In my youth (1942-52), I grew up in New York City (Brooklyn & Queens) so third rail subway and elevated plus the Long Island, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna, Jersey Central, Erie, New Haven, and New York Central ALL ran either third rail and/or catenary electric trains and/or steam. My exposure to steam and electric left an indelible, lifelong fascination with those forms of train power.
Although I have, and still do, admire the beautiful and classic liveries of the early E and F units, I have really never been a diesel fan, hence NO diesels on my the tinplate or G gauge trackage!
As a child, my parents gave me a wonderful Gilbert S Gauge American Flyer 5-car A-B-A North Coast Limited in a beautiful two-tone green livery, and I enjoyed it for a couple of years. As an adult, when I got back into trains with postwar Lionel and MPC, it was steam I was attracted to, and also a nice, almost new 2340 GG1 I picked up for $45 back in 1971. The owner remarked he never liked that "ugly green engine" and that, furthermore, he had never seen a real one like it here in Nashville, TN. 
