November 14, 2006
TAKE THE TRAIN TO THE . . . TRAINS
One of NYC's best traditions are its holiday-season store windows. Retailers like Macy's, Lord & Taylor's, and others become tourist destinations by hordes looking to view creative dioramas and displays. There should be a new destination for visitors this December. Model train producer Lionel Trains is moving its corporate headquarters back to Manhattan.
Founded in 1900 by Joshua Lionel Cowen in Midtown Manhattan, Lionel grew to mainstream popularity through the 1950s, when trains were icons of Americana and lifelines of cross-country travel. But when cars and planes began to replace train transportation, Lionel's sales dwindled, with only hardcore hobbyists buying.
The move to Madison Avenue is part of Lionel's CEO Jerry Calabrese's aim to "re-establish what Lionel's tradition was for its first 65 years and stake our flag back in the world of pop culture," he said in an interview yesterday.
The Madison Avenue showroom, complete with oak floors and three operating train layouts, marks a nostalgic homecoming for the company. "There are old men who weep that we're back with a showroom on Madison Avenue," Mr. Calabrese said. The showroom is now seven blocks north of the company's original Madison Avenue showroom at 27th Street. "It's great to be back in the city because the roots of the company are in New York," Mr. Calabrese said.
A major stockholder in Lionel is musician Neil Young, who actually holds patents on several model train innovations, including an audio system that realistically reproduces train sounds. He got involved with the company when his autistic son developed an interest in miniature railroading. I wrote about Lionel's efforts to record NYC subway sounds back in September [see BRINGING THE SUBWAY HOME WITH YOU, 9/21/06].
Train enthusiasts--actually, anyone--should go see The Station Agent, which features a model train shop I used to live around the corner from in Hoboken, NJ. This is totally unsubstantiated, but I have a strong intuition that the movie starring Peter Dinklage was inspired in part by Hoboken City Council President Tony Soares. Tony, or, Mr. Soares as he probably should be addressed, is a Hoboken fixture who ran a great campaign to get elected about five years back. He always seemed like a nice guy to me.
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at November 14, 2006 2:27 AM
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