I got my first set 1483WS, back in 1952, along with a 2020/2020W, with accessories like the 3472 and 3656 sets, and had a 8'x16' two level layout. I had a lot of boxcars, gondolas, and the like, that were accumulated over the years when I was young. Then the "fateful years of teenage" hit, and the trains were no longer an interest. The train layout got disassembled, and the trains got packed away. Along about 1961, my mother decided that she wanted to pass the trains off to my Uncle (her brother), who had two sons. Everything that I had of Lionel trains was gone, but I totally forgot about them. I thought that I would never see them again.
In the middle 1960's, I finished high school, joined the Navy and did my stint for 4 years. Got out of Navy, married and life was good. Still no thought of trains in the picture.I did buy an "N" scale set when my son was about 6 or 7, and ran that for maybe 2 years, and then boxed it all up.
About 6 years ago, my wife wanted to put a train under the Xmas tree, and we did have her old set from 1955, tucked back in a corner of our attic. I dug it out, and had to clean it all up, and then find out if it ran. It missed being under the tree that year, because her request was about 3 weeks before Xmas. Got it running, and the following year we had a running train. That is when the "LIONEL BUG" bit me real hard. I wanted to try and recreate what I originally had, and started to pick thing up on eBay. I just didn't remember exactly what engines I had, but I knew they were heavy.
Then February 2014, my youngest cousin contacts me and asked me if I would like to have my trains back, since they were originally mine. Couldn't say YES fast enough. We finally had a chance to get together, and I got the bulk of what I had when I had the layout. Little did I know that my cousin had taken the trains with every move he made over the years. He had lived in Missouri, Texas, & Tennessee, and the trains kept going with him. So 53 years later, I have my original Lionel trains, back in my possession.-----Both engines needed parts, and repairs, my ZW transformer still worked, and the accessories were all checked.
