Customer Rating: 
Summary: Tom Snyder Brought Out the "Little Kid" in Me
Comment: Tom Snyder's down-to-earth narration style was beautifully suited for this well-crafted history of Lionel trains. The two volume video series brought out the "little kid" in me.
Jos. Marquis, Detroit, MI
Customer Rating:
Summary: Tears for Yesterday's Trains
Comment: My father, the son of a Frisco locomotive engineer, was 48 years old when I was born, so I was still a fairly young man and was still making the mistakes that a fairly young man makes while he is still learning what is really important in life when my father died. What wouldn't I give today were I only able to seat my father beside my Lionel layout, to put on my biggest steam locomotives, and to run them ponderously and majestically (and, yes, noisily) before my father's gaze for his enjoyment. If only I could find a way to repay my father for those wonderful trains that he brought home for his young son. Video productions seldom dampen my cheeks, but thoughts of my father's love and generosity, and memories of my own love of my childhood trains, brought a mist to my eyes while I watched this product from TM Video. In Part 2, which picks up the Lionel story after the Great Depression, I saw more than a few items that I remember clearly having enjoyed greatly when they emerged from Christmas and birthday boxes so many years ago in a home that is now over a thousand miles away and in a time that is no longer recoverable except in memory. What a fantastic time machine this video is!
I wasn't so much affected by Part 1, which covers Lionel from its founding by Joshua Lionel Cohen (later Americanized to Cowen) in 1900 through World War I and into the 1920's, not that the material is any less than excellent but that I had simply not experienced the Pre-War era first hand. Nonetheless, the excellence of the models procured for the production is incredible. Many of these trains look as though they had just emerged from their boxes! Seeing these lovely antiques in operation while listening to Tom Snyder's lively and knowledgeable discussion is an experience as entertaining as it is informative.
Taken together, the two 60-minute tapes that comprise this set give a surprisingly inclusive picture of the evolution of Lionel (and, to a lesser extent, American Flyer) trains and their impact on American youth throughout the entire 20th century. The second tape ends with a look at today's Lionel under the ownership of Wellspring LLC and with Richard Maddox at the corporate helm. If you thought that electric trains were gone, by the way, think again!
For those of us who are active model railroaders in the O-gauge size pioneered by Lionel, this video set refreshes our knowledge of the history of a company whose name remains more familiar than our own, and does so in a most enchanting way. For those who may stumble upon this video set but whose interest has not focused on electric trains before, be warned: After viewing these tapes, your next stop will very likely be at a hobby shop to bring home some of these wonderful toys to begin your own memories, for these trains are toys not only for childhood but also for grownups of any age.
