GOLDINHANDS

When I was four, I received my first American Flyer train, a No. 312 steam engine with three red 650 passenger cars, and a 718 baggage car that I still have and maintain. I have collected American Flyer, American Models, S-Helper, and Lionel Flyer trains in anticipation of retirement. When I finally retired, a couple of the guys at work had a bet that I would not have any trains running in a year, so I had to prove them wrong. My wife spent three weeks in California visiting our grandchildren, and I did not tell her what I was about to do in the basement. When she came home she said, "What did you do? You took over the whole basement!" "Yep, I did it," and built a 9×16 foot layout with the help of my friend Andy. We laid original S-Helper flex track on top of Flexbed and now at least, I had a loop and the guys from work lost the bet by only a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, it has been like that for many years and someday I will lay down the track plan that I originally wanted... …..

Primary location: Schaumberg United States