Lionel department store layouts after WW2 - Model Railroader Magazine

My father spent his entire career at Montgomery Ward in its Corporate Headquarters on the near north side of Chicago. He ran the Packaging and Design Department. Montgomery Ward featured American Flyer trains in its catalog and retail store operation.

MW would photograph American Flyer trains for its seasonal catalogs and the Christmas catalog. The trains and track and everything else to support a layout would then be transferred to the Sample Department for exclusive employee discounted purchases. My Dad had priority in his department head position. He would buy American Flyer stuff for pennies on the dollar and bring those purchases home.

As far as the retail stores were concerned, they took American Flyer equipment from their in-store stock for Christmas layout displays and then stored it for future Christmas displays. I assume that the Sears stores did the same thing with their Lionel trains.

By the way, Momtgomery Ward and Sears were fiercely competitive in everything that they did. As kids, we were forbidden to even enter a Sears store. We had a Sears store within walking distance of our apartment, but we always took the streetcar to the nearest Montgomery Ward store, about 5 miles away.

Rich