Here's an article I wrote for the local club.
My Favorite TrainPeople come over and ask me “What's your favorite train?
I could point at this 1909 Lionel steam loco and claim it was may favorite, but that would leave out these little locos from the late teens and early 1920s:
There are a lot of them so they must be special to me. I bought the first one in 1972 from the neighbor. I was nine-years-old. I spent the decades since searching out the different variations, but now they just sit there.
And what about these 33 locos? They fascinate me. I have over two dozen of them, and I keep finding new variations. When guests ask about these locos I can see their eyes glass over as I start pointing the differences. Come to think of it, these are usually the last trains I show people when they come over. As a group, they are neat, but individually they are boring.
This fancy black loco with it's walnut display board must be special because it has a place of honor over the door. Nope. That's more of a train my dad liked so I keep it.
Based on the way these cars are jammed into the shelves, they probably aren't special.
This big American Flyer loco is neat. It has bell in it and goes ka-DING. . . ka-DING. . . ka-DING as it goes around the layout. Of all the American Flyer trains I have this is certainly my favorite. But I doubt it's the most favorite. The dog really likes this one because it's loud, but she can write her own article.
Here's another loco on the layout:
This 392E is special. It's the first standard gauge steam loco I bought. It came from John Hammons in the mid 1980s. It has a mechanical sound system Lionel called a “Chugger” and I added an American Flyer smoke unit. It has had a place on every standard gauge layout I've ever had. While it's certainly A favorite, it's not THE favorite.
When I'm honest with myself, my favorite train is “The Next One.” It's the search for something interesting that drives me.
What's your favorite train?
