Lionel Electric Trains celebrated its first National Lionel Train Day at Eastside Trains in downtown Kirkland as part of its 115th anniversary last weekend.

The event, which drew 400-500 people, was also held at various other hobby stores nationwide. In addition to operating trains in the store, attendants were also able to chat with a Lionel representative about their thoughts on the trains as well as the company’s plans to generate and maintain interest in the hobby in a day where mobile devices are increasingly becoming a popular source of entertainment for children.

For Eastside Trains owner Steve Suskin, the event also helped highlight their own 33rd anniversary in Kirkland. First operating out of his house, he eventually moved to their location on 217 Central Way in 1994. Throughout the years, he said, Lionel trains have been their primary product.

“That’s what we’ve always specialized in,” he said. “We’ve always catered to the local instead of the mail orders, so things shift around depending on what people are doing. A majority of our business comes from the locals. We’re the only game in town, and Lionel is what I’ve always focused on because that’s what my focus was and still is.”

While there was a mixed crowd at the event, Suskin said the older event attendants, parents and grandparents, represented the unique manner in which trains are usually purchased compared to other hobby products or toys. Most of the time, the kids who browse the store already have an interest in trains, much of it due to the popular Thomas the Tank Engine TV show or through more inexpensive, non-electronic toy train sets. Because Eastside Trains model trains are electric, more technical, more advanced and more expensive, it typically means a purchase represents strong interest.

“We have a lot of kids who come in, but they need to be indoctrinated a little more into the train hobby,” he said. “If they are, it’s usually by their parents or their grandparents. Trains aren’t seen every day like cell phones or Xboxes. Back in the day everybody saw a train running on the tracks.”

“They will come in, they will see the trains run, they will hear the sounds,” he continued. “We let them try a hand controller so they can play with them. The parents are observing if they really want to invest a couple hundreds dollars to keep the kid’s interest.”

However, he added “typically if a family is going to buy a train set and the kids with them they’re not going to buy it when the kid’s there. They’re going to come back and buy it.”

Being around the Christmas season, when Suskin said business picks up, it is also a great way to promote model trains as a nostalgic part of Christmas tree scenery, something that catches on with older grandparents.

“That is a big deal, because grandpa and grandma grew up during the Depression or World War II and they remember having the train around their tree during Christmas,” he said. “It was Sante Fe, Santa Claus, and Lionel. That was part of the marketing genius. I think that it hits a chord in many of us, particularly about the way things used to be in our youth. It kind of harkens back to a simpler time, too. However, trains these days, particularly top of the line, are not simple by any means. They’re loaded with all kinds of features you can imagine. They all but stand and dance.”

The event also gave Lionel a chance to show off some of the new features to their trains, including a switch to smart devices that allow users to control trains through WiFi. Rudy Trubitt, who works in Lionel’s engineering group capturing actual train noises for the models, said that they’re looking to preserve the same model train experience that has maintained their customer base while including more and more additions.

“I think the challenge is to maintain what is unique about the model train hobby but bring it to a new generation of users and integrating the latest technology in a way that enhances and continues the legacy that we have have spent the last 115 years building,” he said. “The challenge of bringing it into the current century has been to add more unique features, more accurate detail, more play value on a high end hobby product like stereo sound or a coal load in the tender that seems depleted as the engine is virtually burning its fuel supply. I think most of those things would probably be enhancements of what has made people interested in the hobby to begin with, to create their own world, to recreate their own railroad empire and interact with it.”

One of the reasons for the company’s endurance in spite of trends pointing toward virtual entertainment, he said, is their ability to keep people interested in model trains.

“I would say that we have such a passionate and dedicated group of customers,” he said. “It’s inspiring to work on behalf of people who are so engaged in the product and who care so much about it.”

The National Lionel Train Day was mean to celebrate their 115th anniversary, Suskin won’t be disappointed if they do it again next year, or sooner.

“I’m ready to do it again next weekend,” he said. “When the shop is packed and people can’t find a parking spot, that’s a good thing.”