What Was Your Favorite Catalog From The Postwar Era?

The 1957 catalog: The stuff that dreams were made of.

Rusty

Since you didn't specify a brand...😁

...my favorite (s) would probably be:

pretty much any of the Walthers O scale catalogs from mid-50s on;

...same goes for America's Hobby Center (AHC) , since those were the first catalogs I got back in the day;

...I also liked the little catalogs Pacific Fast Mail used to offer: those beautiful brass engines...stuff dreams were made of.

Sorry, no Flyer or Lionel... 🙂

Mark in Oregon

Rusty Traque.

Ditto.  Also year I got my first Lionel.

1958 with the rocket launcher on the front

1957

The 1952 Lionel Catalog with my first set and the 6671RR leading.

That iconic picture still endures to this day with Lionel and others still knocking off elements of the cover.

No question for me....1958.....the year "Santa" brought me the F3 New Haven Freight set....

Here it is.....

This page has a soft spot in my heart......the 2nd Super O layout was my very 1st layout...

In addition, lots of memorable sets in Super O and O27.......

Have a great day, everyone....

Peter

For me, it was the  Lionel 1958. All the space and military items got my attention......so well illustrated!

Gee Peter. No drool on the pages!😅 Wonderful catalog.

1957....The year I got my Lionel Train Set under the Christmas Tree.

My favorite PostWar Lionel Catalog is the 1954 edition. The Cleartrack Special set in that catalog was available that year and also in 1955, when I received it for Christmas from Santa.

You may have received that set in 1955, but that is the 1954 catalog in your post.

@Richard Cuozzo posted:

You may have received that set in 1955, but that is the 1954 catalog in your post.

Richard:  I stand corrected, sir. You are absolutely right. The catalog I have IS the 1954 catalog, not the 1955. Further research shows that my Cleartrack Special set was first issued in 1954, with extra sets held over and also sold in 1955.

Thank you for that.

1947 American Flyer with the huge prewar layout in it. You could see where the third rail had been airbrushed out and many of the steam engines were airbrushed, so you could not tell that they were prewar models that did not get carried through to postwar.

Great stuff!

@Putnam Division posted:

No question for me....1958.....the year "Santa" brought me the F3 New Haven Freight set....

Same here.  Mainly because it’s the first catalog I can ever recall seeing.  My first set was from 1958.  

My first catalog was 1966 and still have it.

Tough to pick one. I got my train when I was 2 yr old (1949). But I always looked for the new catalogs each year they came out.

Bob

1958 was the jackpot:

1. Santa brought me the 746 N&W set with the culverts.

2. Santa brought my younger brother the 2505W VGN Rectifier set with the 6805 AE Disposal car, which I later acquired as there was zero interest by him in trains.

3. Santa brought a ZW, Super "O" track and a 4x12 platform built at the local lumber yard.

4. As I read the 1958 catalog, without realizing it, I developed an interest in the variations of the Alco diesels presented. The thing is every Christmas was train-time, but 1958 exceeded expectations.

5. For example, in Christmas 1955, Santa himself built  a platform and brought the 600 MKT set. On Christmas norming, the platform was placed in the center of the living room, with the tree shoved in a corner as shown in photos. However, subsequent pictures a few days later show the tree replaced the platform,  which was moved to the corner. I was five years old and realized this only a few years ago; both parents are gone, so I will never know what happened. My guess is Mom was religious, so the tree took precedent. Dad was less so (in those days). Dad definitely pushed Lionel trains, as he wanted his sons to learn to repair the trains, in order  to learn working  with our hands. Dad was quite the craftsman in many fields. However, I stayed with trains, a life-long interest. You can lead the horse, etc.

Mark

As my interests developed in the hobby after getting my original set in 1960, I think the 1957 catalog, and, the 1958 catalogs would have also contained a number of the trains, accessories, and freight cars that I fell in love with.  Also, I was a big fan of the Super "O" track that came with my initial set.  So, Rusty Traque's beautiful 1957 catalog, and the 1958 catalog posted by Putnam Division also hold a special place.

Additionally, from approximately 1960 to 1962, at least two train stores in our area still had a number of locomotives, operating cars, accessories, and freight cars from the middle 1950's.  

