Thinking Ahead To The Christmas Layout

Lee: you remind me of my other way to enjoy the hobby in the off-season: by making things for the layout.  Each year seems to bring one or 2 new ideas and this is one other way that I participate year round in a hobby that I love.

- walt

You're free to enjoy the summer in any way you care to, Jim, and you can even pass on Christmas if you want to.  Just keep in mind that there are others who may not feel as you do.

Wow - good idea, but  that might be too much of a challenge.  I am trying to make the arm of a politician (Mayor I suppose) riding in a caddy convertible wave, and the band trumpet players to stand and play at times, etc.  About all the animation I think I can do this time around.  Neat idea though.

"Get in touch with me if you feel you have something worth considering, and which, if published, will provide a lasting momento for family and friends that lasts far beyond the here-today-gone-tomorrow displays seen online."... Allan Miller

My Christmas layout made it into last year's OGR and I have to agree, it's a great feeling to get "published"!

To commemorate the event, I designed a special cover for the December OGR with an emphasis on my item in Readers Rails.  It is framed in my train room.

I would highly recommend that you send in some pictures of your Christmas layout to Allan,

Ed

Ed,

Anyway of finding this edition,or the portion about the picture,

I like it !

thanks

I am ABSOLUTELY thinking about the holiday layout, as I think accomplishing what I want to do is going to be a challenge... our holiday trains have grown dramatically and I want to find a way to feature them all.

My son's train includes all the Polar Railroad freight cars (~16) and two locos--the 0-8-0 from the PE freight starter set and the 1225 from the passenger set.

My daughter's train includes all the Hershey's freight cars (~16) and two locos--the 0-8-0 from the Hershey starter set and a Chessie SD-9 that fits in nicely.

So I'm looking at four loops operating. Probably an O27 loop on the inside, then O31, then two O36 loops outside.  Looking forward to getting started with my layout software. 

Boy there are certainly some railroading Scrooges on here!  I'll accept the argument that it's too early to talk about and decorate for Christmas, but this is about the layouts.  I don't think anyone is breaking out their tree stand over Memorial Day, but some aspects of a holiday layout require advance planning and construction.  There's a reason all the ideas I've had on previous Black Fridays never got built.

Thanks for the plug, Ed, and congrats on what you did with your picture and that issue's cover.  Neat idea!

I always like to remind folks that YOU make the magazine; I just put it together. And since I begin working on those holiday season issues early due to the publishing deadlines--not to mention the fact that I like to find some time to enjoy the holidays, too--it's kind of important to get things lined-up as early as possible.

I do try to make it a point to give readers something holiday-related in the December issue, and to also hopefully attract some new readers with a holiday appropriate cover for the newsstands.

I have to chuckle at the suggestion, because if taken literally, letting them design and build the layout would mean track in every room of the house and up & over the tree itself!  They are great designers with awesome imaginations in areas far beyond just trains - tree houses, cars, etc.  It's great to watch someone design, dream, and in some cases even create when they have no concept of limits, budgets, resources, or feasibility.

But in all seriousness, they are involved in the process.  After having simple under tree loops in the prior couple years we finally built a permanent layout in the basement.  I basically asked them what features they wanted and did the build myself as the job of laying track was of no interest to them.

But for my future reusable holiday platform/layout I'll probably exert a little more control because of tighter design criterea (smaller footprint, maximizing space for buildings, protection from accidents, etc).

Allan-  That December issue is always a highlight for me as the hobby, in my opinion, is so closely linked to the Christmas holiday.

On a related note, I see you also put out the annual call for photo submissions.  I'm curious how your job has changed with the growth of this forum?  I imagine it makes sourcing stories and connecting with readers much easier, but I suspect it also creates a huge challenge because you don't want to simply replicate the forum in print.  I'm always impressed seeing new material in a printed issue.  How do you find a lot of that stuff? And along the same lines, how did you find all your stuff pre-forum?  Thanks. 

Allan,

You have my Christmas-themed layout spread, shot by your own Jim Barrett some time ago. IMHO, it would make a wonderful December-issue article (shameless self-endorsement ).

First off, this forum predates my association with the magazine.  It was already around and ever- growing since before I joined the magazine some six years ago.  I was one of the early members myself, and was living and working in Virginia at the time.

Yes, I ALWAYS have a need for more good high-res or hard print photos for all sections of the magazine, but that has been the case for those who preceded me in this job, as well.

The forum does make it easier to seek-out new contributors (even our competitors use this forum for that purpose), but there are a lot of talented hobbyists out there and we have likely just scratched the surface.  Keep in mind that many in the hobby, as I've often noted before, do not actively participate on this or any other online forum, although they may stop by to read things here from time to time or even on a regular basis.

I don't have an editorial or administrative assistant to help in seeking-out, contacting, and coordinating submissions, so I have to handle that myself for the most part.  However, a lot of valuable assistance of that type comes from regular contributors to this forum--folks all over the country and the world--who alert me to potential candidates for feature articles, in particular.  An e-mail address or inquiry is all that's required for me to get the ball moving by sending out of Author Guidelines and Photo Tips.

I try and much prefer to use material in the magazine that has not appeared on this forum or elsewhere, simply because that is the way I choose to do things.  After all, our readers deserve the most fresh material I can provide them.  There have been rare exceptions to that self-imposed "policy," but it is rare.

The most disappointing thing, if one can really call it disappointing, is to see so many great photos "published" in, for example, the Weekend Photo or Sunday Scenery type threads here when those same photos could have been published in the magazine and earned the contributor $50 and a couple of comp copies of the respective issue.  They would then have something to share with family and friends for a lifetime, not something that quickly fades from view and memory in just a few days, if not sooner.  We all tend to seek instant gratification, I suppose, but it just makes sense that $50, or a whole lot more in the case of a full feature, makes good financial sense while simultaneously giving the person a tangible record of his or her contributions to the hobby. 

From what we've seen of Lee's imagination, and superior creaivity, this will be a parade with motorized floats. Heck, maybe even a runaway float, Santa from the from the trailer park!

I recently took my layout down. Felt it just was taking up too much space in my basement family room. I had a dual layout with O on the bottom and N scale on the upper level. Now I am putting together a t track layout and this has me thinking of building a modular O gauge as well. Probably this will double as my Christmas layout with my department 56 buildings during the season. I enjoy the idea of being able to reconfigure the layout as well. By the way for anyone thinking that's my wife in my avatar , sorry my granddaughter

Either way, you're a lucky man!  

I'm thinking Christmas in July right now. I know you are saying what are you in the retail end of things; No. Last year we revamped our VBS [Vacation Bible School] at church to be more like a camp program, I will be doing two Workshops for five nights on "The Wonderful World of Trains" [grades k-3rd and 4th -6th]. The first night which will be an intro night I'm thinking of doing a Christmas Tree [4 ft.] lay-out then stripping the deck for the kids to make a toy train lay-out. The nights after the opening night I plan to use some of my modules for talking points: What do trains do, and history of trains. It will be interesting to see how it works out.

How on my dream lay-out each side will represent a different season of the year and the summer will be in one of the two towns I plan for the lay-out and the town will be celebrating Founders Day(s), I do plan to have a parade going down main street.