Toy Nostalgia

I was thinking about, um... something that I now can't recall... and it somehow brought back an obscure memory of a toy I used to have. A push-along train set that had a set of tracks and roadways, and points and signposts and all that kind of funky stuff. It was hours of fun from my very early youth.

And then suddenly another memory flashed up of a separate piece that I had, something special that I think I only got to have very briefly before it was lost forever in the housefire we experienced in 1976. What I remember was the whole family going to a toy warehouse one day, to find a missing piece from the train set, and while there we also bought a really cool train turntable; it sat there tantalisingly on their shelves, begging for us to get it. And, hurrah, my Dad decided to get it for me!

But then the housefire was a few months after and it was gone forever.

At least, that's my memory. It's possible it wasn't bought at all, and what I am actually recalling is my desperation at wanting it. It was so long ago, and so brief a period of time that I would've possessed it, that I'm not sure my memory of the situation is accurate.

Anyway, I went searching for pics of it, to try and jog some more memory free, but couldn't find it anywhere. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember the manufacturer brand name; I thought it may have been Toltoys, but after much searching that didn't bear much fruit - it was a very local company that's now defunct, so they don't have an online presence. Their history only reveals them to be a distribution company of international toys that they re-brand with their own name, so finding details of specific toys under their brand is an exercise fraught with dead ends.

So I emailed my Mum; she still has the train set toy that was bought after the fire (but without a turntable), and she brings it out for all her appropriately aged grandkids that visit. She had a look for me, but couldn't help with the brand name. Though she did take a pic of the set for me (see above).

But she had a brilliant suggestion: Because it's likely a localised Toy (Aus and NZ) she suggested I look at Trademe.co.nz, an online auction site. So I searched the toys section and Huzzah! Success! The exact turntable toy I was looking for! I was right, it was Toltoys, and someone was selling it on Trademe!


Look how cool it is! Bright colours, moving parts, a funky design, a completely unique accessory!

Ah, nostalgia...