My first model train was a Lionel steam locomotive. I don’t remember much about it because it was lost to a fire when I was seven. Later in my childhood, I had a Lionel diesel-based train set on a 4×8 sheet of plywood in the basement – a Plywood Pacific.
In my teen years, I mostly painted and assembled model cars, but from an early age I was always an enthusiastic rail fan, running outside to see a train whenever the opportunity presented itself. There were no other layouts until the 1980’s, when the purchase of a Bicentennial-scheme Lionel HO-scale train set was made- a Christmas present for my 7-year old son. This eventually inspired the construction of our first layout, with scenery and structures. Soon, I was attending train shows and upgrading the poor-running Lionel rolling stock and locomotives with better quality models.
Layouts were DC-powered with MRC “transformers”. We could even control 2 locomotives at once using Atlas “Controller” switches! In 2001, I attended Gateway 2001, the NMRA Convention in St. Louis, with the goal of learning as much as I could about the available DCC products that had been recently introduced. I came home and ordered a Lenz DCC set because of it’s features and competitive price (at that time, it was priced lower than an NCE system). It turned out to be a good investment. The Lenz set served the present layout until 2024, when I upgraded to a TCS Command Station and booster. I still use the Lenz command station to control the panel and turnouts at the layout’s main yard.
Discovering model railroad operations was a revelation that has greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the hobby for many years. I am forever grateful to the Mexico Train Works Model Railroad Club for introducing me to this part of model railroading, back when their layout was located in the basement of the old Montgomery Ward Store in Mexico, Missouri.