Train Train? Train Train!

A few days ago we went to the Rail Depot Museum here in town. It was closed, but we looked at a couple of things they have outside and watched trains work in the yard behind the museum. I think the yard elongs to the Boise Valley Railroad, but Union Pacific has rights to run trains on it. Pretty much every locomotive I've seen on the tracks is Union Pacific equipment. There is a large variety of rolling stock in the yard from day to day, so there is always something for me to see on my way home from work. I need to get out there and take some pictures and do some research. My boy also liked watching the trains. He ran around on the grass yelling, "See! Choo choo!" He's still a bit young for a full-on train set, but he likes pushing the little wooden toy trains around. I am not very good yet at identifying the different locomotive types, but the local shop carries many models in UP livery with identification numbers close to the ones I've seen on the actual trains. My current plan is to make this a long-term project, with the next 3-5 years spent planning and educating myself and from there moving on to building an actual layout. I would like to have something up and running by the time my boy is old enough to appreciate it, but I imagine my own layout will take quite a few years to get completed.