Mid-30s father of two young kids.  I've always enjoyed looking at model railroads. I had a small seasonal oval as a kid.  Now I'm building a 4x8 HO layout.  It's 3' high which hurts my back at times, but it's eye level for the kiddos.  I have an environmental background and I've come to realize that I'm really just building a big landscape model that happens to have a couple of trains running through it.  My past hobbies and interests have been more on the art side.  I'm not good with the mechanical/electrical stuff.