Pat,
Just love these kind of memories. Have the same from the '50s about our first train led by a 2035 steamer. A real good runner. What the train is worth in $$ is unimportant. It's the sentimental factor, as it sounds in your case. Any transformer would do the job. And finding good cheap track is no problem, along with the power clip to the track. You may need a dab of lube and oil for the engine, however. Check your yellow pages for a nearby model train shop. Am sure they would be glad to help revive those memories.