My Trains...
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Disney 100 year anniversary Mickey and Minnie hand car by Lionel
This March 22 2025 will be 56 years later
1969
2018
2021
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Model Train News
‘The gates of heaven’: Rod Stewart to upgrade his ‘world-class’ model railway
Singer says he plans to install thunder and lightning features on lavish toy train setup he built over decades
Singer says he plans to install thunder and lightning features on lavish toy train setup he built over decades
New Jersey Has An Entire Museum Dedicated To Model Trains And It’s As Awesome As You’d Think
Garden State Model Railway Club gsmrrclub.org
575 High Mountain Road – North Haledon, New Jersey 07508 Info@GSMRRClub.org Since 1953
The New York Society of Model Engineers Group
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341 Hoboken Rd,
Carlstadt New Jersey, United States (201) 939-9212 contact@modelengineers.org |
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The HO Scale Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus Train
My Lionel TrainsMy father who bought the trains for me when I was very young and added to the set every year. We only set the trains up for Christmas to keep them in pristine condition.
I became interested in model trains thanks to my father. He was an HO gauge model train enthusiast and build his set from kits. He said when I was very young, that I would reach up on the train board and grab his very delicate trains that he had built from kits from scratch, and that is when he ( or Santa as I thought) decided to buy my first Lionel Set as they were larger and more durable for a young engineer. My father Raymond (as Santa Claus ) bought me a Lionel train set when I was very young, which he added to it each year, trains and accessories and expanded the layout. After I learned about Santa, we then set up the trains together in the basement every year, in the River Edge house. He would take me every year and then later my two brothers and I, to see the annual Christmas. The NY Model Engineers display in Carlstadt each year when their display would be open to the public. In 1969 just before my dad passed, We ended up on the local Herald-Newspaper. We were the first ones to visit that year. They paper took pictures and we ended up in the paper. My father had passed when I was 15 years old on March 12, 1971. two years after that photo. 
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Lionel online catalogs
My Dad Raymond
RIP March 12, 1971
My Mom Clare
now 98 years old
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They trains were stored at our house in River Edge in the basement under the the bar. Upon visiting my mother, after I was older and was starting a family of my own, I found the basement had water and the trains were getting wet. I decided to take them to my house in Maplewood and set them up on Christmas for my sons in 1988.
I found that my son's just like me were too young for model trains, and were grabbing them off the tracks...so of course I bought them a less expensive Lionel plastic set of trains, so I could keep my in working shape.
I found that my son's just like me were too young for model trains, and were grabbing them off the tracks...so of course I bought them a less expensive Lionel plastic set of trains, so I could keep my in working shape.
I had to put my trains in Public Storage when I had to move into the house I grew up in with my family, with most of my household furniture and belongings when I went through a long financial hardship, I lost all of them when I couldn't pay a storage bill on July 18, 2013, and I lost a connection to my father who had passed when I was 15 years old in 1971.
Rebuilding my Lionel train set.
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Christmas 2024 Added new Yankee Caboose to Yankee Train and a work friend gave me a station. Bought a trolley
Christmas 2023, I added a GIANTS box car..didnt help at all !
Christmas 2022, added a Yankee train didn't set up due to having Christmas's dinner here apartment is too tight and must protect the trains.
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Christmas 2021, I added a 2015 production Yankee Berkshire steam engine and passenger cars. and a Power pact.
Christmas 2020, I have added a second A&P Refer box car, and I now have 17 cars and engines.
Christmas 2019, I added a flatbed helicopter, flatbed two corvettes and a Toys R Us box car.
Christmas 2018, I added a NJ Transit diesel engine and box cars from states I have lived in. Milwaukee Box car, I love NY box car, I love NJ box car, Yankees Tampa Florida box car.
Christmas 2017, I added a Shop Rite box car, which turned out to be small and cheaper plastic construction.
Christmas 2016, I added two NJ passenger cars from towns I lived in Maplewood and Hillside.
To get started in 2015 the rebuild process, I purchased tracks a power pack and a couple of the trains that I had on eBay for Christmas 2015. Milwaukee Diesel Engine, NH box Car, A&P box Car, Tropicana box Car, Milk Car, and a Caboose.
