Photo of my first ever layout The Xavierite
Over the course of winter break, I had the opportunity of rediscovering my roots in model railroading.
In today’s technological world, kids grow up watching brain-rot. Meanwhile, my childhood belonged to “Thomas and Friends.”
To this day, I have no idea why it stood out to me, but it inspired me to take on a hobby relatively unknown nowadays: model railroading.
At not even five years old, my family had spent a few hundred dollars just to get me my first ever train set. It was a simple steam locomotive with a few cars, that went around a circular track. This was just the beginning.
One day, my grandparents decided to take me to a local hobby shop called Berwyn’s Toys and Trains. I think in the long run they might have regretted it considering all the money they spent there over the years.
I immediately immersed myself into different types of trains, different locomotives, and the different features they all brought.
Before any purchases were made, a setup needed to be made. My uncle, who at the time lived in California, was up for the challenge. About half of the master bedroom of my grandparents house became my train room.
Although it was on the floor, the layout was about 10×10. It had two different tracks that I was able to operate, and it excited me.
One by one, new trains were being brought upstairs to be put on my track. It was the most wonderful thing, and was like music to my ears whenever I heard a new whistle or bell. As well, the trains produced steam and had many scents of smoke fluid.
My grandparents recall hearing me jumping in excitement as my life in the hobby took off.
As my collection grew week by week, it was time for a change. Instead of my layout being on the floor, it was time to build a table. This was a serious upgrade, and completely changed everything.
I had previously been inspired by many YouTubers setups, with landscapes and buildings set up all across their tables.
At the time, it was Christmas-time of 2013. I had no idea that a second, bigger table was being set up in preparation for something under the tree.
One of the largest steam locomotives ever built was the Challenger, an articulated locomotive used to haul both passengers and freight. I received a model of it on that Christmas morning, and it still remains my largest locomotive to this day.
My Challenger model The Xavierite
As I write this, I stumbled upon the video of myself unwrapping it. I was an ecstatic thing, beyond excited.
The years went on. I collected trains, operated my table, and began to open up about the hobby to my friends. However, as high school began, things slowed down.
I had less time to operate my locomotives. It was unfortunate, considering that some of them were in dire need of repairs. However, I attended to them whenever I was able to.
College made things even worse. I ignored the table completely for two whole years. I walked past it many times, but did not have a spark of interest to even flip on the power switch.
One day, during this winter break, I had the guts to return to Berwyn’s Toys and Trains to see what they had in stock. As I walked in, I was immediately greeted by name. It was like I was a little kid again. They remembered me— something I would have never expected.
In addition, they told me that an engine I sent in for repairs was finally ready to be picked up after three years of trials with custom parts. I was unexpectedly surprised, considering at first they stated absolutely nothing was able to be done to fix it.
It was this moment in time that the fire had been re-lit. My passion for the hobby returned after years.
I used brushes to remove the dust, used cloth to clean the tracks, and bought the newest technology to be able to run my layout from my phone.
After all these years, I had maximum access to my engines and their features. Crazy enough, my Challenger that I received for Christmas nearly twelve years ago was able to perform sounds that I have never heard before.
I guess I can agree with Jay Gatsby, you can repeat the past. It’s a beautiful thing.