Next years Christmas layout why did you learn that you are going to improve for next year???

Three years ago, my Bride wanted to have a Christmas layout in our home. I had some North Pole D56 Buildings and an 0-27 PE set just sitting in boxes. So we build a 4 x 12 ft. Christmas layout in the first level of our home. I have been running my scale PE set at our main layout in the barn as it has mostly 0-72 curves.

 

With the release by Lionel of the Gold Edition scale PE set, things have to change. So yesterday we started to take down the Christmas layout in the house. Our intent is to expand this layout to handle all 0-72 curves with an over/under track system. We envision one of the tracks to circle the large Christmas Tree at the center of the North Pole. Should be an ambitious project, but we have most of the year to do it.

 

We think it will really neat to have both scale versions of the PE set running on this new layout. Stay tuned. Should be good subject matter for the 2015 Christmas Photo Album.

kJ - I had many of the same observations.

Next year, I am going to run 2 extra drops to my outer loops. I run DCS and developed a dead spot on 1 loop. I am going to check the track, as i break down for the year, as well.

Sticking with the DCS, I like your idea of programming stops!

I am going to use clips on more Realtrax sections, as a few places started pulling apart this yr.

I am going to label the track and store it by loop, so I can leave some of the sections clipped together andnbext yrs assembly wil be easier.

I am going to support my realtrax with paneling in a place where the heavier locos make the track dip as it is adjacent to the fireplace marble and isn't as stable. My Berk makes it dip and shorts the center rail to the lead truck spring. Can't have that.

I am going to dremel paths under the track, for any wiring, instead of resting track on wires. The bumps affected the PE

 I am going to replace the Realtrax figure 8 with Atlas O, to help quiet the PE more than I already have. If this goes well, next year I will do the raised loop. The figure 8 has the relatively light PE and the raised loop is supported on plywood. I am hesitant to try Atlas on the other 2 loops as The locos are heavy and i don't want to build track support loops. I have radiant heat, so I can't just cover the floor in plywood.

I am going to set up a loop and experiment with doubleheading, for one of the trains.

I am hoping to use a 90 deg cross and make a bow-like bump and go run, for the hand car, instead of just a line.

The handcar and a new loop for next yr are on Atlas O, yet controlled by original MTH IR remotes. I am going to try to fashion camo for the receivers and run wires to the track. This year, I "hid' the hand car receiver on a short piece of realtrax wher I parked a Kline flatcar, with Santa and his sleigh. Rudolphs nose and a RR crossing blink, so when i ran the trolley, it also powered that feature.

I hope to find a better "snow" for the floor, than sheets. Not something with to much fuzz, but slightly more snowy.  I am also doing better measurements, so I cover the layout floor better, with said snow.

As to more control, i am hoping the DCS app comes out this year. If so, I have an old ipad and a few old smart phones, to convert to handhelds, for when nieces and nephews come over. With only 1 DCS handheld and 1 LC PE, controllers were at times, in demand. Sharing is fun, but so is running together. I am hoping the app is more graphic. describing the DCS acronyms, to people that come over to play is annoying.Especially if they are too young to read!

Next year will be the first time I use the same display as the year previous. I'll probably upgrade the base roadbed on the double spiral to make it fewer pieces. The sub roadbed under the fastrack will also be changed to some type of carpet instead of the closed cell foam. I'll do some experimentation in regards to attaching the piers under the base roadbed. and finally I'm going to do some design work in an attempt to get a third independent loop running under the current two loop display. But anything may happen and I my come up with a completely different design.

Our layout tables are just 2" foam w 1x3 framing. It worked well the past 3 years with fastrack. No need to fasten it down.
However, in using tubular track this year the foam wasn't a suitable sustitute for a plywood surface.
The track moved a lot and it was impossible to get any length screw to really hold as the foam would eventually give and allow the screws to move around

Hey Marty R!!!!!!!!!   I also made a kinda large Christmas Carpet Central with RealTrax.     My suggestion to keep you from "dremeling routes" for wire is to do what I did............just use longer lengths of wire (I think you meant that which powers the track) and hide it;  stuff it under the track, and just ahve a bit peek out where you need to connect it to a lock on.

