Does anybody “decorate” their layouts based on holidays or seasons? I would imagine a few do, but how intricate do ya get?
I put a circle of track under the Christmas tree every year. Now that I have a Southern 2-6-0 Mogul train set in red and green that I got for my birthday, I can put it under the tree.[:D] I might be able to do more if I had a layout, but I don’t have a layout.[:(]
I thought (there I go thinking again[%-)]) that with the recent post about snow that there may be a few folks that go all out and add snow to their layout to get that holiday feel. I guess that the outdoor guys don’t have much say in the matter, if you get snow where you live.
I put a circle of G scale around the tree, though it doesn’t get that intricate (last year there was a short siding on one side with a couple of cars in it). Motive power and stock are limited by the tight curves I have to use under there as are train lengths (loco and three four-wheel cars max).
when i make my layout there is a good chance i will put snow on permanatly cause i miss the snow from deleware and pennsy and now where i am i georgia i don’t get any snow[:(]
I miss the snow[sigh]
We have a Dept.56 Village dispaly that we set upeach November. It uses 6 4x4 3/4" plywood tops on frames that go together with carriage bolys, washers and wing nuts. There is an HO gauge train that run all around this L shaped layout, some of which is through mountain tunnels and bridges, and runs along the upper edges of the mountain before descending to the town and city below. Of course I have to use E-Z track and I also like Life-Likes Power Track, because this gets assembled and disassembled every year. I could use track feeders and go that route, but the table tops would have to be stored very carefully so as not to damage the tracks.
I have the Coca -Cola Christmas train from the Bradford Exchange. It is On30 and I have a 4 x 4 Holiday layout built for it. Here are a few pics.
Scott
I have a small 4x4 layout I set up at christmas on the coffee table. This was the first train I had. This is when the the train bug first bit me. Been hooked ever since.
here is a close up of the ice skating pond. I scratch built the benches.
Nice pics medic
I wish i had room for a holiday layout
i use to have a small n scale for the tree but don’t know where
it is now.
A few years ago, I decided that Christmas trees and trains belonged together. I model in N scale, so putting some track around the base of the tree wasn’t a good idea. I built my own “In-the-Tree” trainset. We have an artificial tree that splits apart in the middle. I cut some 1" blue foam into a big circle, cut out center portions to make a 4-spoke ‘wagon wheel’ and used snap track to make a circle (No roadbed, just ballast), and installed it in the middle of the tree. An old powerpack supplied power through wiring run alongside the tree trunk. The limbs of the tree and the decorations were enough to disguise the track and no one noticed it until I fired up the little loco and it came chugging around to the front of the tree. It was very popular.
I’ve gotten several years’ use out of it. Unfortunately, when I took the tree down last year, the track came loose from the base, so if I’m going to use it again this year, I’ll have to re-do the track. I might even have to make a new wagon wheel base because the ballast is still stuck tight there. I guess the track came loose because the foam is a little flexible.
If I can locate some pictures, I’ll post them here.
Darrell, being quiet…for now
Micro-Trains is producing a 2 X 2 holiday layout in N scale. There is a base with track and there are buildings you can add. Finishing the scenery would be fairly easy. I saw it when I was at the American International Toy Fair in New York and it’s not bad. At least you could run a train!
http://www.micro-trains.com/ms_main_.htm
Back in December of 1989, MR published an article about Ron Ford’s Pine Hollow Central. Nothing super-fancy from an operating standpoint, but it was a beautiful Christmas layout. If I ever have the opportunity to have a permanent home layout, that would be my inspiration.