Nostalgia

Nostalgia:

*A wistful desire to return in thought or fact to a happy time in one's life

*A sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time

*A sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations

The above picture is of me at age 4 on my tricycle wearing my Davy Crockett T-shirt. It brings back wonderful feelings for me. I loved playing "Cowboys" with my six-shooter cap guns and friends. In addition to my Lionels, I have a collection of Disney Davy Crockett items:

My Lionels also bring back warm feelings of days past; my Dad building a layout for my brother and I when I was 6 or 7, painting figures with my Mom, running trains on combined "layouts" with friends, opening Christmas packages containing a new piece of rolling stock, and more.

Nothing is more nostalgic than Christmas layouts:

For more Christmas layouts click here: Christmas Layouts Past & Present (warrenvillerailroad.com)

When I operate my Warrenville Railroad the aroma produced by original Lionel smoke pellets, the e-unit buzz, the air whistles and diesel engine "bicycle" horn sounds and the smell of ozone always, without fail, makes me happy.

Running my re-created original Lionel set, headed by a 2338 Milwaukee Road GP7 is one of my favorite things.

I remember combining track with friends to make super one day carpet layouts. Tug of wars with our engines too (I always lost as I didn't understand that my friend's Lackawanna Trainmaster had 2 motors and my Milwaukee RoadGP7 had only one).

My Lionels were precious to me - always went back in the boxes when put away - I knew that if I didn't respect them I would not get a replacement. Even my modest set upgraded with an LW transformer, 2 switches, and some extra track, cost my father two week's take home pay!

Nostalgia definitely guides my purchases of Post and Pre War Lionel trains. It plays a huge role in the whole look of, and construction methods used in building, Warrenville.

Other fond memories for me include balsa wood airplanes from the candy store (10 cents for a glider, 15 cents for one with a rubber band wind-up propeller), games in the street after dinner, target practice with bows and arrows, BB guns too, making and playing with go-carts made from 2x4's, wheels and axels from old carriages and a piece of rope, also scooters made from a 2x4, a wooden crate and pieces of old roller skates (remember skate keys??), comic books (10 cents for a regular issue, 15 cents for the thicker triple issues), playing King of the Hill on the large snow "mountains" made by city garbage truck snow plows on most corners, etc., etc.

For more toy train nostalgic thoughts, click here: "Trains is a Winter Sport" - Not! (warrenvillerailroad.com)

Nostalgia. A wonderful thing. Without it would I enjoy my PostWar Lionels so much?

I think not.