Disney Train Tour

Ok, I know you are all used to me having great pictures. I don't have them yet... But I will!

Disney is releasing a new movie/take on a Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol. Apparently they are doing a train promotion to kick it off doing stops all over the United States. The Amtrak train is specially painted just for the event. Can there be a Lionel flavor far behind?

Judging from the website this looks like one heck of a neat promotion. The train looks really cool as well; the paintjob is something I have to see in person.

Click on the link above or click here for the press release.

Marc

Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas Everyone! Here's a few of the cards I received -

Marc

From Kirk:

From Al -

Happy Holidays Everyone!

I am penning some new articles now. I am putting a really nice one together on standard gauge flat cars (the unsung hero of the prewar pike). I'd love to blog more except it seems like every customer I have needed some urgent something or another right up until yesterday. I'm not kidding, my mobile phone has been ringing constantly since last week and just stopped this morning. I am still getting emails! So much for balance. I think I am just going to turn all of this junk off and leave my ZW plugged in for the next week....

Marc

PS The nice Christmas card above is from one of our contributors, VisitingAl. Happy Holidays Al!

First Christmas Layout....

Ok, Kirk shot me a nice pic of his layout. Anyone else?

Why am I supposed to be excited again?

Just saw Lionel's Christmas catalog. Why am I supposed to be excited again? It's a retread of quite a few items Lionel has already produced repeatedly.

A G-Gauge Polar Express? Ok, the first one was nice but it's getting a little overdone. I'll be interested to see how Lionel reproduces the trains from Harry Potter.

I am a Harry Potter fan thus I am hoping/wishing Lionel does this right.

Why am I so hard on Lionel? Because I expect them to be better than everyone else, that's why. The catalog is weak. Apparently Lionel doesn't discern between short term profit taking and long term market building. I hope the catalogs get better and I hope their are no more repeats of the less than superb #45 Gateman.

Come on guys, this isn't rocket science.

M

PS Sorry Lionel, we can't all be like Certain Toy Train Magazines and kiss your ass.