For most of forty years I collected a lot of HO and OO railway models. This was in two categories. Initially I collected French Hornby , Fleishmann and a couple of other European manufacturers products. I built a small HO layout based on SNCF (French railways) Northern region 1. This allowed the use of models representing electric, diesel and steam outline locomotives.
I have always lived close to the former GWR railway and decided that I would build a GWR branch line based principally on Cornwall - to allow a clay line - and Devon - for milk tankers.
As my family grew so the model railway took a back seat and the GWR layout was never built. The SNCF had to be dismantled.
Eventually and as I was, for thirty years always on emergency call out and had no intention of using my lost areas. I looked at what I had collected over the years and decided to sell it all. I sold it and bought a rather expensive Windows XP computer, with good monitor and specialist printer.
The use of the computer saw me discovering garden railways. Therein lay the answer to my railway hobby interest. Fourteen years ago I set out to build an outdoor garden railway (railroad as it is called). It took over two months and some hard work but did give me bodily exercise which is so essential, especially as you get older.
The railroad is based on a line which links SE West Virginia to SW Massachusetts running through the Shenadoah Valley. One of the great American river banks it (theoretically of course), it follows if the North Fork of The Potomac River. All the rolling stock and locos are American, principally 1:29 scale , but I do have a little 'old time' stock which is 1:22.5 and 1:24 scale.
Incidentally, for modelling purposes, 1:29 is three times HO (1.87) scale so plans are easily converted. I don't run in wet weather but do providing there is not any biting winds. Snow is rare here. A bonus has been that in the years of large scale modelling I have come to know far more about the United Sates and Canada and of course made new friends over there as well.