Kalmbach Publishing Company, producers of an online source for rail-related information, where you can discover model trains, toy trains, garden trains and even real trains.

(Horn) The Model Railroad Division of the Hobby Manufacturer's Association.

Helping hobbyists design and build their own miniature railroad empires inside or outside, big or small.

(Whistle) Music Spencer: Hi, I'm Spencer Christian.

On this episode of Tracks Ahead, we'll travel to California, where we'll find an operating steam railroad that brings back the look and feel of a hundred years ago.

We'll take a nostalgic trip back to the days when Lionel catalogues were Christmas wish lists, and go the Montana state fair - with an added attraction.

Remember your excitement when you were a kid, and you woke up and discovered that your dad or mom bought you a model railroad set?

Okay, now imagine how excited you'd be to find out your dad didn't just buy you a model railroad, he built you one.

And he built you one that was big enough for you and your friends to ride on!

Well, we discovered such a gentleman, and his present brought smiles to millions of children.

Ancr: In 1928, P A Sturtevant, a mechanically inclined cycle, car, and airplane racer, who also happened to be a talented toolmaker, let his hobby run wild.

He built a rideable train for his three-year-old son.

It was a gigantic hit in the Sturtevant's Elmhurst, Illinois neighborhood.

It so impressed a nearby Sears Roebuck executive, that a few years later, Sturtevant was asked to run his train in the new Chicago Sears store.

No surprise, it was a huge hit there, too.

And so, the miniature train & railroad company was formed.

By 1940, more than a dozen department stores were leasing rideable trains.

Trains that wound through the stores on a ten inch track.

Trains that were incredibly popular with the kids, the parents, and the stores.

Andy: They were different.

They enabled kids to stand in line for a long time and give the parents a chance to shop.

It was the genius of a gentleman here in Elmhurst that came up with that at the Sears store.

It started at Sears here in Chicago, then The World's Largest Store, WLS, that's where the radio station came from.

They wanted to promote it as being different and a train running inside the store with the kids waiting to ride the train was a novelty that just spread like wildfire.

Also, P.A.

had an advertising bend to him that got it spread out pretty quickly amongst other stores and other places.

It was a sideline to his machining business and he had people on the road everywhere.

So where ever there was a big store that had the room to run a train, he'd make a contact.

Ancr: Department stores weren't the only ones who jumped on the miniature train craze.

Amusement parks and carnivals with portable rides exploded in popularity, and the now diesel miniature train, was a big reason why.

There were other builders in the 1940's, but none as prolific as the MT&RC.

The coming baby boom would fuel growth even more.

Andy: Amusement parks had gone through a rough time before the Depression and became another center of entertainment during the war because it was affordable and kinof a throwback.

There was nostalgia for amusement parks from the 20's, that occurred during the 40's and 50's.

With the Baby Boom coming around, it was an explosion.

Prewar, there were about a hundred major amusement parks.

By the mid 1950's, there were over 700 in the United States.

The new phenomenon that came up because of the Baby Boom was the idea of KiddieLands that were small parks, 20, 30 acres in the urban areas.

And they just sprung up all over.

Drive-in theaters arose at the exact same time as KiddieLands.

And the crest came when they started putting Kiddielands in drive-in theaters.

Two rides were the key rides in any kind of an amusement center - a Ferris wheel and the train.

Everybody rode the train.

Everybody would ride the train two or three times.

Ancr: But times change, and so did the miniature train business.

By the mid 1950's, automobiles made close- to-home entertainment less necessary.

Kiddieland's and drive-ins were closing.

Lawyers and liability added pressure, and Sturtevant himself was growing older.

He sold his company to a New York based maker of amusement park rides, which, at the end of the century, became the Allan Herschell factory museum in North Tonawanda, New York.

But the trains have not disappeared.

They were reliably built machines that stood the test of time.

Sturtevant didn't follow the manufacturing mantra of pnned obsolescence.

His trains were built to last.

Some are held by private owners, a reliable link to their past.

Eugene: First of all I had a steam locomotive.

And we were finding problems with getting the engine to go out on the track, taking an unusual amount of time.

So I started looking around for one of the Rennselaer diesels which I had experience with working at Kiddieland and actually being there as a child.

Eventually I found an engine that was for sale in Indiana at one of the amusement parks over there and proceeded to bring it home.

We use it for passenger service, we use it for constructing of the railroad, as we're still building the railroad.

We have about 6,000 feet of track down and we're still building.

Ancr: Some, still run at small amusement parks, bringing smiles just as they did back at the Sears store.

