My dad grew up in a working class family in the '40s—his Dad worked for Bell Aircraft. My late grandfather saw the light that was A.C. Gilbert, and my dad's first set was a dealer set consisting of a Silver Bullet loco & tender, a 605 AFL flatcar w/logs, 640 Wabash hopper, 642 Seaboard Air Line boxcar, and a 638 AFL unlighted caboose. His second set was a 5306T Silver Bullet passenger set (IIRC, loco, tender, & cars only), and third was the 1955 5570H Silver Rocket passenger set. He added a 916 D&H gondola w/canisters, the 779 Oil Drum Loader, lots of Plasticville sets, and other accessories. (My grandfather machined extra oil drums at his work, doubling my dad's drums. The reproductions are indistinguishable from the originals.)
His trains ran around the tree annually from the beginning of Advent through Christmas, and we always dreamed of a permanent layout. A couple of years later, with the help of my brother-in-law and his wood shop, we made it a reality, and have since greatly expanded his rolling stock. It's pretty amazing that these toys have been used—mostly by children—for more than 60 years and are still going strong.