  The first few layouts I made looked like "crap" with the wire running here and there. On layout #4, I thought of how I might "neatly" wire a house..........viola!!!!    When I had tucked about 98 percent of the wire LAID UNDER THE TRACK the result was well worth the extra $$ spent on the wire and got kudos from guests.

 

The biggest thing that I tell myself I will do the following year, but then never do, is to start earlier so I have the time to do all I want to do and to get it done in time to actually enjoy it during December.  So that is the big one.

 

Another one is that I am considering getting rid of most of my buildings and going all Department 56.  If I do, I will need to be watching eBay this spring and summer when prices get lower.

 

Lastly, I've always wanted to add a subway set for the years my Christmas layout is city-themed.  If I do that, I need to start planning out the benchwork to allow for that.  Right now my layout rests on two foldable tables, which is not going to work for a subway line.

Good ideas!

Here is the link to my set up this past 2014

https://ogrforum.com/t...ess-train-experience

 

Another thing I might consider is might be able to get a stage to raise front of layout up a bit.

 

My wood connections I marked labeled all the bits of wood for fence and supports will use next year did a map before tear down.

 

One thing that worked well for many show set ups is to create large lengths of wire and do a splice part way out so three ends, with plug in connectors for the transformer end mostly CW80 or the DCS both use same plugs and label ends with track 1 through #

Other ends have the spade connectors that work on most of the track connections Super snap and Atlas etc. this allows quick set up and 2 power track connections for longer track runs works well. Easy to see with labels which is which.

Have several made up for quick set up of various lengths.

 

I like what I have seen in a few layouts with lights under the snow.

LED might be best for heat.

It looks cool but I like the lights in spot lights and street lights on the trains.

 

I did some of my streets with people and street lights with white plastic board, long strips with double sided white carpet tape then laid down the lighting I wanted mostly street lights with long bulky big cords.

Laid another layer of double sided white tape then stuck on small figures and trees on the streets and then sprinkled with the plastic snow bits to cover any other area.

Worked well but cannot find any good sized boxes to store the sheets in now?? might have to build some special shelving to store them under the train layout till next year.

 

I had wondered about the MTH i pad app but do had considered kids might select different trains or set ups and mess things up a bit??

Will see how it works before I start setting these up.

Perhaps some little kids would figure out how to do DCS programing on my while visiting faster then I could figure it out!

Towdog perhaps consider the Lemax buildings they are more scale looking and a lot cheaper available at a wide variety of dealers stores.

 

Might be moving some I have used on the Christmas layout to the home layout.

There are cardboard houses that will fill in for the back distant part of the Christmas layout further away less detail needed.

Next year, I will not wait until the 2nd week in December to start working on it.  I will change from my O gauge to the Standard Gauge Tinplate of my Fathers!  I have already started looking for Christmas Village building and and new Track for the Standard Gauge.  I will (hope lol) to get this all started and put together by Thanksgiving this year, so I can just relax and enjoy it, instead of Rushing   Thats my plan...lol

Start building earlier, and make sure to wire all of the building lights. It really makes the scenery come to life.

 

Gilly

 

BTW, I'm referring to a new scenery module for the modular club layout. Trains under the tree are still "banished"

I think next year I will actually have a train under the tree.

-Greg

This was a very educational year...

 

I learned that I'm about maxed out.... and that I'm tired of being limited to Railking-sized curves.   I'm currently investigating the possibility of O-72 curves, but I am right up against it - it will be tight.  That being said, the layout was extremely large and functional - I took it entirely around the edges of the room and then brought the tracks out around the tree; then back in.  It left the room functional as well for the most part, which was an added bonus.  

