NJWilk
11-06-2007, 05:31 PM
Do you put a trainset under your tree or elsewhere as part of your decorating?
When I was a kid, my grandfather did a fantastic set up under the tree with a couple of 4 x 4 plywood platforms, tracks, houses, people, lights. It was always a major activity in the household, helping Pappap with the houses and deciding where to put each little person in the scene. I remember being allowed to control the train - under strict supervision - and run it around and around. Awesome.
Mom says that setup was minor compared to what he did when she was younger. Apparently trains were extremely popular with the men in his social group in the 40s and the guys competed with one another to create the most elaborate displays. Pappap had mountains and inclines and tunnels all over the parlor. One of his cousins cut a hole in the wall between two rooms in his house so the train could travel from room to room.
When I was a kid, my grandfather did a fantastic set up under the tree with a couple of 4 x 4 plywood platforms, tracks, houses, people, lights. It was always a major activity in the household, helping Pappap with the houses and deciding where to put each little person in the scene. I remember being allowed to control the train - under strict supervision - and run it around and around. Awesome.
Mom says that setup was minor compared to what he did when she was younger. Apparently trains were extremely popular with the men in his social group in the 40s and the guys competed with one another to create the most elaborate displays. Pappap had mountains and inclines and tunnels all over the parlor. One of his cousins cut a hole in the wall between two rooms in his house so the train could travel from room to room.