Ideas for Christmas Layouts

Mike:

I would go to the 2013 Christmas Photo Album thread.

Thanks for the recommendation! Will do!

Mike Maurice

First Frost on the Windy Narrows RR

I was just about to update our thread on this display when I saw this thread. so...

How about a Polar Express & Silver Bell Express display. Traditional Christmas on one side and something depicting the movie on the other. One side faces out towards the room and the other out the window. Here's an example of our work in progress showing the traditional side...

 I built this when my first son was 1 year old, so this will be its 14th year in service. He received the Army Troop Train for his first Christmas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glLM_PjMN-Y

I found it easier to build the layout BEHIND the Christmas tree base in order to have a more leisurely build before buying a live tree.  For me, it's just too hectic in Dec to build a layout.  I started on the layout the day after Halloween and it was almost done by Thanksgiving.   I have two folders of pics at my site.  Check out the Nov 2012 and Dec 2012 folders.  Thanks

http://gwpreisch.wordpress.com/2012/11/

Here is my layout from last year. I'm already working on this year's version.

Emile

Agreed.  I would even recommend that the annual Christmas Photo threads should be stickied and stay at the top of the forum for people's reference.  Instead of this thread and others turning into other Christmas Photo threads.  Makes it easier when everything is together.

I am also trying to avoid looking at Christmas layouts this early so as not to ruin it.

BigCrabCake -

Your Christmas video takes 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place along with Best in Show.  Outstanding job merging video and music.  Loved the plane taking off at the end.  GREAT effect.

Thank you for posting.

Would you by any chance happen to have Christmas Village I, II and III that you can post?

very impressive all.

The Christmas Putz in The Lutheran Home at Topton, PA, open Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM between Thanksgiving and Christmas

Working on a video for this one, but here is a shot from last year....

Emile

I saw your video from last year and I had to watch your video again.  Again, Great video!!  I saw your pictures in Dec issue of OGR of the Polar Express.  Nice photos!

I assume you will do another video of layout this year.  Please share it with us. 

Ken

Very nice photo!  Is your engine the Southern Mikado? 

Ken

  I wish.... It belongs to a club member so I can't say for sure what the engine is.

  I did the background scene and a friend of mine took the picture.

  Stay tuned, More to come... 

Prewar on Super O & FasTrack:

Emile's video is one of the very best Christmas related theme's presented to date on the Forum. Great Job, Emile.

Indeed it is!  I have sent him an e-mail to see if he might be interested in a full-blown magazine feature for the Dec. 2015 issue.  Doesn't hurt to plan ahead, and if his new creation is as spectacular as what is seen in that video, it should make a dynamite feature.

Here is video I put together last year.  This consists of 50 years of photos (from the 1960's until 2012) with my family putting up Christmas Train Layouts almost every year while I was growing up.  At some time, I will have to add more photo's to this video to included my 2013 layout and this years layout too.  I have already started working on my layout for this year.  Ken

Thank you SantaFeJim! Yes there are Epic Christmas Villages I, II and III. I is a classic village with the traditional Polar Express rolling through at high speed. II makes more interesting use of the PE and also adds an R30 Subway. III offers the largest variety of trains: 10 in all, including the Acela and Aerotrain. Of the 3, I think Epic Christmas Village II came out the best. My Mother passed away in October of that year and I believe the emotion in evident in the display. There is a brief tribute to her at the end. Thanks again.

Emile

Wow! My display wishes it could grow up to be so impressive Emile. Took a ride on the track mobile for the behind the scenes look: I can't imagine how long it took you to work out the clearances for your layout. I wonder how many people understand how much effort and time going back and forth to get the track set goes into creating something so epic.

Great job and thanks for sharing.

Thanks Ken I really enjoyed that. Inspires me to think about making a compilation like that. You know in the mornings before sunrise during the Holiday Season when its just me the dogs the trains and my coffee running the trains,  a lot of my thoughts go back to Dad and how much he enjoyed the trains around the Christmas tree. I think they're smiling down at us in those moments.

Thanks Matthew.  Your words sum it up perfectly for me.  My dad was the inspiration for my Christmas Train layout and more now that he has passed.  For me my thoughts of my dad come back in the evenings when the lights are turned off and the lights of the village & passing trains are the only thing lit in the room.  As a child this is when we loved to run our trains around the tree in the living room and on our Christmas train layout that was in my bedroom.  Usually my brother’s American Flyer Trains ran on our Christmas Train Layout and my Lionel Southern Crescent train set ran around the Christmas Tree.  Christmas Toy Train memories…  My dad made many with me and my brothers, but I hope I am making a few with my own family as we work on setting-up my Christmas Train Layout this year!   Ken

Thanks for the inspiration all. Excellent pics and videos. It's beginning to look a lot like...wait! not yet! But soon...

They are all very nice.  I would like to get something more setup this year than just a circle of track with the Polar Express around the tree.  My wife inherited her grandmother's collection of 20 or so lit ceramic buildings which we put up a few years when the kids were younger.  We haven't put them up since moving to her grandmother's smaller house a few years ago.  We want to do that, if only a few, since space is at a premium until the last daughter moves out.

Emil, was that Winston Churchill waving the V for victory sign crossing the street?!  Yes, yours is quite amazing!

Thank  you one and all.

Mark,

  Yes, that was Winston Churchill. He is made by the King and Country toy soldier company. Although in Epic Christmas Village IV, he is playing the role of "Guy hailing a cab".

Emile

Emile,

He is very effective as the guy hailing a cab!

From 2012:

That's beautiful PD! What did you use for the Candy Cane posts? They are perfect.

Emile

Very nice, Emile.

Guys,

As always, you amaze me with your Christmas spirit!!!! Simply astounding keep up the good work and Santa will bless you this Christmas with merriment!!!

Good work, I am so inspired!! Thanks! There is much planning to do for this years Holiday Train Show, that's for sure!

Mike Maurice

You folks have created some truly wonderful and captivating Christmas displays.  This year, once again, I would ask you all to consider doing a number of hi-resolution stills of whatever you come up with that can be shared with our magazine readers next year (in the Dec. issue).

@BigCrabCake -

Thanks...the candy canes were just dowels cut to length, spray-painted white, then an evening with a paint brush and a bucket of red paint.  I built this for a contest OGR sponsored a couple of years ago...it was great fun, and the neighbor kids were impressed.

PD

Allan, I took a bunch of pics last year. I got some great shots. Grandkids and the log loader, (candy cane loader). But every really good shot was blurry............. Guess I need to get the tripod out.............

Yeah I too like the candy canes around the edge. I will probably borrow that idea...................