My trains had an ironic symbolic parallel with my career path, going great, gone and then being rebuilt.
I decided to rebuild and which cars to purchase, I took a few different paths, I replaced a handful of trains that I had when I was a young man, Milwaukee Diesel Engine, NH Box car , Milk Car and a New York Central Caboose.
When I brought out my trains for Christmas with my three sons I had an A&P refrigerated box car, a Tropicana refrigerated car as I was a dairy director and grocery director at Shop Rite/Wakefern and A&P HQ, where I worked two tours of duty 20 years apart.
I focused the new trains I purchased since 2015 with two goals, places I lived and other cars that had meaning.
My trains had an ironic symbolic parallel with my career path, going great, gone and then being rebuilt.
I decided to rebuild and which cars to purchase, I took a few different paths, I replaced a handful of trains that I had when I was a young man, Milwaukee Diesel Engine, NH Box car , Milk Car and a New York Central Caboose.
When I brought out my trains for Christmas with my three sons I had an A&P refrigerated box car, a Tropicana refrigerated car as I was a dairy director and grocery director at Shop Rite/Wakefern and A&P HQ, where I worked two tours of duty 20 years apart.
I focused the new trains I purchased since 2015 with two goals, places I lived and other cars that had meaning.
Christmas 2024
Added a Yankees Cooperstown box car to the mantle Yankees Train, bought a Mikey and Minnie hand car, as a gift, added trees to Dept 56 display. and of course two skeletons on a bench kissing. have a trolley and another A&P box car on the way
Village additions Christmas 2024
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Christmas 2023
Added a Yankee Box car and a Giants box car
Christmas 2022 - kept trains in boxes but displayed my Yankees trains
Lionel Yankees Subway cars with Dept 56 accessories
Christmas 2022
New sectional couch new big screen TV all made this year a little difficult to have a layout all over the living room in our apartment. Also hosting Christmas dinner did not make last years layout make sense to put up.
Christmas 2021
- John R. Fugazzie
- I rebuilt my train set each car has meaning
- The engine and box car were identical to my first train set Black and Orange Milwaukee Engine, and New Hampshire box car and the caboose was one of my original trains.
- Followed by Box cars from the states I have lived in NJ, FL, WI and NY.
- Some of my jobs are represented by Box cars, Shop Rite, A&P two times and RWJB helicopter
- There is the NJ Transit cars Maplewood, and Hillside two towns I lived in. and the NJ Transit engine.
- The Corvettes a car I always wanted and of course TOYS R US where many Christmas shopping trips were done over the years.
- http://nhnusa.org/my-trains.html
My Trains
Christmas 2020
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Christmas 2020
I added a second A&P Refrigerated car for my second tour of duty at A&P. Also purchased a Dept. 56 "Christmas in the City", Italian restaurant and corner grocery store, for my Italian heritage, love of Italian food, Italian cheese importing and Corner Grocer for my time during my career in grocery food business.
Gone a long time now see Nostalgic Brands page
We had large set over the years, all lost in storage, of "Christmas in the City"
found two on ebay that fit my history Italian Restaurant and Corner Grocery Store |
'Little Italy' Ristorante
Christmas in the City SKU: 56.55387 Original SRP $52.00 Introduced Dec. 1991 Retired Dec. 1995 |
Hank's Market
Christmas in the City SKU: 56.59706 Original SRP $45.00 Introduced December 1988 Retired December 1992 |
Christmas 2019
https://www.facebook.com/johnrfugazzie/videos/2615195328528286
Added RWJBarnabas name to helicopter see real one below
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Ceased after many years in business, I won a chairman's award selling major contract to them when with Ziff Davis.
