My story is a familiar one, and at 77, I have plenty of time to reflect on my teenage hiatus from my toy trains. I was 16 in 1958, and had made a decision to let my dad sell my American Flyer S gauge "empire" (5 engines and 28 cars plus several Lionel and AF operating accessories) in order to buy a brand spanking new Webcor Royal Coronet reel-to-reel tape recorder. My best friend had one and the idea of recording the hot tunes of the day off the radio to dance by was irresistable. I also had four girl cousins, two of whom were about my age, who, in turn, had a number of female friends I could hang with and listen to recorded songs and dance. Listening to music, girls and dancing quickly supplanted the trains. Since I lived in the borough of Queens and went to school in Brooklyn, and with the els and subways, I had no need to drive or own a car. Taking a date to Radio City Music Hall or a Broadway show was easily accomplished with public rail transportation. Those dates into NYC often ended with a Staten Island Ferry ride and some "making out" on a discreet deck! Entered college at 17 and after two years, a three-year enlistment with the US Army. After my service time, went back to college, married and had two children. A few years into marriage, I started a small collection of Rivarossi HO steam engines, which I displayed in my college office as I was then an Assistant Professor of English. It was not until 1972 at age 30, that I found myself drawn back to toy trains, starting with a new Marx set. This eventually led to Lionel and the TCA (1974) and the rest, as they say, is history! What are your stories of trains, interrupted?
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