Well for me I guess it started as a young boy and seeing my fathers many Lionel trains. Getting to blow the whistle, or unload the milk cans from the car, and lets not forget the gateman.
We never had the room needed for a permeant layout. However, the time would come when my dad would make the exception and unpack the trains. Once unpacked we would set up a temporary layout on a ping pong table where they would stay for a week or so until he packed them away.
That has been a memory that I will most likely NEVER forget.
As I turned into a teenager I lost the interest to hang out with my dad or play with trains for that matter. My dad got rid of those trains due to some financial difficulties, and as I said the interest was gone, but not the memory.
As I approached my 30's the desire to once again "play" with trains and hang out with my dad returned. As I approached 32 I made the decision to get into trains. Not because of any particular railroad or engines that I saw as a youngster. Just because I believe that memory of the enjoyment that I experienced as a child was still in me and most likely will never go away.
I do not golf, gamble, hunt, camp, ride ATV's, etc...... Although Ive tried some of those things only to lose interest. I have NOT lost interest in trains. I still do not know much of anything about real trains (Although Im learning a little at a time), I don't know wheel arrangements, where trains ran, or how a prototypical yard works. I don't model a particular road name, railroad, or era. Theres just something that I like about them that I can't explain.Maybe I was a an engineer in a past life. LOL!. or maybe it was those times as a kid. All I know is I just like trains, and model railroading. I see a train and I buy it. (ABOUT 50k in 3 years. Im now 35) WOW that sounds bad when I say it. (The 50K part) LOL! Hopefully my wife doesn't see this!
Now I get to hang out with pops again from time to time when he stops over even if for just a brief minute. I get to see some of the excitement in my dads eyes when I show him a new engine. The same excitement that he probably got to see when I unloaded those milk cans. Now my 2 year old son follows me around all day saying choo! choo!. I get the enjoyment of finishing what I start, which I get to pass to my son. I get to use my imagination on my railroad, and pass that along to my son. I love to create things with my hands, and stand back and appreciate what Ive accomplished through hard work, dedication, patience, and many other things that through this appreciation for trains I get to pass to my son. And I get that from being into model railroading.
When I saw this it seemed like the start to a great thread. I hope I offered some insight as to what I believe it is for me, and I look forward to hearing some other responses.