And you don't have to be a miniature person, to ride a miniature train.

Tina: This has been an amusement park since the 1950s and we've had trains since then.

The park has over two million visitors a season.

Our season runs May to September, and I think it's so popular because anybody can ride it, from infants all the way up to senior citizens.

And there's something about riding an old train that brings back a lot of memories for a lot of older people, something they can show off to their grandkids.

Dan: Actually they're very simple to keep running.

It's a standard gas type engine which we converted over to propane.

It's just like a typical car of the older vintage.

They don't have points anymore, they have electronic ignition, but gas driven, electric start 12 volt systems, lights.

Just basic automotive technology.

We do a regular routine maintenance daily on the trains.

We pull them out of the depot and check over all the brakes.

Make sure the brakes are adjusted pperly, vacuum cylinders are working.

We check over the engines for fluids, normal maintenance fluid levels, operation running, they're gas driven.

Check all the suspension, make sure they're safe for the riders.

We walk the tracks daily to see if there's any obstructions on the rails, or any movements or adjustments that have to made on the rails at all.

Andy: Insurance has killed the amusement park trains.

Right now the current trains being built by Chance Manufacturing have to have wheelchair lifts, they have to meet environmental standards beyond belief.

They have to be running in fenced in areas where there is no accessibility for anybody to get to the track.

But they're still selling.

Chance Manufacturing sold more trains in the last two years than they did in the last 20.

So yea, they are coming back.

Ancr: So they are not gone, certainly not forgotten, and possibly making a comeback.

Who would have guessed that a talented toolmakers simple wish to build a plaything for his little boy, would have such an impact on the entertainment industry.

Who would have guessed that generations later, that same small train, is still making such big smiles.

Spencer: Miniature Train Company trains can be found all over the united states.

Keep your eyes open, as they are truly one of the long lasting entertainment toys of the mid twentieth century.

Now it's time to visit a railroad club in Great Falls, Montana that gears up for a special show every year.

And they get plenty of visitors to check out their handiwork.

Ancr: Members of Great Falls Montana Railroad Club appear to be just like any other train club.

passionate about running trains and always looking for ways to improve their layouts.

But what makes this group different from others - is where they come together.

No, not a basement, garage, backyard garden, or even a spare bedroom.This club meets each week at the Montana State Fairgrounds.

A location that allows for long tracks and a large HO layout, the Club Room is pretty quiet throughout most of the year.

Members are able to come and go as they please, work on improvements and enjoy their hobby.in change for one small favor.

FAIR NOISE For eight days at the end of July the club opens the doors to over 60,000 fair-goers.

It's pay back time for the members.

time to tease the train curious crowds and show off a years worth of handiwork.

Bob Vinten: They come back each year wanting to see what we've put in that's new and exciting and added since the last year they were here.

This year we've put in a new yard down the front of the layout.

It's 6 tracks, probably about 35 feet long.

We've also lowered it about 4½ inches so it has a better view for the kids when they come in and they can watch us switching trains.

Ancr: Other 2004 additions include a remodeled front facade with wood-grained paneling and maple uprights and trim.and an animated paper mill that helps bring the layout to life.

A favorite attraction and permanent exhibit at the fair, the layout was originally constructed in the early 1960s.

Built with a simple plywood design and minimal framing, the 10 by 8 foot project has evolved into a 12 by 72 foot intricate and animated display.

The club has included many imaginative features that go well beyond the world of trains.

The full mainline run, including downtown Dutton, Deer Lodge, Helena and Great Falls, Montana, is 380 feet long.

approximately six scale miles.

Made up of over 3,000 feet of rail, 75,000 wood crossties, 150 electrical blocks, 125 turnouts, and thousands of feet of electrical wire, the exhibit is the largest H0 club layout in the state.

Bob Klessig, one of the founding members of the club, estimates that he has put in hundreds of hours hand-laying the individual wood-ties and code-100 nickel silver rails.

Despite the years of wear and tear, his craftsmanship has withstood the test of time.

Bob Klessing: In the early days, flextrack came with fiber ties, and they buckled and warped in the large temperature changes like we had here then and moisture.

And we laid ballast with moisture.

It's just better to hand lay track on wood ties, it stood up better.

Ancr: Although original handiwork of this type is disappearing in railroad circles, the fact that this layout has survived over forty years, and continues to entertain visitors fair after fair, is testament to the members' concerns for protecting a bit of our railroad legacy.

The club is also dedicated to preserving antique railroad memorabilia and artifacts.

