(mamayama=mama yardmaster) I acquired my first train set last year on my 77th birthday, a gift from my husband, who heard me say that I had wanted one since age 4. I also stated at that tender age that I wanted a real piano. Didn’t get that either. Who, in their right mind, gifts a 4-year old with such a large item, after all? In addition, trains were for boys! Meanwhile, I told my son of the train set gift, and he put me in touch with a neighbor, who wanted to sell his trains, and asked for help in doing so. We live 1,000 miles away, but had scheduled a trip there for the following week. We looked at the trains, son got some prices from ebay, came up with a number that suited the seller, and we came home with 93 pieces, including about a dozen locos, all for $250. My son threw in another bunch that his kids wanted to get rid of. We have now added a 16’x18’ room onto our home for the trains. Hubby has the benchwork done, foam glued down, some track laid, and purchased/installed the DCC system. We travel a good bit, but I can see that this is beginning to dwindle down a bit, so this new hobby will give us something to do at home that will occupy us for the rest of our lives.

Oh, yes; profile/bio. Guess I got a little, uh, side-tracked. I’m a woman, so what can I say? Actually, quite a lot!..We live in southwest Mississippi, but are originally from SoCal. The short version of this is that I married an Iowan in '54, left CA, of course, to become a farmer’s wife, and we retired here to escape the harsh winters. Through visiting two of our five kids in this area, decided we loved the area and the people, so bought a home in the woods, and made the move in '92. My husband of 40 years died with Alzheimer’s 18 mos. later, I remarried a gentleman from New Orleans, he died 6 years later, then reconnected with my junior/senior