Mike Leahy Layout
An American Flyer Layout and Collection
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Comments: In the fall of 1953, at 10 years of age in Southeast Nebraska, I decided to
take a paper route in order to pay for an American Flyer train set. When I
had earned enough money to buy an inexpensive set, I went to Golds Department
Store in Lincoln and purchased my first real electric train. By the end of
the decade I was more into cars and girls, so the train got put away. For the
next thirty years, I was into my high school teaching & coaching career.
In the early 1990s my oldest son and daughter-in-law were expecting their first
child, so I decided to get my train set out again for the expected grand-
children. Needless to say, I got hooked again! Like in the 1950s, I set up
my train on a table tennis table. However, this did not cut it as an adult.
Therefore in 1997 I decided to build a train room and operating lay-out. I
was teaching at Fairview High School at the time, so I enticed the industrial
arts teacher, Dave Mahan, to help me build a table to fit the room I had in
mind. It is now up and running, but I would still like to expand it in some
way. Time will tell whether I do in fact add to the current set-up.
Over View South
![](mike1.jpg)
Over View Middle
![](mike3.jpg)
Over View North
![](mike2.jpg)
View South End
![](mike4.jpg)
The Mountain Corner
![](mike8.jpg)
Mike likes to Watch the Trains Pass in the Mirror
![](mike9.jpg)
Mike's Ball Game
![](mike7.jpg)
Mike has Three Wall Displays
![](mike5.jpg)
![](mike5a.jpg)
![](mike6.jpg)
Mike's Unique 4-4-6-2 Engine
![](mike10.jpg)
Mike at His Controls
![](mike11.jpg)
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