Since I showed up pretty late in 1952, I have zero memories of 1953 and very few of 1954.
However, I was two years old by Christmas of ‘54, and I remember my sister getting a play ‘supermarket’ (it was Dad-built - he was pretty handy), the tree…
And the Lionel train!
The layout was a figure-eight under the tree, and the consist* was the engine - a 2-6-4 steam locomotive, its ‘Lionel Lines’ tender, a Sunoco tank car, a New York Central gondola, and as I recall, a Santa Fe caboose. Put the Lionel-brand smoke pellets in the smokestack, let ‘er warm up, and voila! - smoke!
That train showed up under the every holiday, and while I don’t recall anything else that happened in ‘54 or ‘55 (not even my brother showing up in May!), I definitely remember that train!
*I didn’t even know the word ‘consist’ existed, never mind that it was the right name for the makeup of a train. (“CON-sist” – yup-yup! :-) )
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