That's a lot for a trolley that once charged a nickel a ride. The massive Hellgate Bridge, the largest bridge Lionel ever made, first appeared in 1928. It was designed so trains could pass through at ground level rather than approach it on elevated track. The colors and numbers may seem confusing, but to be a model train collector, you must know the numbers to know the names and models, and you must know the colors to know the variations. After you know these essentials, you can begin to collect the stories that go with the models.
Stories are an integral part of model train collecting.
Chris Bassick of Fairfield, Connecticut, told his version of one story. So did Al Bonoldi of Norfolk, Massachusetts, Art Hug of Fairfield, Connecticut, and Anthony Balzarano of Pearl River, New York. One story you already know if you have seen Buster Keaton in the 1927 film The General. The movie tells of The General, a Western and Atlantic locomotive seized during the Civil War by Federal spies. Keaton played Johnny Gray, the outraged engineer of the stolen train, inspired by his love for his engine to go after it and return it home.