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Another post is addressing train store displays a century ago.  I lived through the peak, l think, of Marx, Flyer, and Lionel dime and dept. store holiday displays of trains (and sale volume?).  I think that might have been in the early 1950's, but which year? When were all three providers simultaneously at their peaks and before the public?

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Keep in mind in looking at Marx that trains were only a portion of his business.  Marx was, IIRC, at one time the largest manufacturer of toys in the world.  It may (or may not) be difficult to tease the train sales out of the larger totals.

In any case, the '50s is almost inevitable given the baby boom demographics.

My perspective--based on personal experience--would include the entire period of the 1950s through the mid-point of the 1960s. Trains were THE toys of choice for boys in my area throughout the 50s, and I sold Lionel and Flyer trains in a large department store during the holiday periods of 1959-61. By the time I graduated from college in the mid-1960s, toy trains had begun to be replaced by other toys (largely inspired by aviation and the space age).

@bigkid posted:

It was definitely the mid to late 50's, by the late 60's it basically didn't exist any more.

I'm going to shift it a bit earlier - late '40's (after the WWII interruption was overcome) to the mid '60's. I was born in '48, so i don't remember that period, but the '60's I certainly do.

Or - was it partly my perception of the '60's and trains? I was personally paying almost no attention to them by '65. I'm not sure what was going on with department store train sales and displays.

My interests were trains and other model building, until 1955, when family started taking camping trips out of state.  That diverted my interest to cars, and l became oblivious to what was going on with electric trains. So I have wondered if l had therefore missed the  "glory days".  I guessed it would have been the year of the highest holiday sales across the three brands, IF those numbers are available .

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