When I was a lad of about 6 (1952), we were at Buffum's Department Store in Long Beach, California, and I was glued to the Lionel/American Flyer Christmas layout. One of the clerks wrote down the name of a Mr. Thompkins, who lived in Long Beach, and had a Lionel layout in his garage workshop. That was the first layout with scenery that I had ever seen. He had open house every Sunday, and I believe he had an authorized Lionel Repair Station. He even had some of the rare Nacionales de Mexico F-units. He had a Santa Fe AMT passenger train that made my eyes wide. That is what initially started me into O gauge railroading.
I'm sure Mr. Thompkins went to his eternal reward long ago. But, there was another fellow, still living and very active, who revived my interest. Around 1980, Larry Poland lived a block or so from my house, and had a very fine Lionel layout in his garage. One day, as I was walking past, he had the door open and was running trains. I talked with him, and that re-ignited my interest.
