In all honesty I don't expect my grandsons to play with trains all their life. I know sports, girls, cars and more girls will capture their attention. What I hope to do is to plant a seed that will wait until its time to grow. One day they will be old enough to appreciate and or need this great hobby. My Mom planted the seed in me when she bought me my first train set, a Tyco ready to run set.
My 29 year old son has been showing interest in trains again, now that he has his new Camaro and steady girl. He was for many years the one to set up the trains under our Christmas tree. I would bet when he gets his own place he will build a layout. I saved his first Christmas train set for him. I can almost guarantee he will have a train under his tree at least.
Speaking of my old Tyco set, what a pain in the butt that set was! Don't get me wrong I loved it, but the track would not stay together, nailing down the track was very challenging, trains derailed on a regular basis. These new sets with the EZ track would have been great for me with no experienced people to help me. I don't understand why they don't fly off the shelf of train shops. Snap it together, set it up on the floor, plug in the one wire and run trains with little or no trouble at all. I don't get it, I would have loved my first train even more, if that is possible.
If you have a youngster in your family, do them a favor and buy them a ready to run set. It may be the best Christmas gift they ever get, mine was.