December, 2009 Update: Trains-N-Towns<sup><small>TM</small></sup>


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Written by Paul D. Race for Big Indoor Trains^TM and Big Christmas Trains^TM

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

This newsletter is for people who like O scale, O gauge, S scale, and Christmas trains, including people who combine On30 or O gauge trains with collectible villages. It is produced in conjunction with the Big Indoor Trains^TM and Big Christmas Trains web sites.

If you did not get this Trains-N-Towns^TM newsletter through your own e-mail, and you would like to get the newsletters in the future, please join our Trains-N-Towns^TM 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

If you've been with us a while, you've probably caught on that Christmas is important to us. Not that our family has always had postcard-perfect holidays - we haven't by any means. But Christmas is a good time for remembering the best things about our families and friends. It's also a great time to stir up compassion for those who are facing hardship or uncertainty in the coming year. Every day we brush shoulders with people who are "this close" to giving up hope in some area of their lives. And if we can call on the spirit of the season to encourage those people in some small way, we may be able to help them "hold out" that much longer.

After all, if we believe that Christmas is a time of grace, then at this time of year, we should be especially gracious - in the richest sense of the word.

When I send out these newsletters, I send them out in small batches, so your e-mail addresses cross my desk a few at a time once a month. It sometimes surprises me how well I remember some of the questions and comments when you first contacted me, in some cases years ago. No, I don't remember you all (I wish I could, but my brain doesn't work that way regardless - ask my family). But I am reminded every month that each of you has goals, roadblocks, interests, concerns that I know little or nothing about. And when I wish you and your families a grace-filled Christmas and the very best possible holiday season and New Year, I am not JUST thinking about a line on a membership list.

Now, it's time to talk "trains." Last month we talked about the Christmas-themed open railroad we were planning. This month's biggest article is a "blog-like" report on the preparations and outcome of that event. I hope that the article gives you some Christmas cheer, and maybe some ideas for your own railroad for next year. We also have two new "Tribute to Tinplate" articles, with plans and assembly tips by Howard Lamey and free professional-quality graphics. Plus a new graphics resource to help you create your own holiday-themed buildings in the old tinplate style. We've also included one "off-topic" "blog-like" article about phone scams that keep coming my way and which just might come your way next, if you're not prepared. Hope you don't mind the off-topic post, but that's why I call those articles "blog-like."

Finally, please accept our warm wishes for a blessed holiday season and New Year. And please especially enjoy any time you can spend with your family in the coming days -

Topics discussed in this update include:

New Article: Building a Lithograph-Style Switch Tower
New Article: Building a Vintage-Style Diner
New Blog-Like Article: Christmas-Themed Open House on the NB&DC RailRoad
New Resource: Christmas Building Textures
New Blog-Like Article:Check Your Phone Bill Yesterday!
Last-minute Christmas Trains Shopping Note:

New Article: Building a Lithograph-Style Switch Tower

Yet another "Tribute To Tinplate" with graphics by Paul and assembly tips by Howard Lamey. Build a tinplate-inspired vintage-syle railroad building to go with your classic toy trains or Christmas village. Easy, inexpensive, and impressive - what more could you ask of a project? Includes free plans, graphics, and instructions. Click the following link for more information.

http://bigindoortrains.com/primer/buildings/lackie/switch_tower/switch_tower.htm

New Article: Building a Vintage-Style Diner

A century ago, railroad dining cars were designed with such efficiency that thousands of railcar-inspired diners appeared all over the United States. In creating this project, designer Howard Lamey was also inspired by his "shorty" Marx passenger cars, and - of all things - an eye-glasses case that was about the same size and shape as their roofs. Another unique, easy, and inexpensive project designed to set your railroad or Christmas village back about ninety years. Click the following link for more information.

http://bigindoortrains.com/primer/buildings/lackie/diner/shortys_diner.htm

New Blog-Like Article: Christmas-Themed Open House on the NB&DC RailRoad

The Race family's second Christmas-themed open house included more lights, more trains, more music, and better snacks. Even if you didn't get there, we think you'll enjoy the report, the many ideas, and the many photographs. Click the following link for more information.

http://btcomm.com/trains/blog_like_content/09_12_blogs/09_12_06_blog.htm

New Resource: Christmas Building Textures

If you want to design your own buildings for a Christmas railroad or village, check out this brand-new addition - roof and wall patterns for making your own holiday-themed structures. The Christmas Building Textures page includes brick, siding, and roofing tile patterns in colors that are ideal for Christmas and other midwinter decorating. Patterns are available in three scales for all of your "big train" and Christmas village needs. Click the following link for more information:

http://bigindoortrains.com/indoor_resources/tinplate_textures/christmas_textures.htm

New Blog-Like Article: Check Your Phone Bill Yesterday!

Once again I stray from my sites' hobby focus to get on my hobby-horse, this time about phone scams that your phone company knows all about and has done next to nothing to protect you from. This blog-like-article probably contains a lot more information than you ever wanted to know, but it also has some practical tips for preventing and dealing with the problem. Click the following link for more information.

http://btcomm.com/trains/blog_like_content/09_12_blogs/09_12_01_blog.htm

Last-minute Christmas Trains Shopping Note:

Last month I pointed out that many suppliers of Large Scale, O gauge, and On30 trains had shallow stocks and were selling out very quickly. Since then, several Large Scale and O Gauge trains have become temporarily unavailable through my "normal" suppliers, and five Hawthorne Village trains (and two villages) have become unavailable period. Once again, if you click on a "check stock" link and you a page saying "unavailable" or no page at all, that doesn't mean I messed up the link - it means that the train you're checking on isn't available where it was last week.

In late November, I started updating a web page that contained products that were still available, and two of those disappeared before I could get the page finished. That said, the "Get Now" page contains links to trains (and towns) that you could get the last time I checked the page. Please don't wait too long to decide, though. For more information, click on the following link:

http://btcomm.com/trains/special_offers/get_it_now/get_it_now.htm

Keep in Touch

Each month, 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 holiday season!

Paul Race

BigIndoorTrains.com
BigChristmasTrains.com
FamilyGardenTrains.com

To view the Trains-N-Towns^TM newsletter for November, 2009, click on the following link:

http://bigindoortrains.com/trains_n_towns/09_11_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.

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Note: Big Indoor Trains^TM, Trains-N-Towns^TM, Big Train Store^TM Family Garden Trains^TM, Big Christmas Trains^TM, Garden Train Store^TM, and Tribute to Tinplate^TM are trademarks of Breakthrough Communications^TM (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.
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Trains-N-TownsTM, the Official Newsletter of BIGIndoorTrains.com and BIGChristmasTrains.com