Ideas for Christmas Layouts

Emile,

Every Christmas I spend my nights searching for that year's Christmas layout videos on Youtube and stumbed upon your Epic Christmas Village III the year it was put out.  I was so impressed by the R30 Subway set that I had to have it for myself for my Christmas layout.  I loved how your incorporated that set into the beginning of your video.  Really novel idea and just a really great train for a Christmas layout.  It's really hard to video a layout well.  So not only am I impressed with your ability to put together a stunning layout, I also admire your ability to capture it very well on video. 

Thanks Towdog! I couldn't agree with you more about the R30 as a Christmas train. If I was limited to only 2 trains for a Christmas display, I would pick the Polar Express and the R30. Together they give the feeling of Christmas in New York and Christmas in the Suburbs. They are a perfect compliment to each other.

Eric, that freight station is by Stoney Express.

Here's another shot of the other side of the station.

BTW: Credit to Jim Barrett, who took these photos. OGR has had these and other photos for years and they've never been published.

Interesting timing on this thread.  Our younger daughter got married a couple of weeks ago, but I thought I would not have any space for trains because my wife wanted to keep her room as a guest room and sewing, ironing, crafts room.  I didn't complain and figured I could finish my 12 x 11 ceiling level railroad in the basement.  Here last evening our daughter and her husband came over to get her computer and a few other odds and ends.  That is when I found out she and my wife had been talking, and my wife is going to give me space for a train table!!!  

So I got thinking what to do, and decided I could make a quick Christmas themed layout with loops of Fastrack, Realtrack and tubular that I have and set up the Christmas buildings my wife inherited from her grandmother.  

Man the wheels are turning!  I think I am going to be useless at work today!!  

"Man the wheels are turning!  I think I am going to be useless at work today!!"

Good for you Mark. I would be excited about this as well. There is nothing like a Christmas layout to bring about the seasonal joy of the Christmas season.

Eric, I didn't know that...Gap, PA is not that far from me. I had weathered my station slightly, if you can tell from the roof.

Regarding ideas of Christmas layouts, I suggest building in levels, as this portrays dimensional "neatness" as this picture kind of shows (disregard the giant in the background). I loved this layout.

I kept it very simple......

Peter

Peter,

There is nothing wrong with keeping it simple.  Your's looks great!  The train is really sharp!

Yep building in levels is neat. Last year that dang tree got in the way. So I ran under it, over it, around it and through it depending on what level I was on.

Last year's Christmas layout.

 Useless only today ? Longer than that my friend. You have now entered

the dark side. Sounds like you already have a good start. If you are going to put

the track on carpet I would stay with the Fast Track. Tube track will allow fibers

to get caught up into the gears of the engine....

Stoshu,

Quite right about only one day!  It is a good think my manager's office is 500 miles away And I talk to him only a couple of times a month. ;-)

How did you know today I was considering what to put on the table under the track?  ;-) Since it is a temporary Christmas layout I was thinking white carpet or some kind of batting maybe to represent snow. I'll see what my wife has on hand.  You are right FasTrak would be better than the tubular in that case.  Thanks!

Mark....you can also use snow blankets, some are even lighted, pretty inexpensive at Wal-Mart or similar stores. 

Hey, that's a good idea!  Your Christmas layout looks great!  Thank you for the suggestion.

Great pictures everyone!!  I always enjoy the holiday layouts...

Alan

Put up a Christmas Tree now and a loop of track, that should get you going.

This photo sure represents Christmas and trains very well.

Stephen,

You got that right!  Once my daughter gets her cedar chest and harp out of the room, my wife and I will be able to start moving furniture and start setting up our joint hobby room.  She will love the Christmas display using her grandmother's old buildings!! 

Stoshu

These photos are great! I love the Depth of Field from a fast lens on a model railroad. I hope to get that cool smoke pattern myself. The next time I photograph my layout I'll have to remember to open the windows and let in the cold. Thanks for the tip and the beautiful pictures.

Emile

Thanks for the complements. I'll pass them on to the photographer.

I'd like to see how your pictures turn out. If I remember

right it was about 40 to 45 deg in the room that night.

This is a modular layout so from the inside track to the edge

of the module is only 19".  That can make it a little tight for some projects.

Also going around the buildings is a loop of super streets. My jaw hit the

ground when I saw the pictures for the first time. It looks a lot larger

than it really is.

Stoshu  

Hi Mike, Here's an idea you may want to consider or, hopefully, just find yourself smiling about when you see these shots.

Since I have a permanent layout, up all year 'round, I do not construct a separate one for Christmas; instead, I decorate my layout - Moon Township - in miniature for Christmas. Some examples of that decorating, around the landscape, added (takes a half hour) and removed (takes ten minutes) each year are...

As you can see, as a special remembering of seasonal parades, such as the Rose Bowl Parade, in California, the Miracle Mile Parade, in Chicago, the Macy's Parade, in NYC, and parades I've been characters in at Kennywood Park, years ago, in Duquesne/West Mifflin, PA, I have a holiday parade jauntily making its way through one part of town, complete with antique cars and Disney characters, giving the locals some joy.

FrankM.

I use white fleece (by the yard from fabric store) directly on the floor. Cotton snow blanket over the wood platform in the back. Fill in with with fiberfill for hills. Electric cords for the buildings hidden under the platform. Use the multi-socket cords to avoid too much spaghetti.

Don

Frank, the parades are great!  I see a couple of local signs on buildings too; Moon Twp, and Imperial.  When I was in my late 40's I finally finished my Bachelors Degree at Robert  Morris Univ in Moon.  I travelled there one evening a week for almost 4 years.

My wife said she has a snow blanket packed away from when we were in the old house and put the buildings under the tree with an HO train.  She is going to dig it out and see if it looks any good, before we buy somethin.  Yes she liked the poly fill for snow banks.

Thank you everyone for the ideas!

Great work, Frank. I'm particularly fond of the Town Grill. It perfectly illustrates how so many facades were modernized over their lifespan.

Great pics and inspiration for those of us just starting out