Lionel train show chugs into Naperville
For Len Hopkins, the day after Thanksgiving isn't about shopping, it's a time to set up some of his toy train collection around the Christmas tree.
The collection began when the Naperville man was just a year old and received a train set from his godfather, who continued to buy him trains each year as he was growing up.
"For kids in the '50s that was a big technological toy because almost all toys were general and mechanical and this was electrical," said Hopkins, a member of the Lionel Collectors Club of America. "It was the cutting edge of technology for a lot of kids."
Naperville-area families will have an opportunity to check out the hobby firsthand at the Lionel Collectors Club's 14th annual Christmas Toy Train Show from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, at Naperville Central High School, 440 W. Aurora Ave.
Thousands of old and new Lionel trains will be available for sale and trade during the event. Santa Claus also will make an appearance from 11 a.m. to noon to hand out Lionel catalogs.
Families also can check out a large operating train layout and one child will win a complete Lionel train set in a drawing set to take place about 12:30 p.m.
Tickets for the event are $5 for adults and free for children 10 and younger.
While train technology might not be as cutting edge as it once was, Hopkins says it allows children to do hands-on activities and be creative.
"Most toys today don't require kids to think through a problem, they're made to entertain," he said. "To figure out how it runs and where it's going requires imagination."
While his own collection won't be on display Saturday, it has grown to several hundred pieces. Some are gifts from relatives while others were sold or given to him by other collectors who knew he could fix broken trains.
The first train his godfather gave him more than 50 years ago still runs and one day will go to his first grandchild.
In the meantime, the layout he built with his own children stays intact in his basement and every year, the family still builds a layout around the Christmas tree. He hopes other families will do the same as a way to spend quality time together.
"When I put my train set together, I put it together with Dad," he said. "It was always a time I had with my dad alone. I see it as a bonding issue with kids and ... their families (that) they may not have had before because life gets so hectic."
Saturday's train show could be the last, at least for a few years. Naperville Central will be undergoing major renovations so the future of the event is uncertain.
For information about the show or the club, visit lionelcollectors.org.
<p class="factboxheadblack">If you go</p> <p class="News"><b>What:</b> Lionel Collectors Club of America 14th annual Christmas Train Show</p> <p class="News"><b>When:</b> 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6</p> <p class="News"><b>Where:</b> Naperville Central High School, 440 W. Aurora Ave.</p> <p class="News"><b>Tickets:</b> $5 for adults, children 10 and under free with adult</p> <p class="News"><b>Info:</b> (630) 369-8467 or <a href="http://www.lionelcollectors.org" target="new">lionelcollectors.org</a></p>