Sal Gambino was about two years old when his father unboxed a train set and put it underneath the Christmas tree for the first time. Lionel steam engine No. 2025, a glossy black engine blazoned with white lettering, trundled down the shiny, silver rails with colorful freight cars in tow.
“All of a sudden, one Christmas, there was a train going around the tree, and it kind of grew from there,” Gambino says. “We used to set that platform up every year at the holidays — at Christmas, like everybody did back in the day.”
Gambino still isn’t sure what caused his father to splurge on a train set all those years ago; his father never had one as a child. What Gambino is certain of, however, is that the little engine fueled a lifelong fire in his heart for model trains — so much so that he became the president of the Lionel Collectors Club of America in 2021, more than 70 years later. Like countless Americans, Gambino can trace his love for trains back to happy childhood memories. And, fortunately for those in the hobby, the popularity of model railroading seems to be gaining steam.
For more than 120 years, electric trains have been among the most popular toys in America. Whether toys or models — train aficionados are quick to note the difference — they’ve brought joy to children
