Military veteran Michael Marotta has always loved trains.

Over the course of decades, he managed to amass an impressive model train collection, about 500 pieces in all, with a few of them even built in the early 1900s. He kept them on rows of wooden shelves in the basement of his home in Staten Island, New York, as well as a working set that his sons could play with growing up.

He has another prominent passion too, however, and that’s none other than the United States Marine Corps. The New York City resident and former high school principal served in the USMC from 1962 to 1970. One of his sons as well as his older brother also served as Marines.

Recently Marotta, who’s part of the Marine Corps League in Sunnyside, Queens, was participating in a drive to help a veteran recuperate belongings after his van was stolen with all his stuff inside. Inspired by the generosity and the intense spirit of giving back, he decided to leverage his hobby to do something he felt in his bones. Something he felt he owed to others — the Americans who wear now the same uniform he once wore.

“I meet these young Marines, young men and women, and I personally feel I have a debt to them. I want to be there for them,” Marotta told the Staten Island Advance.

“I’ve always been fascinated by trains, and I was a pretty serious collector, but I thought if I sold my collection, I could do some good with it.”

The Marine vet auctioned off his prized tracks and tiny railcars, through a house in Connecticut, and received a whopping $100,000 for it.

With the return, he started a 501-C nonprofit called “The Aiding Marines Foundation”, an organization that will “offer grants of up to $5,000” to USMC members struggling to make ends meet.

“We’re looking to help any Marine who has a medical problem, a legal problem, whether from a natural disaster or something else, who needs a quick infusion of cash to get back on their feet.”

“We are keeping the red tape to a minimum. All they have to do is get collaboration of their need either from their commanding officer, chaplain, or social agency, and we’ll shoot them out a check the next day.”

To learn more about the vet’s new org, or to donate, click here.