Lemax Animation on Layout ?

One of my 2 Christmas layouts is Lemax. I have a separate line going to all the Lemax stuff, controlled by one of those extention cords that have a large on/off button (which I have on the floor for foot control). The line goes from the wall outlet, up to the tip of the lowest rear tree branch, and down the trunk to the base. This clears the train tracks. At the base, the line is connected to a outlet strip, which takes all the Lemax plugs. This mound of electrical "stuff" is covered with "snow blanket" stuff to form a hill for ski and sledding figures. The on/off foot switch makes things simple.

I remember years ago someone told me that all clocks in advertisements are set to 10:12.The reason for this is that the clock looks like it is smiling.Sure enough,every ad for any type of dial clock I saw was set at 10:12.

Dan

Thanks for the reply Joe. Do you have  the animated pieces? If so how long do you allow them to operate continuously ?

Wow Dan if that isn't an interesting piece of trivia. I guess Lemax just used a stock clock face, instead of putting any thought into how people might want to display the Clock Tower in a adaptation of what is becoming one of the most popular holiday movies of our time.

Oh well, it's just a trivial irritation on my part too.

With both Lemax and Mr. Christmas items the problem will not be with the motor it is with the main drive or pinion gear attached to it. The gear is made from a material that with age seems to shrink and then split on the motor shaft. I have repaired a few with small generic gears found on the Bay the supplier was offering 58 assorted gears for $3.

I have quite a few of their items on my layout they are all running on AC adapters which are run through a wireless plug in remote outlet with the remote transmitter attached to my control panel.

I would suggest that if it is a Christmas display item not to store it in an area the gets very hot in summer. Ie: attic

Animated, I have the kid making "snow angels", kids building snowman/riding sled, kids dancing around tree, kids on swings, the skating pond, and people singing Christmas songs (which I have on battery power, since more than 4 repeates of the 3 songs could drive you nuts). Usually I keep the power on as long as someone is in the room.

Do you really want to hear that going constantly all day?

Absolutely not, I assume that's why they included a volume control with the clock tower.

But on occasion I do enjoy the symphony of all the sounds together: The Milwaukee Special's Mighty Sounds of Steam, The RailSounds of the Polar Express, The carols from the Silver Bell Express and the sound set from the Clock Tower. So far I can only imagine them in my mind.

The symphony is also a great tool for clearing the house when guests have over stayed their welcome.

Saw a bunch of Lemax at Boscovs. Much of it animated. I went into a train store in east central Jersey with a full blown carnival. The sound effects of music, kids laughing, people screaming, and calliope about drove me crazy after 5 minutes. 

Make sure you check out Scott's huge display of Lemax across from us in the orange hall at York too!

If you find a need to replace a older Lemax item, you can find them at York, or other large train shows (at least in the SE PA area), or through www.ehobbytools.com

One of my Lemax animated buildings stopped working this year and I had to replace it.  It was a dancing hall.  I have had it for about 6 or 7 years and ran it continuously every night before Christmas for the past several years. I kept the volume of the music on low or off.  I think I blew a fuse on the power cord that it was connected to which may have shorted out the building when I turned on the electricity but I am not sure.    I have several animated Lemax pieces along with many lighted pieces and I use the 4.5v adapter that has 3 plugs so I can hook up multiple pieces.   I have several adapters (at least 15 adapters) which are either connected to power strips, an extension cord or directly to an outlet.  Then all my outlets (3 Total) have wireless remote controlled electrical sockets plugged into them so I can turn on all my village lights and Christmas tree at once via remote.  Ken