 

Other things learned:

 

- LED lighting is incredibly flexible and should be standard operating procedure for all train-related lighting needs.  The fact that manufacturers still get away with incandescent offerings is kind of sad.

 

- O gauge figures are really hit and miss in terms of detail, quality, and size.  Regardless of that fact, I find them much more enjoyable to work with compared to the enormous Lemax-type figures.   

 

- Matchbox 'Models of Yesteryear' are an inexpensive way to add some neat looking vehicles to your layout.  I love old cars, and even though most of them aren't period correct, they draw a lot of interest on their own.  I MIGHT invest in some 1:43 40's and 50's models just to mix things up next year.  

 

- Additional power drops are worth the hassle, even on a floor-based layout.  I was reluctant to add them but this year I had to, and it made a HUGE difference.  I still need to do two more to really get it right, but everything ran well this year except a couple of small spots where, if I had the smoke running, I'd get a short bog.  

 

- With a combination of the aforementioned LED's and figures, you can make a pretty convincing, detailed town/scene with Lemax/Dept 56 buildings.  This year instead of just throwing them up in a row, I bought the brick street 'rolls' and some smaller sidewalk 'rolls'.  I also added lighted street lights - that REALLY set things off.  With some fake snow and strategic placement, you really don't see any wires unless you look under the tree specifically for them.  Using lots of trees helps as well.  

 

- Neighbors and friends, for the most part, don't 'get it'.  They love looking at it, admiring the detail, and watching the trains fly by, but most of them thought I was insane for creating such a production.  I tell them what I tell everyone - the tree is my wife's creative outlet, the trains are mine.   

 

Next year, I want to swap out some buildings for better, more detailed Lemax items.  It's hard because you can't get the ones with people in the windows or it ruins the effect.  I would also like to add working crossing signals and if I could work in a bump-and-go trolley, that would be pretty sweet.  

 "Neighbors and friends, for the most part, don't 'get it'.  They love looking at it, admiring the detail, and watching the trains fly by, but most of them thought I was insane for creating such a production.  I tell them what I tell everyone - the tree is my wife's creative outlet, the trains are mine."

 

And they probably never will. You do this anyway for YOUR enjoyment. Everyone else can come along for the ride. As we look forward to building a new Christmas layout for this year, it is with the understanding up font that we are doing this for our enjoyment. Anything else is a plus.  

I agree with the starting earlier.   Life was so hectic I didn't start building until a week or so before.

Also,  I put up a standard gauge train.   With the table size I used if 4x8 I could only put one big loop on it.   I wanted to have two trains going.   I have limited space.   Next year I might build a 5x6 table and try to fit two loops.

From the day I set it up, it was immediately decreed that next year's will be "smaller".  This was the largest I had ever set up around the tree (appx 4x9) but it was just too big for my parents.  we did all enjoy it though.  I had an o42 oval and an o31 reversing loop to reversing loop on the inside so it made it more interesting than the plain ovals we've had in the past.  Being without a regular layout going on 7 years, it did provide some much needed running opportunities for my collection

For me the most important thing is to start earlier.  This was the first time ever I setup a "Christmas layout" as opposed to a circle of track under the tree.  Actually, I couldn't have started earlier because the space we used is in our daughter's old bedroom, and she just got married this fall.

 

So far the Christmas layout is still up and running.  No reason to hurry to take it down, since I won't have a layout room until our other daughter moves out.  I would like to have some more interesting track than just two small loops, but space is at a premium.  What we did this year worked well and everyone liked it.  Since we don't have any children visiting, keeping their interest isn't an issue yet.  All in all I was pleased.

