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How it all got started

It's kind of cool hearing all you other folks out there's stories. Mine
is a little different from most in that my parents NEVER bought me an
American Flyer train set. My two best pals in the little town of Rigby Idaho
where I grew up had a whole basement full of Lionel. Their Dad owned the 5c &
10c store in town and was the local Lionel dealer. I played with their
stuff almost every day. On Christmas Day of 1947 when I was 9 yr. old we went
to my cousins house which was the custom in those days. Actually spent the
entire day visiting all the Aunts and Uncles and Grandparents. When I got to
my cousin Jacks house in Idaho Falls he had an American Flyer set running
around the tree. My first comment was to ask him why it only had two rails. He
proudly spoke up that "this is American Flyer and it uses real two rail
track." I was hooked. I spent the next 3 Christmas's begging my parents
for American Flyer. They just didn't have the money to do so and it never
happened. I did get a real cheesy Marx set for my 12th birthday and
promptly ran it to death. We had moved to California by that time and my Dad was
a little better off financially. My younger brother got a Marx set too a
couple of years later and I helped him run that. I joined the Air Force when I
was 17 and spent the years 1955-1959 in the service. I had only been home
about a week and was walking in our neighborhood when I saw a bunch of junk
setting out on some peoples front lawn. They were having a "yard sale." First
time I ever heard that term. In a huge box was a Flyer near-miss set from 1957
with a 293 and 13 cars. Also a barrel loader and about a mile of track and
switches and light towers etc. I bought it all for $20. Still have
every piece to this day except the track. That was in Sept 1959 and I have
never looked back. Guess railroading is in the blood. My Grandfather and 3 of
his brothers all worked on the UP. My Uncle was the section chief on the
line from Rigby to the Montana border. The wife and I go somewhere every
summer and ride a steam train. Can't get that smell of burning coal out of my
system....Steve>