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Always wanted a Corvette so I have two now. Favorite muscle car is still 69 GTO Judge
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Career Train Connection
Corporate Manager Workforce Development 2019 to Present
RWJ Barnabas Health - West Orange, New Jersey
Responsible corporate workforce development and for managing and coordinating a workforce development grants including GAINS, CCOG grants. The position assists in the planning and implementation, providing guidance and development/implementation of the GAINS grant and other corporate workforce efforts and social impact programs www.rwjbh.org
RWJ Barnabas Health - West Orange, New Jersey
Responsible corporate workforce development and for managing and coordinating a workforce development grants including GAINS, CCOG grants. The position assists in the planning and implementation, providing guidance and development/implementation of the GAINS grant and other corporate workforce efforts and social impact programs www.rwjbh.org
Christmas 2018
https://www.facebook.com/johnrfugazzie/videos/1962271733820652
NJTransit Engine
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Lived in NJ from 1955-1983 then 1984-1991 then 1996-2016.
55 years in total |
Worked in Milwaukee for Universal Foods and lived in Whitefish Bay WI for 9 months in 83-84 when with Universal Foods.
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Love Yankees my whole life and lived in Parkland Florida from 1991-1996
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Moved to NY 2016 to present
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Christmas 2017
https://www.facebook.com/johnrfugazzie/videos/1529919287055901
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Career Train Connection
Sr. Merchandising Manager - Wakefern Food Corporation, Elizabeth, NJ 1977 to 1982
Procurement and merchandising for Dairy Deli Division managed milk and cheese programs.
Early experience Garden State Farms Dairy Queen Division and grocery and dairy part time manager roles while attending college in Shop Rite Supermarkets with several owner groups. Glass Gardens Shop Rites in Paramus and Rochelle Park, Najarian Shop Rite Washington Township and Shop Rite of Oakland,.
Procurement and merchandising for Dairy Deli Division managed milk and cheese programs.
Early experience Garden State Farms Dairy Queen Division and grocery and dairy part time manager roles while attending college in Shop Rite Supermarkets with several owner groups. Glass Gardens Shop Rites in Paramus and Rochelle Park, Najarian Shop Rite Washington Township and Shop Rite of Oakland,.
Christmas 2016
https://www.facebook.com/johnrfugazzie/videos/3540556442658832
Maplewood Passenger car lived there from 1984-1991
Hillside Passenger car lived there from 1982-1983
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Career Train Connection
Commuted to New York City from NJ on NJTransit for this job.
Director Retail Marketing - Ziff-Davis Inc., New York, NY 1996 to 2000
Managed sales and retailer relationships for consumer magazines sales of $200 million
Director Retail Marketing - Ziff-Davis Inc., New York, NY 1996 to 2000
Managed sales and retailer relationships for consumer magazines sales of $200 million
Christmas 2015
https://www.facebook.com/johnrfugazzie/videos/920811827966653
Posted by John R. Fugazzie on Friday, December 4, 2015
Began rebuilding my Lionel Train set Christmas of 2015 finding used cars on ebay to replace some of the same trains I had in my first set and some I had bought through the years. 80 watt Powerpack and some tracks this time fast tracks 'O' gauge
replaced my first Engine
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replaced my first box car
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replaced just the car, had platform, little milk cans originally. Milk merchandising at Wakefern.
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In Dairy Buying and Merchandising at Wakefern and A&P
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Career Train Connection
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., Montvale, NJ - Director Dairy Frozen 2011 to 2012
Managed $1.2 billion in annual retail sales, 17% of total company retail business, and category management staff of 8 responsible for the Dairy and Frozen business.
Managed $1.2 billion in annual retail sales, 17% of total company retail business, and category management staff of 8 responsible for the Dairy and Frozen business.
- Drove sales, margins and allowances. Department had $7 million increase 7 months YTD 7.2% increase over 2011. Dairy-Frozen team outperformed all other departments in all scorecard areas.
- Oversaw category business plans, store re-merchandising and remodels, cycle category assortment, annual planning and weekly advertising programs for 6 banners achieving strong results outperforming total company numbers.
- Implemented full range new technologies on business side to support the ‘store of the neighborhood’ concept. Member of Project Management team to implement Computer Grocery Ordering. Parent organizations were Tengelmann Group and Yucaipa Companies
Director of National Purchasing - Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., Montvale, NJ 1987 to 1991
Oversaw conversion to central purchasing and merchandising from 10 regional operations. Established new Category Management discipline and separated purchasing group within national office.