 

I am toying with making a more stable platform in its place, and start a 4x8 layout just to fill the void until I get the other daughter's 12x12 room.  I am thinking I may just work on that and when fall comes put some snow down and populate it with the Christmas buildings.  I do want to find a better way to attach trees, lamp posts, etc.  I didn't want to poke a bunch of holes in the snow blanket, and the tall thin items were wobbly.

kj356,

    I do believe I will add a 3rd level to the Pine Creek Railroad Christmas layout next year, add a few more FT Command Control Switches and hope to find a Legacy Christmas train of some kind, I really want a Tin Plate Legacy Christmas Train, Do you hear me Lionel!  Further I want to add the 2014 & 2015 Christmas Box Cars to our Christmas Box Car Train. 

mine are still up and will be for the next month or so, this was the first year i used a ping pong table, but had to wait to get it home because both my vehicles crapped out within days of each other, i tied it to the top of my wife's lumina but didn't get started until about the 15th. it's simple and pretty but nowhere near what i wanted. so if i do o gauge next year ( could be s, if i get started on my big layout in the basement before then) i'm not using the fluffy cotton type snow! looks good but it's a pain. actually get all the buildings lighted, i'd like to add my smoking diner too. a second level or trestle would be nice too. at least i have the table now, so i can start a lot earlier then this year.

Dave

photography & video - still photography is a hobby - just getting into video - before next christmas layout devise a way to put camera in from of train engine to video

 

i have loved looking at all the layouts, photos and videos posted here - thanks for sharing

 

rdeal

Next year, I plan to knock out a basement wall and add on to the square footage in the basement for the construction of a HO layout to compliment my 0 gauge one--just kidding!!!!!!  Actually, I am going to do some more refinement on my existing layout in terms of landscaping and also adding some circuit breakers and electronic circuits into the system.  I will be considering where I can display the HO layout because space is a problem and I have too much other stuff that I can't simply eliminate.....ahh such frustration I'll be facing!!!!!

Next Year:

No Buffalo Snow!!!  The little ones trashed it in one weekend. Tho it had an interesting thin snow over dirt/brown grass look to start off.

After that I switched to Quilt Batting, comes in a decent size, one piece, and about 1/4" thick fluffy white pad.

My layout this year was one 4x8 sheet of 1/2" ply on storage containers bringing it up level with a layer of my Heavy Shelving.

Thus the layout became 6' x 8' with the snow falling nearly to the floor along the front edge.

this worked well until the one year old found she could tear it. Then she was tearing the edge off every time she got in there unsupervised.

So next year, similar setup but cut off excess 'snow' and secure the edge somehow.

 

All in all it went well running one loop with passing siding down the back, New PE on the near siding and my new Challenger with a bunch of Christmas cars on the far siding.

PE was on Lionchief remote and Challenger was on DCS, full system.

 

Second week I added the Operating Track section so the Operating Santa in the Boxcar ran out and waved his lantern. Big Hit with the Kids.

Note for next year, 2 Operating tracks back to back and wired together. Had to run across the spot slow or it would not run the entire action every time. The car would start to run and stop before it triggered the internal switch to keep going.

 

PS mine was up starting the weekend after Thanksgiving until this past Sunday. It is being replaced with a non Christmas layout of the same area on Green Fleece and Felt. Mostly done, Trains can run, just needs more buildings and the buildings are not lit yet.

And that's the Den layout, the Main layout in the Barn is not running yet but will be 16' x 40' around 3 walls with big bump out sections in the middle.

Personnaliy, I would prefer the Christmas layouts went up the weekend after Labor Day and down the weekend before Easter.  That way you could get a LOT MORE enjoyment from them.  But, thats just my opinion.  

I said after christmas last year I was going to do a permanate christmas layout. It didn't happen. Not because I changed my mind, but just because christmas stuff did'nt get added until after halloween. I want a permanate North Pole, with the dept 56 stuff. I've been looking at my d-27 to see if that would work. don't know. mine is still up, no hurry to take down. I've been looking at ways to improve. i didn't like the north pole section elevated, so the kids had to stand on something to view it. I would like to do something like some of the Polar express layouts I've seen, winding up around a mountain. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm........ I am not sure what to do, but I'd better get started.................. Only 354 days till christmas..............