My early “trainhood” was 1955 to 1968. I had an uncle who gave me a train the year I was born, and he added to the Lionel fleet on birthdays and Christmas for many years.
All the trains were Lionel, but when I unboxed them in the early 1990s, I discovered the track, switches, and most of the accessories were Marx. But everything that rolled was Lionel.
My first layout was on a 4 x 8 fiberboard sheet. I first had a figure 8, then I changed that into a loop, with two switches going to sidings. One had a Marx barrel loader, and the other one had an old shoebox that was a “factory.”
Moving freight
I had three locomotives: A 2-6-4 that was my dedicated passenger engine, a No. 6250 that was my freight hauler, and a No. 41 Army diesel that was my general-purpose switcher and my “War Wagon.”
Frankly, the No. 41 is a pretty weak puller. I had three postwar No. 2400 passenger cars and mine had a tough time with them. I tailored its duties to what it could handle, some gondolas with plastic pipe loads or my two Baby Ruth boxcars.
The War Wagon
Like a lot of kids at that time, I had a ton of toy soldiers. Soldiers by Marx, Auburn, or Tim Mee only had a standard scrape in regard to their own troops. Most were probably 1:32 scale, great for garden trains but not so much for O scale.
I’d put troops that were kneeling or at least not standing upright in a gondola in front, and then put the taller guys in a Norfolk and Western No. 6446 hopper on the rear. Remember, when you are 8 or 9, reality and scale are, well, somewhat flexible.
So the freight got delivered, but my No. 41 got the credit for keeping German, Russian, Japanese troops, or for that matter invaders from Mars for severing my logistical pipeline!
What my No. 41 might have lacked in pulling power was made up for with Fun memories. This small engine is certainly a locomotive I love.
I liked the little engine but spent a lot of time cleaning the motor’s armature. Despite that, I still have it in my collection.