Parent organization was Tengelmann Group, Yucaipa Companies
Oversaw conversion to central purchasing and merchandising from 10 regional operations. Established new Category Management discipline and separated purchasing group within national office.
Parent organization was Tengelmann Group, Yucaipa Companies
Sr. Merchandising Manager - Wakefern Food Corporation, Elizabeth, NJ 1977 to 1982
Procurement and merchandising for Dairy Deli Division managed milk and cheese programs.
Procurement and merchandising for Dairy Deli Division managed milk and cheese programs.
1969
2018
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2021
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I returned to ring the bell in December 2018...and again in 2021
52 years later from the local newspaper visit.
52 years later from the local newspaper visit.
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CBS Morning News June 3, 2018, 10:16 AMRoadside America: A tiny slice of Americana
FT Magazine Gillian Tett
The defiance of Ukraine’s railways and how they #KeepRunning...But, today, keeping trains running on time and informing everyone of delays has been embraced as a foundational component of Ukraine’s civil society. It is a defiant mark of normality....
The defiance of Ukraine’s railways and how they #KeepRunning...But, today, keeping trains running on time and informing everyone of delays has been embraced as a foundational component of Ukraine’s civil society. It is a defiant mark of normality....
PA
The Tunkhannock Viaduct in Wyoming County is the largest concrete railroad bridge in the world! Details/directions here: https://pabucketlist.com/exploring-the-tunkhannock.../
Steamtown Scranton PA
When Lionel founder Joshua Lionel Cowen's immigrant family arrived in New York after the Civil War, the railroads were literally America's engines of progress. The "Golden Spike" meeting of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific lines in 1869 unified the continent and signaled the birth of a world power. Cowen was born in 1877, just before Edison's first electric light. He grew up with real trains, amid dizzying change. Around the time he founded Lionel in 1900, passenger lines like the peerless Twentieth Century Limited symbolized American technology and sophistication.
Cowen was already a successful inventor when he created his first toy train. But The Electric Express and its offspring soon became a sacred mission, and Cowen would spend a lifetime stoking America's imagination with the romance of the rails. He told boys that Lionels would prepare them for adulthood. Soon Dads too were encouraged to join Youngsters in model train enthusiasm, to future father-son bonding. With growing prosperity, Lionel's layouts cropped up in more living rooms, especially at Christmas. Before mid-century, railroads were our economic lifeblood, as well as cultural icons -- but it was not to last.
And when Americans started driving to suburbia and flying cross-country, they stopped buying Lionel trains. By the 1960s, freight lines were being scrapped, and fathers and sons were on opposite sides of the "generation gap." That decade saw the tragic demise of New York's Pennsylvania Station, the retirement of The Twentieth Century Limited, and the passing of Joshua Lionel Cowen.
But now the Lionel dream is back and better than ever. As Lionel looks to the future, it strives to ignite the imaginations and hearts of today’s children and adults through continued success with branded and licensed products, an increased presence in the digital space and recapturing its rightful place “under the tree.” Through partnerships with evergreen brands such as NASCAR, Warner Bros., Crayola, Coca-Cola, John Deere and many others, Lionel has lined itself up for guaranteed success for many years to come. With innovative products such as the LCS®, iCab, Battle Trains®, Lionel Tracks and a revamped, more user-friendly Lionel.com, the 115-year-old company has made sure it stays on the cutting-edge of technology. The Lionel name has always been synonymous with Christmas and a train set under every Christmas tree, and now more than ever the company’s ensuring that they are a major player in any holiday plans. For Lionel, the future is indeed bright.
Explore a timeline of Lionel history...
Here Are 6 Awesome Train Restaurants Throughout The USA
River Edge
I was born in 1955-1980 moved back from 2010 - 2016
Places I have called Home
River Edge NJ 1955-1981
Hillside NJ 1982-1983
Whitefish Bay WI 1983-1984
Maplewood NJ 1984-1991
Parkland Florida 1991-1996
New Providence NJ 1996-1997
Ho-Ho-Kus NJ 1997-2008
Allendale NJ 2008-2010
River Edge NJ 2010-2015
New City NY 2015-2016
Nanuet NY 2016 -