Remnants from railroad lines and depots have been salvaged and restored not only for future generations to enjoy.but in honor of one group of people that return each July -- the Montana State Fair visitors.

For now the arrangement seems to work and has benefited both sides.The Fair has a permanent exhibit maintained year round and staffed in July.

Members have a place to tinker on their layout and run their trains.

Bob Vinten: The fair is quite an endeavor.

It's nine days long, we run 12 hours a day, 11 to 11.

We generally have from 3 to 5 people operating the layout at any one time.

The club owns the layout, but all the individual members bring their own trains and power.

So we do an awful lot of running during that time period.

And we probably put half the wear and tear we put on our trains during the fair week.

By the end of nine days, we're pretty well wiped out.

And that's not counting the two months that we did in preparation before the fair, getting the layout up to snuff, and redoing things here and there.

All in all, it's a very long nine days.

We've never missed a year, and most clubs can't say that.

We've been around a long time, 40, 45 years.

It's quite a record and we're very proud of that.

Spencer: The Montana state fair is usually held around the end of July so make sure you check before visiting Great Falls.

Sometimes, there's much more to an advertising image than meets the eye.

In a moment, we'll see how Roger Carp has turned his fascination with Lionel ads into a book and even a museum show.

But first, we'll see how the Pacific Locomotive Association has taken great pains to make the Niles Canyon Railroad look and feel much like it did when the first telegraph poles were installed there over a hundred years ago.

Ancr: It doesn't take a lot of imagination to picture what it was like here back in the 1880s when the first passenger train barreled through this canyon.

All you have to do is look.and listen.

(Steam Whistle) It doesn't seem as though much has changed here, but in the world of railroading everything is different.

We're in the Niles Canyon of Alameda County, California.just 34 rail miles outside of San Francisco.

The Central Pacific Railroad finished track construction through the canyon in 1869.

Eventually it became a part of the Southern Pacific system and used as a secondary line.

Because the SP decided to focus its energand resources elsewhere, very little rebuilding programs touched the canyon.

That's why you can still see much of the original cut stone bridge abutments and retaining walls.

Steam locomotives pulled trains through Niles Canyon for 80 years before diesels took over in the 1950s.

And in 1984, the Southern Pacific stopped operations here altogether and pulled up the tracks.

That might have been the end of the Niles Canyon Railroad forever if it hadn't been for the Pacific Locomotive Association.

Its' members wanted to preserve this particular piece of railroad history to let the general public find out what they always knew: nothing can beat a ride on a steam locomotive through a California canyon!

Jim: The canyon's really a unique place in California to run trains.

It's fairly undeveloped because of the rugged terrain.

It's not seen the population growth of other parts of California enjoyed.

Passengers on the train ride will see history dating back to the time of the Spanish and first European settlers that came in and displaced the native population that was heresome of the relics of the famous bandito Juaquin Murieta.

In addition to the rail line, the first transcontinental railroad had part of it's construction, the first telegraph line from coast to coast.

And some of the remnants of that first telegraph are still visible in the canyon with the unique square telegraph poles that were carved or cut out of giant redwood logs and used to string the telegraph wires through the canyon.

In the seasonal changes in the canyon it's quite spectacular.

The difference between the brilliant green hillsides in the spring with the brightly colored wildflowers d then in the summer all of that turns to golden brown grazing land on the hills.

In the winter it's cool, misty and foggy and it's really a beautiful place to recreate.

Ancr: It took more than a year for volunteers to rebuild the rail line between Sunol and Brightside.

And finally, in 1988, passenger operations returned to Niles Canyon.

Now, more than 40 years after it was created, the Pacific Locomotive Association has more than 700 volunteers.and plenty of work to keep them busy.

Jack Starr: Of those 700, I would estimate a good 125 are active in restoration of equipment and the operation, running the depot.

And as backgrounds, most of these people have not had railroad background.

They come from all walks of life.

We have plumbers and carpenters.

We have doctors and lawyers.

Just a full range, men and women.

Ancr: Thanks to the volunteers' hard work, everyone can get a chance to ride behind a steam locomotive through the canyon.

The trains can be chartered for school trips and parties; there have even been some weddings on board.

Jack: Well, the weddings and the parties that we have we'll take, usually people will charter a train, they'll charter the entire train.

Some of them want steam power, some of them want diesel power.

You can go from car to car, you can enjoy the scenery, you can also bring aboard whatever you want in the way of snacks.

You can charter a caboose.

A great thing for parties, you know, limited numbers perhaps 20, 25 people on the caboose.

Great for kids.

They get a chance to ride inside a real caboose, to climb up in the cupola.

