My first Lionel train set was the 1954 Hudson steam engine with a black gondola, gray Lehigh Valley coal car and caboose. Almost forgot the Sunoco tank car.
Fantastic, thanks for sharing these great videos. I just wish they were available on DVD. Don Varda's voice is the perfect connection with Toy Train Videos and the wonderful Lionel Postwar Trains are simply just the best.
I agree. Hopefully I can get in touch with him about these videos. I recently met Tom McComas at his I Love Toy Trains store. He's such a great guy and I bought a few items from him, one of which is a Lionel 50 gang car from 1954, which was the only year it came with a centered horn. I got some pictures and video of the store that I'll put together here after Christmas.
Thank you, but all credit goes to Don Varda and Joe Algozzini. I too love the Postwar toy trains, as well as Prewar and Modern Eras. I do like a lot of the modern items by Lionel and MTH, but I will say there is nothing like the classics from the Prewar and Postwar eras. Mainly the mechanics are easier to work on as opposed to the modern trains due to the more sophisticated electronics they use. In the near future once we get the basement done, I want to do videos like this and TM Books and Video on my toy trains. I have a little bit of Prewar, but I currently have mostly Lionel Postwar and modern era trains. The set I cherish the most is my late-grandfather's Lionel 1654 set with a few add on freight cars. One of the cars is the B&O automobile boxcar with the 1954 notch in the coupler shown in this video. One project I'd like to do is making DVD's and film productions on toy trains targeted towards children and families, similar to "I Love Toy Trains", but still be different.
@@wordenentertainment1997My interest is in obtaining “needy” trains preferably engines that I’ll fix up or modify to my liking. The upper budget pricing on modern stuff and my inability to cope with electronics keep me away from acquiring anything newer than post war Lionel. Honestly I don’t have any interest in scale oversized delicate toy trains nor remotes. Prices scare me too. The original kids Lionel versions, mostly 027 is all I’ll need to keep me busy and enjoying on an economical budget on my conservative sized layout. Actually I’m pretty much done acquiring new items as I sure I have enough trains now. I can always redo or modify what I have.
You can't beat the reliability of the old school Lionel trains as compared to the overpriced garbage that is currently manufactured by Lionel. I have a modest collection of post war and MPC era trains and accessories in addition to Marx. Easy to work on. I don't need the electronics. Thank you for this series of videos. We lived about an hour away from Hillside, NJ the former location of the Lionel factory. It was a great place to visit.
Yeah. I personally love all eras of Lionel, but I have a deep soft spot for Postwar. My late grandfather had a Lionel train set that he had when he was a kid, a 1946 1654 scout set, as well as 2 add on cars, one of which is the B&I automobile car from 1954, which I determined the date because it has the notch in the coupler as mentioned here. I love mostly modern MPC - current Lionel since they are more affordable for me at this time, but I do have quite a few Postwar Lionel trains and 1 American Flyer Prewar o gauge set. While I will admit newer Lionel trains are not as good quality as they were many years ago, I still feel they out an excellent product and have had zero issues with them. I also have quite a few Marx and MTH trains in my collection. 25 years old and I want to collect as much of everything til the end of my life. I love these toy trains.
Yes indeed. Soon I'll record and upload two more of his productions. As far as I know once I upload them, all of the videos from Varda Communications Corporation will be available to watch on RU-vid, unless there is more out there yet to be discovered. My buddy Will The Train Fan uploaded Varda's "Romance of Model Railroading" and the "MTH: RailKing" videos here on RU-vid. Stay tuned in the next few weeks for Varda's "Stop, Look and Listen: How to Identify Lionel Postwar" videos. They are a must see for any Lionel Postwar train enthusiast.
I am curious as to why Don Varda left TM? After he left TM, Joseph Stachler came aboard. I'm a big fan of Tom McComas' work and it was his "I Love Toy Trains" videos that got me interested in toy trains. I have over 30 engines, close to 100 freight and passenger cars and many accessories. Hopefully I can meet Tom and his son Jeff at their "I Love Toy Trains" store in the near future.
Postwar was kind of before my time. My favorite eras of Lionel are the MPC and Kughn eras. Mainly because that’s what I grew up with and they’re more affordable.
I love all eras. My first Lionel O gauge set was the MPC 1970's Cannonball set and the day after I got it, I was given a then more recent Lionel 0-8-0 set. However I really love the classic prewar and postwar trains from Lionel, Marx, Flyer and others. The train set I cherish the most that I got almost 10 years ago is my late Grandfather's Lionel 1654 freight set from 1946, which was what started the family's Lionel connection and one of the main reasons why I collect and love these trains so much. There were 2 add on freight cars including the 1954 B&O automobile double door boxcar. Thanks to this video, I found out it was a 1954 production boxcar because it has the notch in the coupler as mentioned in the video. Yeah postwar was way before my time and my parents time, but I love that period of American history and I have a really deep fascination with them since they were around when my grandparents were kids.
I'd like to try to find all the other videos by Don Varda and Varda Communications Corporation. I really wish that Varda himself would re-release these onto DVD, but from what I've heard he has lost interest in toy trains. Its a shame as I really liked his work for both TM and his video production company. As far as I know, 3 of his videos are now on RU-vid, but not his "Stop, Look, and Listen Lionel Postwar" VHS. I know a few copies are available, but I will need to learn how to hook up a vhs player to a TV/DVD or vhs to laptop recorder.