As a result, over time, I was able to add some pieces from the earlier catalogs, sometimes at a discount.  Most of these were gifts, or items I purchased with money that I had earned from my paper route, shoveling snow, or cutting lawns.  At the time, I don't believe that I had any idea which catalog they came from.  I saw them displayed at the store, or the retailer suggested them to me.  I did notice that many of the items came in different Lionel boxes than the perforated "display" boxes that most of my original cars came in. Also many of those freight cars had die cast trucks.

It's a tough decision, but I'll go with the 1952 edition. Even as a child I was taken by the cover illustration of an arch bridge proudly proclaiming LIONEL and spanning six tracks worth of locomotives, while yet another led a train over it. This was probably the first catalog I could read on my own, and I spent literally hours agonizing over its offerings in the months leading up to Christmas. At that time I already had a pair of 2333 F3s, and that year Santa brought the newly cataloged Super Speedliner cars to go with them.

That said, the my vote for the single best - or most influential - catalog illustration of the post war era would go to the two page spread in the 1950 book that introduced the 773 Hudsons and their sets -

To this day I'm a passenger train guy, and that drawing of a 773 piloting three Irvington cars may well be why.

Cheers,

- Mike

1957. All those accessories and operating cars. It only took me a lifetime to get them all . 1952 was also good (my 1st Christmas and my first set). The poster (Hey Fellows! Let's Build a Railroad!) that came with the set from that year is hanging above my workbench.

Great pictures and stories, everyone......

Great thread idea, Dennis!

Peter

1962. The first Lionel catalog I saw was when I was 5 years old in 1962.  The forced-perspective drawings in bold color were captivating.  Also, enjoyed looking at the road racing and Lionel-Porter chemistry, plastics and microscope sets and even the "Talking Teddy."  When I bought a NOS copy in the late 70's after not seeing the catalog for around 15 years, paging through brought back fantastic memories.

BTW, when I was 5 I received a 736 Berkshire, a number of pieces of rolling stock and a ZW transformer.  The trains belonged to a relative who was a TV writer and director - he created the Phil Silvers Bilko show and Car 54 Where Are You?   My mom told me that if he were to make a joke involving a play on words using a company name, he would often receive the item from the manufacturer's PR firm - that is how he acquired the Lionel items.  For example, if he needed a new vacuum cleaner, he would write a "Hoover" joke.  Fortunately for me, he had two daughters who were not interested in the trains and when my grandparents were visiting him and his family they commented that "Bob would love to play with these."  When they were getting ready to leave, he presented them with all of the items to give to me.  That was the start of my interest in the hobby that continues to this day.

For me, my favorite catalog is the 1956 “Accessories” catalog which was a black and white catalog that came with my 1956 Chrismas present… a Lionel 1615 0-4-0 switcher with its work train consisting of a Wheel Car, a Crane Car, and a Work Caboose.
I remember reading that catalog over and over. I still have it and that train set. That is what started my life long interest in trains and model railroading!

@Putnam Division posted:

No question for me....1958.....the year "Santa" brought me the F3 New Haven Freight set....

Here it is.....

This page has a soft spot in my heart......the 2nd Super O layout was my very 1st layout...

In addition, lots of memorable sets in Super O and O27.......

Have a great day, everyone....

Peter

Hi Pete,

It was '58 for me too. But you missed my favorite page.

I remember staring at this page for hours when I was a kid. In fact, several copies of this catalog were destroyed by my teachers who didn't like me having them opened up in the middle of my text books. Luckily it seemed that we always would have multiple copies after our visits to the Lionel Showroom and Madison Hardware.

This was a scene I always wanted to re-create on my layout one day.

@NYC Fan posted:

Hi Pete,

It was '58 for me too. But you missed my favorite page.

I remember staring at this page for hours when I was a kid. In fact, several copies of this catalog were destroyed by my teachers who didn't like me having them opened up in the middle of my text books. Luckily it seemed that we always would have multiple copies after our visits to the Lionel Showroom and Madison Hardware.

This was a scene I always wanted to re-create on my layout one day.

No doubt, Skip......another memorable page of sets!

Peter

All of them, A few I bought from Madison Hardware,

I know some of you remember Instructions book,

Do I have to choose just 1? That is being sadistic. 1950, 1955, 1958, 1966 are my favorites. If I must pick only 1, I will choose 1958. You are making me offend the spirits of all the other Post War Catalogs. But I must admit. My favorite sets are in the 1957 Catalog.

