Hi, When I was 5, I went to bed Christmas eve. All I remember is that the next day was Christmas. When we got up the next day, the living room was transformed. There was a tree, and all these presents. It was magical. Among the presents was 3 American Flyier train sets. One for Dad, my brother and me. For years I had fun making layouts and running the train around. My brother wanted to get into HO, so he sold his set, and got started, but never got past nailing track down to a 4'x8' board. Later as a teenager we sold off the last of the S gage trains. In 83, for Christmas my mother in law gave me over 60' of N gage track, and an engine. I built a small 2'x4' layout and started buying cars and a 0-6-0 engine. My son came along and the trains were put away. This year for Christmas I got out my N scale trains and put them on the buffet, and my wife had some small houses and made it look like a winter layout. The bug has bit again. I'm finishing converting my cars to MT magnematic couplers, and I'm working on an Inglenook shunting puzzle in N. I'm reading up on how to make scenery. That's about it. I have two Bachmann engines, an EMD F9, and 0-6-0 steam. I have 12 cars, 4 have been converted to MT couplers. I've got 6 switches and a lot of straight and curved track. That's about it. Great forum BTW!
Welcome aboard, Sojourner. Isn't it amazing how getting out the old trains rekindle interest in the hobby?
Welcome, funny how interests ebb and flow over the years. My first train was American Flyer also (still have it!) Got into 'N' for awhile, but didn't like it much (this was back in its early days) and I still have that stuff. Had HO since I was about 15 and only now getting any kind of working layout and it is a small switching one (TimeSaver). Hope your bug holds onto you and you couldn't ask for a better place than TrainBoard for ideas and help.
Thanks everyone! There seems to be a really friendly and supportive group here. I will try and take photos and share them as my layout proceeds. Time and money is limited. So I will be scratch building a lot if it. I've got my cork bed glued down. Next comes the track then soldering the rails and adding electricity. The list goes on. Lol
It is neat to hear how the hobby is intertwined with your family history. Good luck on making more great memories!