My father definitely was responsible for my interest in trains, both real ones and models. He was born in Cincinnati in 1897 and around 1906 he received a Carlisle & Finch electric outfit (made in Cincinnati starting 1896) powered by a special C&F water turbine/generator that could be attached to the faucet of the laundry tub in the basement, because his parents' house did not have electricity and was still illuminated by gas. He told me his mother allowed him make two small holes through the living room floor so that the wires from the generator could be brought up to the rheostat for operation at Christmas (and maybe other times). My father indulged me with a substantial American Flyer layout in the living room at Christmas, and then later in a spare room in a permanent setup. After college (late 60s) I became interested in O-scale and eventually had the space to build a 2-rail system. Like many others on the forum, I remember happily lying on the carpet while my AF trains ran around the Christmas tree, day-dreaming about my future railroad empire. My dad also read to me a book about I.K. Brunel and the Great Western Railway, and I spent some of my early years thinking I would become a civil engineer (didn't happen).
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