lionel trains - advice needed?

Hi - I want to buy my son a Lionel train for christmas. I am heading to the shop on Monday to look at them. he is only 7 months old so all i want to buy is the engine and I will buid the set over time.

My question is with so many options is there one that is considered "the" lionel classic steam engine. i like to buy things that stand the test of time so any advice would be appreciated.

You usually can't go wrong with Lionel. Just make sure the engine is metal....I know for a while they made extremely cheap plastic starter kits that were just plain junk. I bought my son a starter kit when he was born 9 years ago for Christmas and every year "Santa" brings him a new car. Kinda fun. When you get to the store.....you won't need suggestions on what to get...more like you'll need help on narrowing down your choices to just one item. O-27 gauge seems to be what most people consider "classic lionel". But.... you'll have to make your own choice on the gauge you want. Good luck and I'm sure as he gets older he'll love the trains (and the Christmas tradition of a train around the tree!) just as much as my son....(and I)...do...:rockin: