For generations, people have been fascinated with trains. To better understand why, let’s take a look at the history of the train and those train sets for both children and adults.
However, it wasn’t until between 1804 and 1808 when the first locomotive was invented by a man named Richard Trevithick, who built the first locomotive and a round track.
His Novelty train earned him a bit of money as he charged people a shilling to ride the train around his track.
History Of The Train And People’s Fascination With It!
In 1929 George and Robert Stephenson built a locomotive for a competition.
The locomotive called the rocket won the competition and became the basic model for all of the steam engines that were to follow for the next hundred years or so.
In 1930 an American named Peter Cooper built a locomotive called the Tom Thumb and raced it against a horse.
The horse won the race, but the Tom Thumb won the fascination of the American Public.
Once the Transcontinental railroad joined the East and Western regions of the United States, people’s fascination with trains were solidified.
All it took was the sound of a distant trail whistle and young and old, rich and poor would stop what they were doing and their thoughts would fly to the world of trains and the places that train can take them.
They often found themselves imagining distant states and cities, or of someday owning their own train and traveling the country fulfilling other people’s dreams.
So it is really no surprise that some smart manufactures decided to capitalize on this seeming endless fascination with trains, and make the first miniature train sets for people to own.
As early as the 1830s, German toy manufacturers began making miniature train sets that were pushed along train tracks.
Later, the first automotive model train was built using watch workings to make the train go.
In the United States, toy shops capitalized on American’s love of trains.
They commissioned model trains to be made to feature in their store windows at Christmas time, to gain attention in the hopes of selling more of their products.
However, these displays themselves, not only captured the attention of children and adults alike, but created a demand for sale of these train sets.
Today, there are a variety of train set manufacturers who make everything from simple pull toy trains to collectable sets for the hobbyist.
In some cases, collectors will build an entire railroad system, costing them thousands of dollars and taking years to build.
In other cases, ownership of a train set may be confined to small inexpensive set that runs around the Christmas tree each and every year, or given to child as toy.
Whether people become a true collector or simply purchase a toy train for their child, trains remain as fascinating today as they were in their hay day, because they continue to fire the imagination of those to whom they belong.
Other Toy Trains to Consider
Melissa & Doug Wooden Farm Train Set – Classic Wooden Toy (3 linking cars)
MOTA Classic Holiday Christmas Train Set with Real SmokeClassic Train Set for Kids with Smoke, Realistic Sounds
