Toy Trains
Who can forget toy trains? An annual viewing of "Polar Express" always makes me nostalgic for the trains I knew as a child. My father had a Lionel train that he let us play with. My older sister had a wooden train that we all played with. I received an HO scale train from a company Christmas party when I was 5. My buddy across the street had a very elaborate N gage diorama that filled a good portion of his basement. My own children grew up with Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends and have collected many of those characters.
My Father's Lionel Train
My father received his Lionel steam locomotive when he was 5 years old (in 1932). He said he was so excited he could hardly stand it. He used to keep it set up on his family's ping pong table. All of my brothers and sisters have played with that train at some point in their lives as well as many of our children. It is now displayed in my father's office, where all of us can look at it and travel back in time to when we could hear it thundering down the track and smell the ozone from the transformer.
My Sister's Wooden Train
My sister's wooden train was made in Japan by Borel. It is impressive that she has kept it largely intact over the years. It is very similar to the wooden trains made by Brio.
I received my own electric train from a Christmas party hosted by my father's employer just before my 5th birthday. After the transformer gave out I kept the train displayed on a piece of track mounted on the holey board by my top bunk. I don't remember what became of the train. Most likely, I gave it to my youngest brother.