my first acquisition

[cn nutbar]

Hello Everyone---I've always had a facination with trains,the fact that my father was a locomotive engineer on the Canadian National Railway had a lot to do with it I'm sure.Like many children,I was lucky to get a train set for Christmas---if I recall my first train was made by Marx,a New York Central steam engine with an oval track that I would play with for hours on end. As I "grew up", my interests expanded but I never stopped taking the time to watch a train pass by,I only wish I had a camera back then as there were still steam engines in abundance.I didn't start collecting trains until I got married---I blame my wife on my "obsession",as she was the person who very much encouraged me and supported me to pursue a hobby "to keep me out of trouble". About 30 years ago I bought a steam engine from a LHS and would you believe that it was a model from Doctor Wayne's Grand Valley---I had never met Wayne ,but this purchased started not only a start of my train collection but more importantly a true friendship with Doc. As I was going through some old photos,I came across a picture of this locomotive---as you can see,he was a very talented craftsman long ago.