The special was produced by King World Productions, and first aired December 3, 1979 on NBC.
Unable to break the truth to her sons, she exchanges a coat she had ordered for the train.
But every plan to raise money fails miserably, mainly because of the kids' stupidity.
A grouchy Salvation Army Santa (Jack Somack) had been following the kids' plight the whole time.
In the end, the Santa buys a new coat for Spanky and Porky's mother, and makes the bullies return the train set.