Genuine question. How did the market for special Christmas sets come about? It's just not something we do east of the pond. Sure, model railroad/railway items are given as presents to children or adult modellers but special Christmas sets to run around the tree just don't exist. Seems awfully expensive for what is basically a fancy bauble.
Colin.
Very interesting question!! It seems that it is an American tradition. I can only speculate as to what I personally think. In the 1930's and 40's Train sets were very expensive and were thus considered a luxury item. Companies like Lionel and American Flyer knew this and aggressively marketed their lines of model trains as a perfect luxury gift. Many ad's displayed them running under the Christmas tree, and the companies themselves built huge display layouts at the big department stores in large cities like Chicago and New York putting them up at Christmas time. Add to the fact that real railroads were at their peak of popularity and introducing new streamliners and that railroading was a glamorous job and that many youngsters like my self wanted to be an engineer and boom the toy train fever was on. My brother and I drooled over the Lionel and American Flyer catalogs but the expense put it out of range for us. In 1947 a great year for my Dad and for Christmas he got me and American Flyer Freight set with a steam engine and my brother a Santa Fe Streamliner set. We were in heaven. As the years went by and real railroading went downhill, the marketers pushed toy trains more and more as Christmas items and began making specific Christmas items, first a freight car or two with a Christmas Scheme then full sets. Trains eventually became very popular items associated with Christmas in the US. Marketers wanting new customers pushed the idea of the train around the Christmas tree as a decorative item further associating it with the holidays. Now the U.S. Christmas holidays are awash with so many different kinds of christmas train sets I am even amazed at the choice and variety. The Garden Railway size is very popular now as well.
Sadily my brother and I in later teen years when the trains we got lost their luster, were blown up with firecrackers called cherry bombs. We would run the train put a fire cracker in and go to full speed til it blew up. Very spectacular (to us) at the time, and much regretted 60 years later.
Cheers and Beers!!
Loco Bill
I think Bill is right about the maketing making it more popular.
I do think the "Root" of it comes from that same era when at Christmas there would be nothing under the tree until morning after Santa brought the toys, they would be placed under the tree unwrapped, including the train set up around the tree and ready to run (because dad couldn't wait to play with it) and that's where Bills post takes off, advertisers would use illustrations of the perfect Christmas morning image.
NM-Jeff
Jeff is sure right about the Dad part of it. I know my Dad bought us the trains but he bought them for himself too. After my kids came along and I got them the trains, I bought what I liked and played with them too!!!!!