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The official e-newsletter of Big Indoor Trains<sup><small>TM</small></sup> and Big Christmas Trains<sup><small>TM</small></sup>. This photo includes some of author and designer Howard Lamey's beach houses, built in the style of 1920-1960 Christmas 'putzes.' Who says you can't leave your 'putz' up all year round? Click for bigger photo. Return to Big Indoor Trains<sup><small>TM</small></sup> primer pageOn30 Display Trains
O Scale Accessories
O Gauge Christmas TrainsOn30 Christmas Trains

Written by Paul D. Race for Big Indoor TrainsTM and Big Christmas TrainsTM



Click to sign up for the 'Trains-N-Towns<sup><small>TM</small></sup>' newsletter, with articles about display villages, indoor railroading, and much more








































Click to see new and reissued Lionel trains to celebrate a century-old tradition.

















































Click to see quality Christmas collectibles with railroad themes.





















Trains-N-TownsTM, the Official Newsletter of BIGIndoorTrains.com and BIGChristmasTrains.com

This newsletter is for people who like O scale trains and Christmas trains, including people who combine On30 or O gauge trains with collectible villages. It is produced in conjunction with the Big Indoor TrainsTM and Big Christmas Trains web sites.
  • If you did not get this Trains-N-TownsTM newsletter through your own e-mail, and you would like to get the newsletters in the future, please join our Trains-N-TownsTM Mailing List

  • On the other hand, if you don't want to receive our e-mail updates, please e-mail me with a "Please Unsubscribe" message (worded any way you wish), and we will graciously remove you from our list.

  • Also, if you would like to subscribe to our free newsletter for garden railroaders (people running big trains outside), please join the Family Garden Trains Mailing List. By the way, you can subscribe to either, both, or neither, and we will just be glad to be of service, no matter what you decide.

In this Issue

First of all, may we wish you a New Year that is rich in all of the things that matter. Yes, 2009 is already shaping up like a rough year for many folks. The good news for indoor train and village hobbyists is that there are a thousand inexpensive ways to keep your hobby going and growing. So far it looks like we'll be able to keep the lights on here, so be sure and keep in touch and checking back for more great ideas.

If you're a supplier to our hobby (full-time or part time), and we can help by featuring your products, please let us know. Or if you have more ideas for how we can work together to keep the hobby growing in 2009, please share those as well.

In the meantime, longtime readers know that our web sites have always stressed developing your hobby within a budget. For this issue we have added several new articles that may help you establish or extend your railroad or display village on a "shoestring." (Many more ideas are already published in our Big Indoor TrainsTM Primer pages.)

Topics discussed in this update include:

Note: As always, we have more articles in the works, so check our site often.

Click to go to article.New Article: Building the Sandy Shores Lighthouse & Keeper's Cottage

Craft project designer Howard Lamey presents an indoor craft project based on the traditional putz (cardboard) Christmas houses. Ideal for your display village, indoor railroad, or for an early Father's Day project. Click on the following link for details.

Click to go to article.New Article: Modeling Seagrass

Howard Lamey reminds us of how easy it is to provide natural settings for our indoor railroads and dioramas with a miniscule investment of time and money. Click on the following link for details. Click to go to article.

Reminder: Add Spring Color to Your Village or Indoor Railroad

This is a great time to start collecting dried flower and weed heads for your spring projects. This article from last year tells you one good way to use dried flower or weed heads and a bit of paint to add a springlike splash of color to your display village or railroad. For more information, click the following link: http://bigindoortrains.com/primer/spring_trees/springtrees.htm

Click to go to article.New Article: Free Project Wire from Bad Light Strands

When I recently wired my buildings for a garden railroad open house, I found a source of useful project wire in a pile of stuff I was planning to throw away anyway. Click on the following link for details.

Click to go to article.New Article: Making Corrugated Metal Panels from Disposable Aluminum Pans

Create nearly-free building materials with a Fiskars paper crimper and some recyclable aluminum products. Click on the following link for details.

Celebrate Late-Winter Holidays

I love Christmas, but in my opinion, it comes too early to truly be called a mid-winter feast. When it's time to unplug the icicle lights (and make a promise to yourself to get them down by July this year), there are still at least ten weeks of winter weather ahead. It so happens that Candlemas - now better known as Groundhog Day - comes a lot closer to true midwinter, and it has a long and worthy history. Our sister site, Family Christmas Online has a nice introduction to the holiday, as it was celebrated in the middle ages, and as it is celebrated now. Maybe celebrating Groundhog Day can help you get over any midwinter doldrums. Click the following link for more information:

Or you may be wondering: who was St. Valentine, and what, if anything, did he have to do with paper hearts and DeBeers commercials? As always, there's more to the story than you might think. For more information, click on the following link:

And if you'd like to get a head start on celebrating Saint Patrick's, day, you might want to read up on the old fellow, and learn what a debt Western Civilization (not just Ireland) owes to the old fellow:

Keep in Touch

Each year, we get more interest in this newsletter, in the site, and in the trains and towns 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, please accept our very best wishes for a great spring and summer!

Paul Race

BigIndoorTrains.com
BigChristmasTrains.com
FamilyGardenTrains.com

To view the Trains-N-TownsTM newsletter for December, 2008, click on the following link:

http://bigindoortrains.com/trains_n_towns/08_12_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.































Click to see On30 trains and display villages inspired by the paintings and designs of Thomas Kinkade(r)



































Visit our BIG Train Store<sup><small>TM</small></sup> Buyer's Guide Pages







































Click to see village and train collections for July Fourth, Halloween, and more!
Home Pages
Reading Index Pages
Buyer's Guide Pages
Return to Big Indoor Trains Home page Return to Family Garden Trains Home page Big Indoor Trains Primer Articles: All about setting up and displaying indoor display trains and towns. Garden Railroading Primer Articles: All about getting a Garden Railroad up and running well Garden Train Store: Index to train, track, and other products for Garden RailroadingBig Christmas Trains: Directory of Large Scale and O Scale trains with holiday themes
On30 and O Gauge trains to go with indoor display villages and railroads

Note: Spook HillTM is a trademark of Howard Lamey, North Jacksonville, Florida. Big Indoor TrainsTM, Trains-N-TownsTM, Big Train StoreTM Family Garden TrainsTM, Big Christmas TrainsTM, and Garden Train StoreTM are trademarks of Breakthrough CommunicationsTM (www.btcomm.com). All information, data, text, and illustrations on this web site are Copyright (c) 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 by Paul D. Race. Reuse or republication without prior written permission is specifically forbidden.
Big Indoor Trains(tm) is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

For more information, contact us.

Click to see exclusive, licensed Disney(r) train and village collections!

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