Ace, I'm sure that my project is a lot more than most people would want to deal with, but I'm a little different.
Since I posted this topic a few hours ago, I've been thinking about my life with trains. And it occurred to me, that I don't just love trains for myself, I love to share them with others.
From the earliest age I can remember, people were fascinated with what I had created. I think my parents hoped it would go away, that I would outgrow it, but I didn't. 20 years ago it reached its pinnacle in the form a business by the name of enterTRAINment at Mall of America. Many here have heard of it, some may even have visited it. It only lasted a little over a year, and then it was gone.
That layout was more for public consumption, more to the toy end of the spectrum with lots of action. This layout is more of a personal vision, a true model railroad, but it still needs to be shared. It needs to take all the materials that were salvaged from the mall, and recycle them into something new and wonderful.
As far as my life goes, trains really are my life. My kids are in college (they don't talk to me anyway). I attribute that to my ex, and not to the trains. My parents are both deceased. My sister lives just down the road, running 24/7 with her kids. The one has little interest in trains, the other even less.
Trains are how I pass my time. Just getting all this out feels like therapy. It feels good.