Ancr: The PLA has plenty of plans for the future.

At the town of Niles, they hope to build a railroad museum with an interpretive center, a roundhouse and equipment on display.

But while you're riding through the canyon, it's easy to forget about the future and any worries of the modern age.

Jack: They are amazed that we are so close to large centers of population, but it's almost like you're out in the wild west.

Music Ancr: There once was a time when people actually looked forward to certain forms of advertising.

That was certainly the case in the early part of the last century.

For boys who loved trains, the yearly publication of the Lionel catalog was a greatly anticipated event.

This free publication was filled with page after page of colorful pictures and descriptions of Lionel's latest trains and accessories.

Roger: Boys would often bring their Lionel or American Flyer catalogues to school, hide them behind their schoolbooks, they would hide them under the covers at night, and really spend their time going through those internal debates of what they wanted.

I think that was as much fun as actually getting the trains Ancr: It was no accident that the Lionel catalog came out every September.

Kids could study the catalog and then carefully plant the seeds in their parents' heads for holiday gift ideas.

Roger Carp has written a book, "The Art of Lionel Trains" which details and celebrates the classic age Lionel advertising.

He noticed that Lionel advertising art was different from its main competitor - American Flyer - because Lionel stressed the importance of father and son relationships.

While American Flyer portrayed a world dominated by kids, Lionel's atmosphere was homey and filled with paternal guidance.

Many advertising images showed boys and their fathers working on train sets having fun together.

A Lionel train or accessory was also a status symbol for the parents who purchased the toy.

It was one of the most sophisticated - and expensive - toys on the market.

Roger: Adults had to be convinced that the toys they were buying were truly worthwhile and meaningful and so Lionel was giving the boys a message these trains were going to be a lot of fun and they were giving the parents and grandparents the message that these toys were going to be instructional.

They were going to be uplifting.

They would help a boy learn what the world was like.

They would teach him proper habits of hard work, of thrift, of planning.

So the parents and other adults felt really good about buying these toys that their children were asking for.

Ancr: Kids who played with Lionel trains grew up to have careers as engineers, NASA employees, artists, photographers.and many of them say that their skills were first honed while they were developing their layouts as kids.

Somehow, all these messages can be found in Lionel's advertising.

The ads weren't just selling trains; they were selling dreams.

Not only the dream of obtaining the latest and greatest steam engine, but the American dream.

At least the American dream of the first half of the 20th century.

In Lionel's version of the American dream, girls didn't play with trains.

Girls and their Moms were usually smiling passively in the background, while the boys and fathers did the hand-on work.

It wasn't until the late 1950s that Lionel changed its tact.

Roger: Lionel tried to reach out to girls by taking a low end train set and painting it in pastel colors.

Unfortunately for Lionel, this didn't really answer the question because girls who wanted a train, wanted one that looked realistic in the dark colors that their brothers would have.

Ancr: Looking at this advertising art now, one is struck by the artistry of the illustrations.

But, sadly, very little of the original art exists today.

Most of the artists worked for illustration firms, not Lionel itself.

Their work was considered disposable and as soon as the ads or catalogs appeared, the art was quickly forgotten.

Roger: A few years ago, a cache of American Flyer catalogue art, paintings was discovered.

It was offered at auction, and it went for good, good prices.

And certainly if this were Lionel, which is more popular among collectors, I think we're talking about individual art that would have gone for ten thousand dollars or more.

Ancr: Some of what does survive from that era in Lionel advertising has been featured in a show at the Eisner Museum of Advertising in Milwaukee.

On display here at this special holiday show are examples of the Lionel art that was on train boxes, comic books and comic strips and the long-awaited catalogs.

There are also Lionel trains from the 1920s through the 1950s.

Roger: I think every man at some point in his life longs for what seemed to be a simpler time, childhood, a close relationship with fathers.

And these toys and other collectables bring that back.

Spencer: Railroad catalog art was something that made memories and spawned dreams.

Well, that's it for this episode.

Please be sure to join us next time for more,Tracks Ahead Music Ancr: Tracks Ahead.

Brought to you by Kalmbach Publishing Company, bringing you Trains magazine every month for over 65 years.

And Classic Trains magazine, covering railroading's rich heritage.

Walthers, manufacturer and supplier of model railroading products; serving the hobby since 1932.

The Model Railroad Division of the Hobby Manufacturers Association.

Helping hobbyists design and build their own miniature railroad empires inside or outside, big or small.

(Whistle) Trains Unlimited Tours, providing quality tourist and railfan travel since 1984.

Music