2013 Christmas Photo Album

Updated pictures...

I was playing with some scale stuff before setting up the village...

Merry Christmas!  More to follow!

Thanks,

Mario

Merry Christmas Mario, sure looks like you are having a lot of fun with your Christmas layout.

I'm sure trying!

Merry Christmas to you and yours, Brian!  Someday, I will be in the same league as your layout... who am I kidding?  No way!  Your layout is in a class by itself!  BEAUTIFUL!

Have a safe New Years, as well!  God Bless!

Thanks,

Mario

Thanks Mario, it has been a treat to get to know you better through this Forum.

Thank you Brian for creating this post. I look forward to seeing everyone's Christmas layouts every year.  Everyone's layouts are very nice.  Here is what I have been having fun with every evening for the past few weeks!  I Included a couple videos of my layout too.  One is of my "Charlie Brown Christmas Train" and the other one is my S-3, 261 with new Milwaukee Road Passenger Cars.   Merry Christmas!!  Ken

What a fantastic Christmas layout Ken. You should be talking to Allan about a December 2014 feature article.

More pics...

Thank you, Brian.  I submitted a few different pictures to Allan to consider.  I enjoyed reading and seeing your layout in this years December issue.  I admire your layout a lot.  Merry Christmas!  Ken

Dang tree got in the way of my trains this year. So I took some inspiration from Knute Rockney and ran over it around it and through it.

Matthew, I like it. Its Great.

Matthew, I like it too. Very neat idea and beautiful execution.

Very nice!  I'd love to see some construction pics of this. Is the tree actually in the middle or has it been cut up and re-assembled around the tables?

Keeping it simple in our house.

Samplingman, that's an 8' x 5' display. It's 32" high bottom railhead to top railhead. From bottom tier to top it starts out with an O54 oval > O45 > O36 > 2 X O36 > 2 X O31 > O27. The artificial 6' Christmas Tree is dead center in the display.

Sorry not many construction pics. Once I get started it's hard for me to stop and take pictures. Traditionally my Christmas display becomes my year round display when it's moved upstairs to the foot of my bed after the New Year. I'll try to remember to take some pictures then. That's the advantage of living in a condo and being limited in space. I can't build anything so big it can't be taken apart in a few hours. So I get to play with at least two different displays a year.

Originally Posted by Samplingman:

Here's a couple of shots from a few years ago.

Department 56's new Chrysler Building makes it's debut on the layout.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Here's Mine Ladies and Gentlemen

First up is the Main Display on the Left Side of the Room

Second up is the Right Side of the Room where the Tree Display is running the Pink Ladies Sets from Williams and Lionel Each one for each of my Nieces

Not much scenery yet, but the Polar Express (conventional) I picked up last year finally has it's home out front. I will be adding more scenery in the coming years, but so far even without it, it's a hit with the neighborhood kids. 

I've been trying to throw in some variety in the trains at least - one night I ran my dad's old 249E and tinplate rollingstock, and the other night ran a long Marx tinplate set.

Today I brought my office decor home (Lionel Polar RR Hot Cocoa and Reindeer cars) and will run them with the PRR hopper for a Christmas freight tonight. 

Cheers!

Fred

WONDERFUL THREAD BRIAN. Great pictures by all. Thanks for sharing.

Keep the focus on why we celebrate and enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!

 Just a simple Kodak easy share !

WOW Terry, really nice Christmas layout.

Got my LCT O-Gauge christmas train around a new tree this year...

Beautiful tree & train Eric. Thanks for the post.

Fresh trees and wreaths.....Great prices......

Peter

Santa Fe Warbonnet F3's and Christmas just seam to go together. Happy Holidays to all!

Merry Christmas fro Angels Gate Hi-Railers.

The photo, while taken of trains on the layout has been ever-so-slightly enhanced by the photographer, AGHR Member Jim Caccavo.

Jim Caccavo is a Los Angeles based photographer & writer who has lived & worked in Asia & Europe. After his military service at the Korean DMZ from 1963-1968 (active and reserve duty) he was the Red Cross photographer for the Vietnam War years 1968-1970 (the Army provided logistical support for the Red Cross). He was also a contract photographer for NEWSWEEK ‘s Saigon bureau.  His newspaper experience includes staff with the OVERSEAS WEEKLY  in Frankfurt, Germany in 1966; LOS ANGELES TIMES from 1972-73, and freelance for THE NEW YORK TIMES , and THE WASHINGTON POST. He has been interviewed on TV numerous times including  a special program with David Kennerly & Dick Swanson by Charlie Rose on CBS.  He has been written about  in books about the Vietnam War including Tim Pages’ PAGE AFTER PAGE, and Marc Yablonka’s  A DISTANT WAR.

Just a simple circle under the tree this year.  Unfortunately our beloved tabby cat of 15 years passed away just recently, she used to enjoy always laying under the Christmas tree.

Sorry about the loss of your beloved cat, Ed. Pets are our family members and it hurts to loose one. Perhaps a lucky cat out there can find a new home with your family.

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

The joy of my trains has spread to my two wonderful granddaughters.  They operate my CAB-2 better than I do and teach me how to use it.  They have their own Lionel Christmas train and Santa adds to it every year.

My whole family says Merry Christmas every chance we get. 

TEX

Steve

Steve, your granddaughters are adorable. Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Merry Christmas from the UK.

Have a great Christmas everyone

Nick

What is that van?  Also what do you use for snow and how do you create the glare on the bricks and streets?  Very impressive Christmas setup!  Merry Christmas!

Some progress pictures, still getting everything together, but here is my 18 month old daughter figuring out the remote Thomas controls after I got the train board set up.  Next we put up our tree (heads up - some Home Depots are giving them away for free), and soon after a mysterious hobo appeared on the tracks!  He crawled almost halfway around the loop on one of the rails, haha!

So my wife innocently says "well it would be nice to see some elevation this year.."

Holy cow did i take that ball and run with it.  This is the first real Christmas train board I've done that wasn't just a flat sheet of wood. 

The end result is my take on a plan I saw in CTT but modified based on what I've learned here on the forum.  Yes this would qualify for two times around the tree.

Thanks for sharing photos everybody.  I hope you like it.