2012 Christmas Photo Album

I just love all the photos for the 2012 Christmas Photo Album with animals, dogs, cats and Guinea pigs. This is the most ever and those of us who are very attached to our pets enjoy these photos very much. Thanks to all who posted photos of your beloved pets.

My son (9yr) and I built up Santa Gateman on Sunday using his Lego Mindstorms set.  It waves and raises a lantern that changes color.  He built the body and figured out how to mount the servo motors.  I built the arms.  We did the programming together.    It adds a great dimension to the layout.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas.

Here's a few pics from our Christmas layout.

Gretchen likes to hang out downtown.

Merry Christmas to all!

John

This is a small loop for fun

Merry Christmas. Here is our family putz for this year.It is roughtly 12'x6' Many more pics to come

Anyone else have a Christmas layout to share?

John

i do wanted to post some pics tonight but things aren't cooporating camera wise i hope tomorrow.

Dave

Christmas Layout with a new B unit from Santa.

Finally got some time to take and upload some pics of our Christmas trains...

Note my helper elf at the upper right in this one...

redrockbill

Shots of this year's train garden. It will be up a few more weeks, then boxed up until next year. Hope you like it, Greg

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Greg:

Beautiful job on your Christmas layout. Loved your pictures, lots of detail.

There really is a lot of beautiful equipment and layouts in this string.  Thank you very much for sharing!

R/

Galen

Lots of great pictures of layout big and small.

Happy to see a few first time posters! Welcome... I got back into trains after I built a Christmas train layout under the tree about 4 years ago...after 40+ years of no trains.  Gotta admit - retiring made it a possibility.

After all of the animal pictures, I'm waiting for someone to post some pictures of an aquarium car...

WITH REAL FISH!

Happy new year to all,

Ed

 Thank you for looking and for the compliment, it is much appreciated. I guess all of us do this mainly for others and for ourselves, but it is nice to know that some of the "work" (it really is supposed to all be fun, right?) is appreciated when viewed.

I wish more could see the layout up close and in person, but I live in a rural area.

I hope everyone has a great New Year. Greg

Greg:

We also live in a rural area. But the enjoyment from doing a Christmas layout is all the reward that is needed for us. I know you had a lot of fun doing yours. Our 2012 addition is located on the first level of our home, so it is somewhat out of the daily traffic flow through our home. Therefore we are going to keep it up for awhile as it has given us much enjoyment this Christmas season. Like you, we would love to share this layout with others.

Thank you again for sharing your Christmas layout with our Forum members and I look forward to your 2013 rendition.

Hey Passenger train collector

The Christmas tree layout is my wife's,and every year we have a spot under there just for the 2 cat's,we figure they are gonna be there anyway,so we give the a spot

Great idea Joe. My cats used to love to play "mayor".

Running around the tree this Christmas with MTH MP54's, a MTH Tuscan GG1, and K Line Congressionals.

Direct link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-PAPBrdxTg

Really great stuff from everyone this year

Rixster, very nice as usual

Nice work Greg.  I'd be tempeted to leave it up longer.

Graz, good looking mountains.

Glenn, those K-line cars are real beauties.

don

So many great looking Christmas layouts once again!  I finally took some time and captured some photos of this year's Christmas Tree/Train Village...

Excellent photos, everyone.  Some incredible work, especially on temporary layouts.  Thanks to all.

Sam, I really like the snow on the PE cars.  Is that permanent?

Happy New Year!

Ron

Thanks - I did it a couple years ago, more of a semi-permanent arrangement.  Just glued on fluffy white fabric.  Could be removed if I wanted...

-Sam

I just “flipped” through this whole post again, and I just have to say everyone’s photos are wonderful.  The work that some of you guys and gals put into your displays is incredible!  Thanks for taking the time to share them.  It’s funny I almost didn’t put my trains up this year.  I didn’t feel like tightening all the pin holes on my tubular track and de-cat hairing my locomotives, to be totally honest I wasn’t even that psyched about Christmas.  Then a few weeks ago after looking through this post I cracked, it just didn’t feel like Christmas without trains.  After a few hours of work, suddenly my living room and my outlook had changed it was Christmas, finally!  I’ve had a blast racing my ridiculously long train of scale and O-27 cars around my loop ever since.  Thanks to everyone for the inspiration and for getting me out of my rut.  Happy New Year!

A lot of very nice layouts.   I can't wait for next Christmas! 

Happy New Year to all!!!

John

OliverCliffs:

I am so pleased that this thread had this effect on you to get you into the Christmas spirit. Your story makes it all worthwhile for those who constructed a Christmas layout this year and who were good enough to share pictures of their efforts with all of us.

Many thanks go to all who posted to the 2012 Christmas Photo Album.

Had to throw in one more showing my son and my little niece enjoying my Father-in-law's Christmas train together. This is what it's all about for me!

Actually taken on New Year's Day but...

redrockbill

Hello,

I am interested in your track design, I thought I had seen your layout on YouTube a while back, but cannot find it. I was trying to figure out how the track is laid out behind the tree.

Thanks again,

Michael

Michael:

You may get a faster response by sending him an e-mail. This time of year, he may not see your request.

One way or another, thank you for reviving this thread.  On a day of 100 degree temperatures, it is nice to revisit last winter... photographically of course. 

In gratitude for the holiday scenes, I am adding a few I took of another one of my standard gauge trains, Lionel no. 8 and two cars circling my village.

It's still a sweltering 86 degrees here in Lexington, MA. at 9PM. I'm at work and hot, hot, hot!

On my meal break and decided to cool down by checking out this thread. It did the trick! Now I am drawing possible layout designs on my napkin. My partner thinks I have flipped from the heat (when she visits the house with her kids, she is the first to bolt to the layout!!!).

Just wanted to say the thread brought a smile to my grumpy face!

For those of you are sweltering from the heat, it is only 4 months to the start of the 2013 Christmas Photo Album thread.

I'm already thinking about this year's layout; unfortunately, it involves components and space that I probably won't have for a while .  I can't believe it... I have been simultaneously thinking up ideas for a summer (HO) and a winter (O) layout lately!  Usually it's just one or the other at a time!

It's actually been a pleasant summer here this year, with plenty of rain (probably still need more, though) and/or cloud cover mixed with some clear, sunny days.  We've had a few 100+ degree days, but nothing like last year, where we had such days for weeks on end!