Long before video games ruled the toy world, model trains were synonymous with Christmas as generations of children asked Santa Claus to leave a set of cars and tracks under the tree.

Kids spent hours watching little locomotives go round and round as they imagined themselves working on the railroad all the livelong day.

As those youngsters grew up, their train sets were often forgotten. They got packed away in cobweb-filled attics, sold at garage sales or tossed in the garbage.

But not everyone left their trains behind when they crossed the threshold into adulthood. Take Dennis Lakomy, for example.

The 66-year-old Orion Twp. resident still loves playing with trains and is sharing his hobby with others.

Last week, Lakomy brought one of his trains to Oxford’s Independence Village of Waterstone and used it to delight folks of all ages.

“For the older folks, it brings back memories of when they had train sets of their own,” he said. “For the kids, they’ve never seen anything like this, really.”

Lakomy set up his 4-foot-by-10-foot portable train display – complete with buildings, trees, cars, a tunnel and tiny people and animals – in the lobby near the Christmas tree.

“It’s fun creating your own town,” he said.

Lakomy’s display was enjoyed by Independence Village residents and staff, visiting family members and Cub Scouts who were there to spread Christmas cheer by handing out candy canes and handmade cards.

“A lot of people will just sit here for hours looking at it,” he said.

There was a childlike twinkle in Lakomy’s eyes and a broad smile stretched across his face as he watched folks play with his train and answered their questions.

Born and raised in Detroit, Lakomy’s been collecting trains since the age of 10. He now owns 10 sets and more than 120 engines and cars.

“It’s just fun,” he said. “I still have my original set that my dad bought me in 1964.”

All of Lakomy’s trains are Lionel brand. The North Carolina-based company has been manufacturing the popular toys since 1900.

His passion for trains was sparked at age 8 when his cousin, who worked for a railroad, gave him a ride aboard a real diesel locomotive in Dillonvale, Ohio.

That passion grew as trains gave Lakomy and his father a hobby they could share. They bonded over it.

He continues to add to his collection wherever and whenever he can.

“I think I’ve been to every hobby shop within 40 or 50 miles of this area,” said his wife Darlene Frederick, a retired Lake Orion teacher. “He plans trips around hobby shops. We’re going to Minnesota in a couple weeks to see our niece graduate. I want to go to the Mall of America. He wants to go to all the train shops . . . That’s the first thing he researches whenever we travel.”

One of Lakomy’s favorite pieces is the Tropicana Orange Juice car he bought in Florida.

Another star in his collection is a Ringling Bros. Circus car. “It has little elephants on it and all that,” Lakomy said.

That car reminds him of when the circus used to visit the Palace of Auburn Hills. He said the circus train would park in the rail yard at the General Motors plant in Orion.

“That’s as close as they could get (the train) to the Palace,” Lakomy said.

Local roads would then be closed, so the circus folks could walk the animals, such as elephants and horses, from there to the venue. “They did that every year for quite a few years,” Lakomy said.

Frederick supports her husband’s hobby by purchasing trains and related items for him as gifts.

“He leaves hints all over (about) what he wants,” she said.

It was Frederick’s idea for Lakomy to start displaying his trains at places such as senior living facilities, nursing homes and schools. She thought it would be a good way for him to expose others to his hobby and prevent her home from turning into a train depot.

“He wants to keep setting up these displays in the house, but we’ve run out of room,” Frederick said.

They’ve visited Beacon Square, a senior living facility in Orion, and Mission Point Nursing and Physical Rehabilitation Center in Holly. On Monday, Lakomy brought his trains to St. Joseph Catholic School in Lake Orion.

“It’s just a way to share it all,” he said.