I was curious why you are involved in model railroading? I know some people worked on actual railroads and have tried to model it. Some people like to model railroads they grew up around. Some people like to build scenery.
I'm not real sure why this has always interested me, but I know I'm more interested in having a functional working model than in the scenery. Meaning I like having a working yard where I can tear apart and dismantle trains and have some place to send them and such. Not really interested in a real prototype. I do know I've been interested in trains ever since I got a Lionel for Christmas when I was a kid. I also remember looking at this book of track plans I had back then (I still have it), I think that sealed it for me as far as wanting something more eventually.