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I got my first AF when I was five.  I'm 59 now.  I still have the 322
and all the origional cars.  My dad was an auto mechanic and when he would buy
tools, he would get "points" for his purchases.  The points could be traded
for merchandise.  My dad gave Santa the points, and Santa got the AF.  The
next year, I asked for another train and my dad gave Santa some more points
and I got a Lionel.  When I got into my teens, the trains were no longer put
under the tree at Christmas and they were not brought out again until about
10 or 12 years ago when my wife insisted that I once again put them under our
tree.
 As a United Methodist minister, I move rather frequently and the homes
(furnished by the churches I have served) have unsually not had
adequate space for me to leave the trains up year round.  However, after that
Christmas a few years ago when I got them back out, I have started
devising ways of hanging them from ceilings in the house.  We recently moved to
a house in Spartanburg, S. C., where it was obviouis I was not going to
be able to hand the trains from the ceiling in the house because it was "too
nice" so I have put up my most elaborate display yet in our garage.
This Christmas, we had over 500 people come see the trains.  Some of
my most treasured memories of most recent Christmas seasons have been standing
and watching little children, mezmorized by the running of the trains.  By
the way, my lay out this year included a G, an O (my origional Lionel), and
S (my origional AF), a HO, a N, and a Z gague train.  I have a portable unit
I carry to nursing homes and hospitals.  What a wonderful gift model
trains have been to me.