awesome post! I've been into trains since I was little, got to ride on N&W's Challenger #1218 when I was 8. a ride on both the durango & silverton when I was 12ish and a year or two later on the cumbres & toltec railways were great experiences as a child. My dad was always big in gardening and when my train interest reminded him of his from years before we got into the garden railroad stuff- he currently has a 500ft loop at his place in virginia, with a 10ft trstle and 8 foot tunnel. mostly using aristo rolling stock but some of the bachman and LGB as well. He is one of the officers in the washington area garden railway club.
http://wvmgrs.org/