TM Books & Video
TM Books & Video is my favorite video company to produce train videos. This company produces children's videos about trains, tractors, construction machines, and even cowboys. One of the most popular children's series TM produced is, in my opinion, the best toy train videos ever made. It's the I Love Toy Trains series! They feature toy trains, real trains, funny bloopers, and great songs and music. TM produced the first 12 shows with their final show and a video that shows toy train bloopers. So they produced a total of 14 I Love Toy Trains shows. TM also produces more advanced train videos recommended for a hobbyist in addition to the children's series. In late 2004, we went to a local library in Rochester, New York which is where we used to live until the summer of 2005. At the library, my mother found one or two of the popular 12-part I Love Toy Trains series. I was really happy watching these shows for the first time ever! Later that time in 2005, my collection of the series expanded and I finally collected all 12 shows on VHS with other great videos from TM. That's how I started watching I Love Toy Trains.
Several years later in Damascus, Maryland, I used to want to watch these TM videos every single month but I had to work on lots of schoolwork when I was in middle school. In 2010, there was a big problem: one of my videotapes was broken which is sad that I can't watch the I Love Toy Trains series without this particular videotape. So we logged on to the TM Books & Video website to replace my VHS tapes with DVDs. We ordered the exact same series as my videotapes with some shows I've never seen before. For example, I first watched the final show of the I Love Toy Trains series in addition to the first 12 shows as I said. These new DVDs we ordered are a little bit different than my older VHS tapes but they look great. Later in 2011, I expanded my collection with some newer DVDs TM Books & Video produced, some that have all newer footage. In addition, I also have some TM catalogs in which some of them came along with my DVD orders. Here are the photos of my DVDs and catalogs. Great train videos!
To order these fantastic DVDs and/or obtain a free catalog from TM, you can call them at 1-800-892-2822 or visit them on the web at http://www.tmbv.com/. TM DVDs can also be found in hobby shops, Ebay, and Amazon, but I recommend ordering them directly from TM.
DVDs
This set consists of all 12 I Love Toy Trains shows on 4 DVDs with an additional DVD special: The Final Show. In fact, I used to have the original VHS tapes that feature all the first 12 shows, but not The Final Show. My first DVDs added to my collection in late Spring/early Summer 2010. Great set!
This show features lots of Lionel trains, educational segments, and great songs. I used to have this show on VHS. Added to my collection in late Spring/early Summer 2010.
This show features bloopers, outtakes, mishaps, and songs from some of the popular I Love Toy Trains shows. Very funny show! I used to have this show on VHS. Added to my collection in late Spring/early Summer 2010.
These shows feature all real trains in real life. I used to have the first 2 shows on VHS, but not Part 3. Added to my collection in late Spring/early Summer 2010.
This set includes 2 DVDs that feature almost all of the songs from the 14-part I Love Toy Trains series. I used to have the Music Video on VHS. Added to my collection in late Fall 2011.
This hobby video is adapted from the book (I do have it) of the same name written by TM producer Tom McComas. It features lots of Lionel and American Flyer trains in many layouts as well as interviews with collectors, all of which were filmed in the 1980's and 90's. My favorites include Ward Kimball and Stan Roy. Found from Ebay. Added to my collection in the summer of 2017.
As part of Lionel's 100th anniversary celebration, this video shows lots of very iconic toy trains and tells very comprehensive stories in this 100-year history of Lionel. Very iconic video from TM! Added to my collection in Summer 2013.
This is my first DVD for my hobby since I normally collect MTH trains. It features very realistic and prototypical train layouts, including the MTH Showroom layout at the headquarters of MTH in Columbia, Maryland. Added to my collection in late Fall 2011.
Originally, I was not intending to buy any of this series, but there was one particular episode (Part 3: Mandy Patinkin) that was on the "Sale" section of the TM website. So I became interested in the entire series. Frank Sinatra actually loves Lionel trains and his layout most likely resembles the 1949 Lionel showroom layout. This was ordered from Amazon. Really beautiful celebrity train videos! Added to my collection in early 2014.
Catalogs
VHS Tapes
These are my old "I Love Toy Trains" VHS tapes. I used to watch them very frequently up until 2010 when one tape malfunctioned. As a result, I retired and replaced all of them with the DVD versions. Today, I have a throwback to these tapes because I like all of the old VHS cover designs. In fact, there's an official "I Love Toy Trains" Facebook page and I've seen a few of their photos showing the cover designs of their old VHS tapes. That inspired me to show you my own tapes. Of the 12 episodes of this series, 2 tapes feature parts 1-6 while 6 tapes individually feature parts 7-12. Enjoy.
