What is your favorite aspect of model railroading?

[Sumpter250]

I think my favorite part of model railroading is introducing people to the hobby. Seeing the look on their faces when they see that it's "not just a toy train"...priceless :o
To be honest, I've found that "grown-ups" are more amazed than the kids are.

Some of the best times ever, are when we set up the modular layouts at a Shopping Mall, without a whole lot of fanfare, and people coming to the Mall are surprised by what they see. The most common response from the public? " Wow,I thought model railroading" was all about toy trains."