A Josef Stalin-era Soviet toy train is one of Rodney Deifuss' prized possessions. Dreifess refers to himself as the engineer of Rodney's Trains and Toys, a shop he owns that has a railyard's worth of model trains, train parts and other vintage toy memorabilia.
The Stalin train is not for sale, but rather, one of the pieces that Dreifuss likes so much he has decided to keep it. There are plenty of choo choos in his shop to go around, however, from military style trains to circus trains to Christmas sets. Dreifuss also stocks hundreds of items used to decorate train layouts, including a variety of depots, bridges, towers, foliage and items too numerous to mention.
The Stalin trains were commissioned in the 1950s by the Communist Party General Secretary and handed out to youth group leaders, Dreifuss said.
The trains were a popular item, but when Nikita Kruschev rose to power in the Soviet Union during a period of "de-Stalinization" in the 1960s, he ordered Stalin's name removed from the locomotive. Stalin's name is on the locomotive in Dreifuss' shop.
Rodney's Trains and Toys, located at 9622 Gravois Road, buys and sells model trains and train accessories. The store also has parts for various train sets, new and old, and repairs model trains of all kinds. For more information, call 314-638-8250 or send an email to rodneystraintoys@swbell.net.
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