But before we get into that, a little background:
Being a kid of my generation, a good imagination was a necessity. Instead of video games, we had board games. Instead of iPads we had books. Television was black and white with 13 channels, rabbit ears and no DVR... you get the picture. We played outside when the weather was good, and we were "stuck" inside when the weather was crummy. Luckily, on those rainy days, I had an ace in the hole...( trumpets please) ... train sets.
My first train was of course a Lionel.
My Dad hooked me up. He was great that way. It was on my first Christmas and I was three months old. A simple loop of track around the base of the Christmas tree. I don't know if he hoped I would become a lifetime enthusiast or if he expected me to outgrow them after a while. As it turned out; I did both.
My first train was Santa Fe F3 AA units. Ahhhhh.
It came with a passenger set and it was all just a thing of pure, aluminum beauty. I wonder if I teethed on it. I should go look. Yes, I still have it.
As Christmas's came and went, cars and engines were added.
By my teens, we had a 15'x20' layout in the basement. Yeah, it was great. I love you, Dad.
Once in high school, my interests in trains started to dwindle to make room for other interests. Cruisin', girls... Again, you get the picture. My folks ended up breaking down the layout and packing up the trains. Life rolled on.
It was after a move to Florida and the purchase of my first home over a decade later when my trains reappeared. Once again, a simple loop of track around the base of the Christmas tree.
With the birth of my son, I had the fresh perspective of a new father, I imagine the same one my father had all those years ago. Together, we continued the Christmas tradition of the simple loop, and also dabbled in HO here and there. I love you, Son.
Christmas loops and dabbles followed me through a couple career changes and relocations, and it was when I settled in Connecticut that I decided it was time to do more. Time to build a real, scenic'd layout like those in the model railroad magazines. The bug bit, and bit hard.
I joined several online railroad forums, mostly lurking, to glean ideas and techniques. But it was in Jimmy D's forum where I met some folks who would quickly become good mentors and very good friends. Some well-deserved shout-outs to my Round Robin core group: Robert S, George M, John M, Bob R, Roger C and Scott R.
During our work sessions, I learned scenic methods and developed an appreciation for Craftsman Structure kits. If you scoff, don't. They greatly enhance the appearance of a scene and can be awesome pieces of art all by themselves.
 "Panzera's Delicatessen & Canavan Law HO Scale Kit")
I finally realized after a few years with these guys and working & operating on various HO layouts, that I would need a whole basement full of of O gage to accomplish what a half basement of HO gage would provide. (Whether she realizes it or not, my wife appreciates this not-so-trivial turn of events.)
And so here were are now. I'm getting ready to convert my current benchwork, originally slated for O gage, into HO. My friends are enthused and so am I. I'm looking forward to blogging my work and I hope you have fun reading about it.
Please feel free to comment. I don't pretend to know everything and all suggestions & constructive criticisms are always welcome.
Finally, a quick note of loving appreciation to my wife. After my years of professional, technical (aka:dry) writing, she generously agreed to be my scribe and resident wordsmith. Thank you, honey.
