The Polar Express (my set), Gingerbread Junction (my wife’s set), and a Lionel Girls Train (my daughters set) are required on our Christmas display. The other two trains are at my discretion.
This year I am moving my daughters set to the floor level due to her hostile takeover of it. See photo below 😂
-Ryan
Never saw a setup like that @Ryan Mc! Pretty cool!!
Hopefully, as we all get out our Xmas O gauge railroads, or whatever scale you have, the Xmas decoration/model train gremlins haven't sabotaged our Xmas lights or trains! It has to be gremlins, right? Everything was working when we carefully packed everything away, and then it doesn't work or has a problem the next holiday season!
Ryan, that is a great idea, and well executed. Maybe I should try something like that with lots of trains and buildings, but little space
Ryan Mc I love your display, it is very creative. What do you use for your base? I’m guessing it is something that you custom built. Do you have any pictures before it is decorated?
Thank you @BillYo414, @Mark Boyce, @tumbleweed56 for the compliments. Space was the reason for building this display. We used to use the nook in the back of our living room for the Christmas layout. Then our daughter arrived in 2018 and I lost my overflow space for the furniture.
I saw the @Bill Henning Trains IN the Tree layout and thought something like that would be perfect for the corner. But I wanted a separate train for each level.
Each level is its own table with a frame. The legs are 1’ tall and are positioned such that the weight is carried through the middle to the floor. The frames and legs get more substantial the closer you get to the floor. Then I covered each level with felt to hide the inner workings. There is O54 on the floor, then O48, O45, O42, and O36.
Power was a concern given that there are over 40 Dept 56 buildings on there and 5 trains. All the lighting is LED and is fed from a 12VDC 100watt Melcher brick. There are terminal blocks on each level to plug into the 12VDC bus.
The ZW powers the conventional tracks but I have them tied to a small RF remote that my daughter can use to switch on/off her train. Although she learned the Cab 1L very quickly. A Lionel 180watt brick powers the command tracks.
Too early for Holiday season for me, but it is definitely train season. I haven't thought about trains much or visited the forum since spring - been busy cycling instead. But now that the weather is changing a switch goes off in my brain and I'm ready for trains again. Soon enough I'll have to start planning this year's village. I like to run pre-war or post-war passenger trains and freight trains with modern era Christmas rolling stock.
@Ryan Mc posted:Thank you @BillYo414, @Mark Boyce, @tumbleweed56 for the compliments. Space was the reason for building this display. We used to use the nook in the back of our living room for the Christmas layout. Then our daughter arrived in 2018 and I lost my overflow space for the furniture.
I saw the @Bill Henning Trains IN the Tree layout and thought something like that would be perfect for the corner. But I wanted a separate train for each level.
Each level is its own table with a frame. The legs are 1’ tall and are positioned such that the weight is carried through the middle to the floor. The frames and legs get more substantial the closer you get to the floor. Then I covered each level with felt to hide the inner workings. There is O54 on the floor, then O48, O45, O42, and O36.
Power was a concern given that there are over 40 Dept 56 buildings on there and 5 trains. All the lighting is LED and is fed from a 12VDC 100watt Melcher brick. There are terminal blocks on each level to plug into the 12VDC bus.The ZW powers the conventional tracks but I have them tied to a small RF remote that my daughter can use to switch on/off her train. Although she learned the Cab 1L very quickly. A Lionel 180watt brick powers the command tracks.
Ryan, that is a classy display, what a great idea and super well executed! Your very adorable daughter has the right idea though in your previous post, pushing her own wooden train around the track is much better than just watching them go around!!! Thanks for the very enjoyable posts!
Scott
Ryan, the basic structure is very simple, but effective. I too was impressed with Bill Henning's Christmas Tree display a few years ago, but that is way more effort than what I would do. Yours is more doable in my opinion. Did you build it so each layer can be easily taken off for storage? I would have to consider off season storage since we are just about packed out in this little house even though our daughters are grown and married. I don't know how we fit them and all there stuff here come to think of it. 
Access to this requires an OGR Forum Supporting Membership
