I found a Syracuse N.Y. newspaper with a LIONEL ad in my friend's attic and wanted to share it.

The price was $17.95

Can you read the date at the top of the page?

Pete

Neat find!  Chappells is an old locally owned department store.

Interesting. Looks like the Scout is displayed on Lionel "O" track instead of the 027 that came in the set.

Steve

That is very cool! What year is it from?

The date on the newspaper is November 1951.

"Puff"?  "Whistle"?  1951?

I doubt the ad is referring only to the Scout set pictured.  I still have my Scout set....as pictured...given to me in that time frame.  Not even a headlight!

Rather, I believe the ad verbiage encourages folks to go to the store to see their Lionel display, among which, I'm sure, there are higher-priced sets offering those features.  The cheap set price of the set shown is simply another come-on.....prices as low as...prices starting at....etc..  It's what Madison Avenue is all about.

Whatever.  My Scout set was under the tree tagged "From Santa".  It was magical.  I was a born 'looper' (Dad's 366W standard gauge set had been circling the balsam tree each Christmas long before I came on the scene.)  The 8mm color movies (lousy lighting) my aunt took of my scrawny self running that Scout set on Christmas day is part of the 'provenance'I have yet.  

It wouldn't take an advertisement in the newspaper to get Dad and me to a store selling trains.  They indeed had "Magne-Traction"....'magnetic' attraction of young and old electric train 'foamers'.

Ah, memories.   Free and 'essential' when cooped up, for sure.

KD

Love those old newspaper ads - Thank You 

I remember those kinds of ads in my local newspapers as a kid.    They were quite common, and in a sense a magical notice that Christmas was on the way.    

Nice ad!  Would it be possible to scan it on a flatbed scanner?    

Mitch 

I remember Chappells. Although my trains came from Ed Guth’s, since JR Junction wasn’t around for many years yet!😁 Of course I also remember the monorail at Edwards!

My dad came up with the 1950's slogan, "For all your hobbies and toys, see Sam and the Boys" referring to Sam's Hobby and Toys  first located on Warren Street and later located a block South of Ed Guth's on South Salina Street, and at Shopping Town Dewitt. There was also the Sperry Craft Shop, which was just off of S. Salina Street  in the shadow of the DL&W overpass. I think it was actually on Onondaga Street. Mrs. Sperry had her pre-war 763 and Scale Hudson (and some more neat stuff) in a display case to the left of her cash register. They were marked "personal collection -not for sale."

Dey Brothers and the old Noah's Ark Store in Eastwood also had trains for the Christmas season. The "Rocket" Edward's Annex (the Toy Department) is also one of my favorite Christmas season memories.

I grew up in Syracuse and wish I was still there, Syracuse will always be my "home."  Great times and memories! Because of my dad's business dealings with Sam's;  I could look, but not buy, at Ed Guth's; however, I always received a nice discount and knew the folks at Sam's.

Back in the 1950's when I was just a little boy, living in Brooklyn, NY, I recall there were many small toy stores selling electric trains. There were also hardware stores, hobby shops, even large auto and furniture stores that carried them.  It seemed that all kids in the neighborhood wanted Lionel Trains and our parents looked at them as the prestige items of the day. When we went into Manhattan during the Christmas season there were three stores just on 23rd street selling them and many department stores had them as well. It was common to find sales and see this years new offerings. Newspapers ran daily ads.  By 1959 Lionel was faced with competition from low cost race car sets and other toys were becoming more "electric" . By 1969 now at age 20 and in college,  most of the stores that sold them had given up the line and the old Lionel was no more. It took 10 more years (now married) before I was able to look back on my childhood hobby.  The new boom years had begun and the main market was now for young adults. My fondness for the hobby has left me with many, many great memories as it probably has for other forum members. I was blessed to have them.