Fred Schafer gave me a Lionel locomotive (made only in 1946-1947). It's all metal and super heavy – nearly four pounds!  One of my newer plastic Marx locos weighs about 12 ounces.  Like many toy makers, Marx went from high quality metal trains to plastic.

A child in the 1940's often received one toy for Christmas and it was made to last!  The majority of the metal engines made by Lionel and Marx that are 60+ years old will still run if cleaned and lubed.  I put Fred's 1946 loco on a test track and it ran fine, though it hadn't been run for several decades.

One of my best Christmas memories, as an eight year old, was wishing for a train and winning a really nice Lionel train set in a drawing at the drug store in Waynesfield.  Mom and dad had already bought a wonderful set and said I could have one but not both sets. I was thrilled to have a Lionel set!

Though my blog may seem to be about trains and toys, it's really not – it's about memories and I have enough to make this Christmas as special as the previous 59!

More on Christmas next week!

Pastor Mark