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My model railroading experience began at 2 years of age. My earliest
memory is that of being hoisted out of bed at some late hour to
witness my Dad and his Dad playing with what I would later find out
was "my" trainset. It was an AF 303 Atlantic set, not the most
expensive, but Grandad had added a few extra cars and some straight
track. Gramps was a consultant in the steel industry, and selected AF
S gauge for its realism. They had it set up in a big oval like one of
the pictures on the cardboard trestle boxtop. I arrived at the scene
just in time to see the 303 leap from a high curve to the floor as
Gramps got heavy-handed with the throttle. That's probably when the
metal whistle was broken off of the loco.

Until I was 6 or so, the trains came out only at Christmas. Hence,
toy trains are still very closely associated with that holiday in my
psyche (a fact that would be pivotal at a later date.) Once reaching
that age, my parents let me set the train up whenever I felt like it.
In an effort to teach me about "taking care of things", I was always
cautioned that I'd better treat the trains well, because they were
expensive (relative to other toys I had, anyway), and if they were
broken, there would be no replacements. It didn't take much to
trigger my cautious, perfectionist nature. I still have that very
set. The admonition toward extra care had a downside, though. It made
me a little nervous about actually playing with the things. Also,
the "too expensive" aura that my trains took on discouraged me from
seeking new items, even from "Santa". Plus, all my train-loving
friends had Lionel, so there was no encouragement from that camp.
Then there was the encroaching Jet Age (my Dad worked for a company
that made jet engine parts), Space Age (I hoped that "The Jetsons"
accurately previewed The Future), and numerous other distractions.
And then, railroads themselves became much less visible in everyday
life. All that led to an extended hiatus in my railroading interests.

But, the trainset stayed with me as a keepsake, a memento of Gramps.
Then, in 1981, I got married, and that pivotal moment arrived. Just
before our first Christmas together, my new wife found out I had an
old "electric train." "WHAT? Set it up around the tree! NOW!!" As I
already knew how to keep peace in the family, I complied. (Truth be
told, it didn't take anything in the way of threats to get me to set
up my old train. I was looking forward to it. But it always helps
when the wife-unit thinks what you want to do is her idea.)

We continued the "Christmas Train" custom until 1985 when we had, and
lost, our 1st and only baby. The whole ordeal was devastating, as I'm
sure any of you can imagine. My wife and I are both Christians, and
so, we sought our Lord for healing. He began the process in a way we
never expected.

My wife had been asking the Lord to get us involved in
some "recreational activity" we could enjoy together. One day, we
were gazing in the window of a hobby shop that dealt in used toy
trains, and we noticed some AF stuff. "Hey, y'know what we should do?
We should start a Christmas tradition of buying a new train car for
our train each year!" chimed the wife. So we bought a 937 Katy
boxcar, our new acquisition for 1985.

About six months later, we had some 40 cars and two more locomotives.
So much for "tradition". We'd found our recreational therapy.

In 1987 we built a permanent Christmas layout that we add to each
year (features, not track), and we also have a 14 section modular
layout that we set up publicly when circumstances allow. We keep part
of it set up in a loft over our garage.

I don't know (personally) about trains helping to form a bond between
fathers and sons, but it certainly has played a part with my wife and
me. Our marriage wouldn't fall apart without them by any means, but
our trains definitely serve to reinforce our relationship.

We both enjoy trainwatching, and  occasionally find time to sit at
Fullerton Station watching BNSF freights charge by at 50+ mph, or
peoplewatching as passengers unload from the Surfliner, the Southwest
Chief, or Metrolink.

Our personal interest in model railroading is closely tied to real
trains, especially as they are now. If railroading ceased as an
active, viable industry in the real world, I'm not sure model
railroading would continue to hold our interest. That's one reason
why we tend to model the present time. Nostalgia is nice, but it gets
old (sorry) after a while. We tried collecting AF up to about the
early '90s, but most of what we don't already have is too expensive
for us. Also, the maintenance-intensive side of Gilbert locos has not
left me with an overriding urge to add any more to our Gilbert
roster. All that has led us to buy AM and SHS almost exclusively for
the last ten years, God bless 'em. Collecting Gilbert has slowed to a
virtual stop, and as for Flyonel, don't get me started on THAT!

As to the "Budding scientist/engineer/whatever" aspect of toy train
exposure, having an electric train did spark (sorry again) an early
interest in electrical and mechanical things. More importantly, I
have found that getting back into trains has stirred several latent
interests in me that have been dormant for decades, such as in
vehicles of all kinds, architecture, art, even American history.
Would a Playstation do that for its youthful operator in 30 years? I
dunno...