Lionel Christmas Train Sets – Silent night? Not if you have TrainSounds!
It would be a very interesting statistic to know how many railway modelers currently involved in the hobby got their start as a result of a Lionel Christmas train being placed under the Christmas tree. Certainly the major manufacturers of model railway equipment believe this is an important date on the sales calendar and have for some time responded by making specifically Christmas-themed products available.
The Polar Express is still number one.
The race is on for the 2010 Christmas season, and Lionel is understandably bringing his very popular O-track Polar Express Christmas train to the fore. In addition to the train itself, but at extra cost, there are 1 scale figures. /48 of the film (including reindeer), additional tracks, background dioramas for the train to make entrances and exits, and additional rolling stock. But that’s not all Lionel has to offer for the Jolly Season. Buyers of Christmas train sets should also take a good look at the G-scale version of the Polar Express (especially if your kids are quite young), The Nutcracker Road set, and The Christmas Carol set. And if you are a true fan of model trains, try and tell me what could really go by that exquisite green British 4-6-0 North Pole Central locomotive. I know it’s not a boxed set like the others above, but hey, you’re a model railroad, aren’t you? This is the season to be creative!
The jingle of the sleigh and the lonely moans of the whistle.
The Nutcracker Road set features an American 4-4-0, complete with snowplow, two vintage clerestory cars, and a flatcar with four reindeer (sitting quietly while being transported). Transformer, a track oval, and a smoke fluid pod complete the package. Oh yes, the locomotive is steaming and making all the noises of a steam train, thanks to Lionel’s TrainSounds sound system.
But a Lionel Christmas train set was last year’s gift!
Ok, so it’s time to go for the plugins. This is a true model train system, remember. If you’re going to buy additional carriages or carriages, or maybe even a second locomotive (check out Lionel’s very good 0-4-0 Yard Switcher), it’s probably a good idea to buy more track. The set you bought last year came with an oval, but if you add extra cars to your train, you run the very real risk of making your beautiful train look like a dog biting its own tail. And while it’s the season to be merry, that it’s just silly! So an extra track is a good idea, and oh yeah, maybe a change… or two, so that maneuvering and car detection on the sidings can happen. Now, you see where this leads, don’t you? Extra tracks, more ambitious track plans, multiple locomotives, and last year’s toy is starting to transform into a serious model railway. Which is something I think Lionel might have had in mind. They make some great trains and accessories and want a real commitment from you to the hobby.
Good news of comfort and joy.
Lionel has been in the train building business for a long time and they know where the real fun is. It begins, all too often, with Lionel’s Christmas train set, in his box, under the tree. It quickly becomes Lionel’s Christmas train circling the Christmas tree, but for a lot of lucky people, it becomes so much more than that. I would love to know how many model railways are born on Christmas day!