Well, railroads have seemed to have run in my family for generations. My great-great grandfather was an engineer for one of the railroads back east (can't remember which), and has the claim of setting a speed record between Washington D.C., and philidelphia I believe. He also was President McKinleys personnal engineer during his term.
Anyway, my infatuation came in 1988 when I was three, and my dad bought me a book about trains. I loved it so much, I couldn't put it down, and as a result of having it read to me so much, I learned to read at a very early age. And I loved every book that I got afterwords, spending hours reading and memorizing them. Excluding the SP operations near my house, I got my first chance to see, and ride a train at Railfair 91 (And I saw Dan's engine, boy was I in love with it!). And my dad seemed to be getting hooked because he took me to every museum in southern California. For my seventh birthday, we joined the Pomona chapter of the NRHS, and worked on UP 9000, and later on an 1887 0-6-0. I cherished every visit there.
I finally got wise to NG in 1991 when my sister graduated for college at Boulder, and we just had to ride the D&S. That hit me right there. I just loved the size of the train, and the ride itself, even though I fell asleep on the way back. From there on, I had to get everything I could about the NG, and have started a large layout because of being homesick away from NG land. I also now belong to 2 organizations (including friends of the C&TS) just to do my part. And someday, I would like to buy a boxcar body, and move it to my home. Now, I am a true foamer at heart.
But, the best part of being bitten is that I really get to spend time with my dad with something we both enjoy. And, meeting people has been very important (how often do you meet an 80 year old guy who hops the fence in Sacramento, just to look at the CSRM's equipment in the yard?)
And, of course, meeting all of the people here is wonderful too.
Sometimes, it's hard to say which is better. The smell of coal smoke, or the fellowship of all of the others just like me.
