Hi all:

Some time ago, I blogged about my process of choosing what to model after returning to the hobby.  I was deciding between Conrail, a proto-freelance concept I had come up with twenty years or so ago or modeling the Union Railroad in Pittsburgh.  I ended up choosing the Union Railroad because my grandfather was an engineer with them, retiring in 1976.  That is the year I have chosen to model because of the variety of motive power and operations still available. 

In my first blog post, I wrote about how I am only now revisiting the hobby after many years.  I am having a lot of fun and I've enjoyed seeing my ten year-old son delighted by moving a loco and a car on some test track I set up.  After  obtaining the necessary easements from family, I have been thinking a lot about the “Where, What, and When” idea of what to do for a layout.  This will likely be a shelf switching layout for the time being.

Does this story sound familiar?

A child is exposed to model trains.  Maybe his or her grandfathers had some old Lionel and HO equipment or there were local displays which could be viewed at the holidays.  At some point, he or she received some of their own locomotives, track, and accessories and may have even built a small layout.  The train bug bit in some regard as it does for a lot of people.