Born in 1951, I had a ZW running Lionel trains around the Christmas tree for as long as I can remember, but none of my friends had trains.
However, relatives on my father's side, and on my mother's side, of my family had Lionel trains. I had 2 cousins, Jimmy and Billy, who were 5 and 10 years older than me that had beautiful basement layouts.
My father built me a very nice basement layout with trestles on a 4 by 8 foot plywood board on saw horses when I was 10 years old, but my cousin's layouts were at least twice as big and much more interesting.
Cousin Jimmy's layout was built by my Uncle Mario (a bachelor). That layout even had ramps upon which the trains would leave the plywood boards, run around the furnace and go to other places in the basement, and then return back to the plywood boards triumphantly. When I suggested to my father that we built ramps so the trains could leave the plywood board, he wouldn't have it, telling me "that's crazy." (He thought his brother Mario was crazy).
Guess what I did when I had my own house and kids as an adult?
Uncle Mario lives on in me! LOL, Arnold
