"Why else would a grown man play with trains?"

If you are of a certain age, like I am, you may remember the original Addams Family show on TV. If you are also a model railroader, you may remember the scene where Gomez Addams blows up his Lionel Trains.

For some strange reason, I got to thinking about that show recently, and about the scene (repeated a number of times throughout the series) where Gomez blew up his trains.

In the original scene, a visitor is ushered into Gomez's train room, where he witnesses the collision.

"They're going to crash!" he warns Gomez, watching two trains head towards each other at speed.

"Beautiful, beautiful," says Gomez after the explosion.

"You meant to blow them up?" the visitor asks.

"Of course," replies Gomez. "Why else would a grown man play with trains?"

Looking at the scene again, I wonder how they arranged for two trains to run into each other on the same track going in opposite directions. This was pre-DCC, after all.

To watch the scene, click on the video above, or click here to enjoy the explosion, er, trains!

(Click here for the train crash scene from the re-make.)