Trains-N-Towns^TM, the Official Newsletter of BIGIndoorTrains.com and BIGChristmasTrains.com

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New This Month

This month, we have two new articles to promote, one that's all about the real world, and one that's all about holiday fun:

• 30-Inch Railroading - On30 is a fast-growing hobby and the trains are sure "cute." But do you know there is a century of fascinating history behind those "teakettles" and the thirty-inch-wide tracks they ran on?

• Introducing Spook Hill^TM - Yes, we know that having a Halloween train and structure in the title page in May is a little wierd, but we have to think ahead. Check out this article for some great holiday "Trains-N-Towns^TM" ideas.

Note: We have several more articles in the works, so check our site often.

30" Railroads

Today, Bachmann's new line of On30 trains is winning new fans of 30"-railroads, but the real story is over a century old. Click on the following link to learn more.

http://bigindoortrains.com/primer/narrow_gauge_railroads/30in_rwys/30in_rwys.htm

Introducing Spook Hill^TM

This is a Howard Lamey cardboard vintage-style Halloween building project, perfect for giving your mantle, or your HO, On30, S, or O-gauge railroad a special bit of Halloween cheer. It is the first in a series Howard has already developed that we guarantee to be entirely unique. In fact, I don't think there's another resource like this anywhere on the Internet, and that's a pretty big place.

Spook Hill^TM projects are all family friendly, and most of them can be easily adapted to work for other holidays as well. To learn more and to get started, click on the following link:

http://bigindoortrains.com/primer/spook_hill/spook_hill_castle/shakey_pane_manor.htm

If you get done with Shakey Pane Manor before next month and want to add to your collection, you can always go to the project Howard introduced last year:

http://bigindoortrains.com/primer/glitterhouses/halloweenhouse1/halloween_house1.htm

If you start now, and keep up, you could have a complete Halloween Village display by October, with a few simple projects and very little expense. Other Christmas and non-holiday projects are in the pipeline as well. Tell your friends. :-)

We are also looking for more projects that would appeal to the "serious" On30 or O-gauge modeler as well (hint, hint), so stay tuned.

Keep in Touch

We are continually getting more interest in this newsletter, in the site, and in the trains we discuss. We welcome your questions as indicators of what we should be working on next (also, we always try to answer reader questions quickly). In addition, if you have any photos, tips, or articles you'd like to share with your fellow hobbyists, please let us know. The hobby grows best when we all learn together.

In the meantime, have a great spring!

Paul Race

BigIndoorTrains.com
BigChristmasTrains.com
FamilyGardenTrains.com

To view the Trains-N-Towns^TM newsletter for April, 2008, click on the following link:

http://bigindoortrains.com/trains_n_towns/08_04_newsletter_indoor.htm

To read more, or to look at recommended Garden Railroading and Display Railroad products, you may click on the index pages below.