A Ft. Worth, Texas, newspaper article about Lionel trains.
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Thanks, great story. Love to read stuff like this. Watching the trains run in a dept. store was an annual Christmas event.
Great story, nice to see a display layout find a good home.
This story brings out wonderful memories for the Leonard family. I am sure there are thousands of other such stories that from time to time will be published. At least I hope so. They make very good reading and warm your heart when it comes to trains.
Wonderful story. I always like to see the factory-made displays.
The pictures are wonderful.
Peter
Very cool, and especially interesting to me as I am planning to start building a Lionel Dealer Display Layout (D-105) in the Fall. This will be a second layout for me and I’ve got enough space for a 5x9. I considered several of the 5x9 Dealer Displays, including the D-147 shown in the article.
Great stuff. 
I am going to catch a train in Rowlett(Dallas) TX $2.50 and ride it to FT Worth to see this , I think it would be a GREAT day trip for $2.50 can you go 60 miles?
Brent
What a wonderful full circle this display has made against all the odds. Great story.
Bought a bunch of trains from Greg Dow at his Ft. Worth store back in the 90s. It was a small shop in the same building as his parents' art store - actually an adjoining room. He wasn't really a dealer, but had a good selection of nice mint MPC/LTI trains back in the day, almost all of which were ones he bought for resell.
At the time he closed, it was really the only place in Ft. Worth to buy Lionel trains; sadly, I don't think there is a single store in that city that sells O gauge trains today. Maybe this display will generate some interest. There are trains shows in Ft. Worth every year, and they are well-attended.
As a youngster in the mid to late 1940's, would go to Philadelphia at Christmas time with my parents on the number 15 Public Service bus.
Strawbridge and Clothier, Gimbels, Wannamaker's and Lit Brothers all had large train layouts.
Strawbridge's and Gimbels had a entire floor devoted to toys.
Boy, if that wasn't exciting.
I was lucky growing up in NYC in the 50's. My Dad would take my brother and I over to Manhattan to see the Lionel display at their headquarters on E26th Street. That was a treat, We would then walk over to the AC Gilbert building over on Broadway for the American Flyer display, opposite the Flatiron Building. Great memories.
I now live in the DFW area.
