I’d say the most iconic image of Christmas is children peering through the window of a toy store to see what treasures it may hold. Be it in a small town or large city, in a Norman Rockwell painting or on The Waltons, it reflects the essence of childhood – something that never leaves us.
As the adage goes, “Men are but children of a larger growth.” While so many iconic toy stores are now just memories, one example of enduring childhood is found in train stores that, for now, are still around. A visit to one won’t result in finding young children fawning over shelves of locomotives, train cars and scaled buildings on display. Instead, inside old men sit around reminiscing.
With Christmas now behind us, some toys, including trains, may prove to be not only nostalgic but profitable.
The 1960s were probably the most transitory years for toys. Dolls remained tops on the lists of most girls. Barbie had been introduced in 1959. She took a few years to catch on but, when she did, she exploded becoming the most popular doll in history. Some of the very earliest Barbies are worth thousands of dollars. One with red hair and bendable legs and arms in the original box is currently valued at just over $25,000....