The
top tier consists of two Standard Gauge loops, an outer circle and an inner
figure 8. Here is an American Flyer Shasta passenger set heading round
the rear curve and under a Lionel #440 signal bridgeTHE PREWAR LAYOUT
Many people have written about their fascination with toy trains made before World War II. Maybe it was also because that gap in 20th Century history also made such a break in more than people's lives. It ushered in a whole new culture and technology for us all. No matter what, toy trains made after the war were almost totally different than those made before - other than they rode on the same track and were powered by the same plug in the wall. (Toy train historians will correct this by noting many of the trends toward realistic trains started in the middle '30s, but the real outrushing of new materials, technology and styles waited till the end of the war.)
Why are they so special? For some people, they represent another era and the toys associated with it. For others they are a link to their own family and the things that were important to earlier generations. For me, I am fascinated with the way they represent the world of the first half of the 20th Century. They flash of color and sound. Trains, racing around their circles, spark on the third rail (there is no better generator of Ozone, the smell of toy trains). Lights flash and flicker. Miniature lead people mock the poses and styles of a different era. It all comes together with a fascination with those trains of the first half of the last century.
The layout. I have tried to represent what might be a large department store display of toy trains in the middle or late 30's. This was the time for art deco and streamlining, so my design tries to emulate that feeling. It consists of four tiers with curved risers with a simple blue and white color scheme above the uniform gray of the layout's table work. Scenery is very stylized, consisting of a painted table top with gray for the roadbed and roads, green for grass and blue for water. The idea is to emphasize the trains and accessories.
The
top tier consists of two Standard Gauge loops, an outer circle and an inner
figure 8. Here is an American Flyer Shasta passenger set heading round
the rear curve and under a Lionel #440 signal bridge
The
layout is "L" shaped and the upper level on one leg consists of an
O Gauge loop around a town scene consisting of the delightful Lionel buildings
of the 1930's. Of course we have the #114 terminal with platform shelters
and behind is a street scene with several of the bungalows and mansions that
Lionel made available to fill in the layouts of that era. We have been
fortunate to have some original scenic plots that were available to surround
the houses.
With
the exception of one Ives passenger set, all the trains run on the prewar layout
are either Lionels or American Flyer O gauge or Standard Gauge. Although
Lionel is by far the major name in trains, I really also like the prewar trains
made by American Flyer. Here is a portion of the upper level where I have
placed several Flyer accessories to welcome the Lone Scout passenger arriving
at the station.
.
This is the middle tier of on the leg of the layout with a Lionel #390 steamer hauling a passenger past the classic #124 station sitting on a #129 terrace. Various street light add more character to the scene. The locomotive was one of the first steamers offered by Lionel when they reintroduced steam locos to their line after many years of offering only electric style locos. This particular engine, in its first year, pulled the newly introduced Blue Comet set, perhaps the most famous and colorful of Lionel' Standard Gauge passenger trains. This was to last only one year as they were waiting to introduce the largest Lionel steamer, the #400E, to pull this set. Here the #390 is pulling a more prosaic, but still colorful, set of #309 series cars.
Prewar
layouts come alive with the lead figures offered by several companies.
The best known for standard gauge size people were made by Barclay, several
of which are waiting for train time at the #124 station. Like so many
collectors, I have to have the figures in their many color variations.
Here
is another view of the upper O gauge loop with a #225 steamer circling the village,
populated by Lionel houses and street lights, some toy cars and O gauge figures.
This
scene shows three of the tiers, with O Gauge on the lowered level, Standard
Gauge on the middle and O Gauge again on the upper. The highest Standard
Gauge loop can be seen in the background. The lower O gauge loop is made
with Lionel T Rail track. This is a track system made to coincide with
the introduction of their new scale sized line of trains, highlighted by the
magnificent New York Central Hudson. It is all steel, with a wide radius
and uses rail joiners to tie each piece together, similar to actual railroad
track.
Here
is the Shasta again, this time coming around the front part of the upper Standard
Gauge tier. Above it is a Leland Detroit monorail and in the background,
the largest building ever made by Lionel, their power station. The monorail
is a great addition to prewar layouts, and although hard to find, operating
it invariably brings smiles to visitors as it roars around, wobbling as it goes,
and making a great deal of noise. Such fun!
Since the prewar layout is an island in the middle of the room, all the rest of the trains are placed on shelves below the tables. This doesn't make them very visible, in contrast to the usual shelves on a wall. But that is the trade off I accepted by having the scenery on the wall and making the prewar layout an island. A sample of standard gauge trains is on the left and O gauge on the right.
