I have no wish to remove the initials.  It does make me wonder who P.P.M. was.

Thanks

Eric

A prewar Marx army locomotive came to me a year ago. The original owner's name and address was on it, so I could see what his house looked like. It was nice to have the connection.

My collection also contains a kit built reefer that was made by someone in the armed forces in 1944. It says so on the bottom of the car.

I also have some postwar where the name of the hobby shop is stamped on the box.

I picked up a Pre-War Flying Yankee set at auction a number of years back that had definitely been well cared for.  On the set box, written in cursive — imagine THAT! — was the statement, “Not for Christmas!”  Obviously, this was one that was to be spared tree sap and other such hazards, including high speed running.

Yet another purchase involved a post-War Maerklin SK 800 steam locomotive that belonged to the seller’s father, who had purchased it new while working in Berlin as a PanAm employee.  Having served in Berlin during my military service, I told the seller it was only fitting that a fellow “Berliner” should take over its care.

As for my other trains, I can only imagine who the original owner was, how often they enjoyed them, and how they ultimately made their way to me.  I wonder whoever owns them in the future will think the same.