A lot of us tend to buy just engines, and just cars... we build our collections, and layouts, and maybe it started with a train set, and maybe it started different, but how many of us really think about it?

So, today, I was looking in my closet, at the few boxes of "sets" I've bought recently, and it dawned on me... is there a better thrill in this hobby than that of a full train set? That big flat box, opening it, and seeing the contents inside? Those memories of the sets we had as children... or the sets we have bought our children, grandchildren, or even for ourselves?

There is just something about that box. Knowing that what's inside is all you need to run a simple train. The track, transformer, engine, and a few cars... maybe they aren't fancy, and maybe they don't look at great next to that $500 engine on the shelf, in it's shiny brass, and maybe the detail isn't the world's greatest, but, the details were still far better than any of the other toys you remember as a child.

Well, I'm off to go set up some track, and run a train around it for a bit.

Cheers!