1966 was great since it featured color photographs of the items.  Unfortunately, the selection was a bit slim but a great presentation of what was offered.

All postwar catalogs were great. I would venture a guess that generally speaking one’s favorite catalog will be the one with your first train set in it.  For me it was the 59 with my NP GP set with the aquarium car and fire and ladder car.
Alan

Thanks for all of the beautiful catalog illustrations, pictures, and wonderful stories!  There were obviously many gorgeous, engaging Lionel catalogs in the Postwar Era that left numerous pleasant memories for a generation.  And, a special thanks to Peter for the nice note!

@Big John Henry posted:

Do I have to choose just 1? That is being sadistic. 1950, 1955, 1958, 1966 are my favorites. If I must pick only 1, I will choose 1958. You are making me offend the spirits of all the other Post War Catalogs. But I must admit. My favorite sets are in the 1957 Catalog.

You know, you may be on to something........I was looking at the 1957 catalog again today and there are some spectacular sets that year along with the introduction of SuperO. As Rusty posted up above, the back cover showing a Rec Room Dream Layout must have been in the thoughts of many as they tried to concentrate in school.....and, while it may not be my personal favorite, I agree, it deserves at least an honorable mention......

Here are a few pics of the sets I like.....

I actually have this set.....it is very colorful and a personal favorite....

The MoPac set was the 1st set for one of our Modular Group members....

The Budd Cars are memorable.....

A great set to introduce SuperO!

We talked about the GG-1 set on the other thread......

The CP set, while not a favorite of mine, is nice......

...and the J.....funny story, until I moved to Virginia and associated with N&W people, I thought the J was solely a freight locomotive......

Dennis....a great thread and lots of fun imagining being 6 years old again!

Peter

Along with the illustrated trains is the beauty of the surrounding scenes. They sparked the imagination and took you to foreign places.  Not necessarily an other country, But someplace other than where you are. For me in Brooklyn, for example, pictures of the Super Chief in the southwest were transportive.
To me it’s similar to the illustrations in WWII Life magazines. I’m talking about the commercial propaganda art of war production companies. Great captivating artwork.
Maybe if it were reinstated into train catalogs some kids might have their imaginations sparked and gain an interest. But, they’re probably too far gone as this point.
Alan

Without question, those Sherman designed drawings were exquisite, and, transformative, as Alan insightfully comments above.  The Lionel catalogs were, without question, evocative and artistic creations - particularly those issued in the 1950's and the early 1960's.  

(Big John Henry has an awesome and totally apt response:  "That is being sadistic. 1950, 1955, 1958, 1966 are my favorites. If I must pick only 1, I will choose 1958. You are making me offend the spirits of all the other Post War Catalogs. But I must admit. My favorite sets are in the 1957 Catalog.")

So many Forum Members have kindly posted numerous beautiful pages from those Sherman catalogs from the 1950's. The catalog pages kindly posted by Peter (not-to-far above) are easily my favorites.  In looking through those particular pages, over the many years, I have managed to acquire a number of those stunning locomotives, either Lionel's new releases, or, Williams' faithful renditions.  

So, the Sherman designed catalogs have continued to work their subliminal magic through these many years.  And, either fortunately or unfortunately, in my case, to this day.

Well of course, the ones that had my sets in them. 1949 @ 1951. A memory however was the first year a TM was splashed across two pages. What a monster back then.

I have all of the post-war Lionel catalogs from 1946 through 1959 inclusive and at least once or twice a year I page through all of them; I never tire of them.  I have to say that out of the whole collection I think the best were 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957 and 1958.  Like so many others have posted my favorite has always been the 1958 Catalog.   I read through my original 1958 Catalog so many times that today it is a rag eared mess.  I eventually purchased a mint 1958 Catalog at York to accompany my original which I of course kept for its sentimental value.

@Dennis GS-4 N & W No. 611 posted:

That train set was actually operating inside of the grey piers of the Lionel trestles!

The trestles in that set were different than the regular 111 trestle set, requiring a slight modification to the tooling just for this run.

1958 and 1957 and I refuse to choose .

1948 catalog when Santa bought the 2332 GG1 with Madison cars, still have em.

Mikey