|
Trains-N-TownsTM, 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 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
In 2011, lots of new folks signed up and expressed their interest in indoor railroading with big indoor trains, as well as in seasonal decorating with trains and towns.
Regarding Big Indoor Trains, On30 fans may have noticed that Bachmann has changed some road names, but for the most part has kept all of their locomotives and cars available, at a time when other manufacturers are retrenching. O gauge fans may have noticed that Lionel has replaced the Atlantic (4-4-2) locomotive in its steam starter sets with a road switcher 0-8-0 locomotive. Which means that if you bought a particular set two years ago and you buy it again now, you'll get a different locomotive just as robust as the first one. Collectors are probably aghast, but I think it's a great way to add variety to your personal empire. In addition, Lionel has reintroduced its mid-1800s set for those who want an old-timey look, although the baby blue colors may not exactly meet your needs.
Regarding Christmas villages and railroads, CardboardChristmas.com - our new site devoted to the vintage cardboard buildings that populated so many Christmas railroads and displays over the years - is growing by leaps and bounds, with frequent forum contributions by experts in various fields.
Plus, we are getting more signups for our newsletters than ever before. What all of this means is that, despite an economy that some folks would describe as stagnating (or worse) the hobbies we support have just as many followers as they ever did, and those fans are hungry for practical information to help them grow their empires (without necessarily having to rob a bank).
Topics discussed in this update include:
At this writing, the Race family has survived its fourth annual Christmas-themed Open Railroad on the New Boston and Donnels Creek (Paul's outdoor "garden" railroad). We got up the lights, baked cookies, popped popcorn, got out the trains, put on the music, and welcomed guests. One surprise was how much the kids liked a new, relatively inexpensive addition - a battery-powered toy Polar Express train from Lionel.
To see the article and lots of photos, please click the link below.
Are you hanging onto things you don't really want because you think they might be worth something? Or are you just curious about the cash value of some heirloom you wouldn't dream of selling anyway? Either way, this article gives you some things to think about. New for 2011!
To see the article, please click the link below.
For over a century, trains brought people home for Christmas - literally. Nowadays they put us in touch with our best memories of our best Christmases. Why is there such a strong connection between trains and Christmas, anyway?
To jump to the article, click the following link:
People have been putting electric trains and little towns around Christmas trees for over a century. It's great to live at a time when we have so many choices. Trainwise, you can choose from:
- Really Big Trains, such as the Bachmann Big Hauler train sets that look great on display railroads, around really big trees, or in really big rooms.
- Medium Sized Trains, such as the Lionel Christmas trains, including a very nice Polar Express train, that look nice around Christmas trees or Christmas villages.
- Village-sized trains - such as the Hawthorne Village and Bachmann On30 trains that were designed specifically to look great with Christmas villages.
Every fall, I take a look at what is available - I try to keep up with removing descriptions of discontinued trains and towns and adding descriptions of new trains and towns. The one universal this year is that very few new products were introduced in 2011, and many of the products that were introduced before 2010 are now sold out.
I especially like the passenger trains, because you can see them run when you've turned out all the lights in the room. If you want a really big passenger train in Christmas colors, you're in luck - Bachmann has reintroduced the red version of their Large Scale Christmas passenger train, and it's a jaw-dropper.
If you want a medium-sized passenger train, the O Gauge Lionel Polar Express train is a great train, even if you haven't seen the movie (although you really SHOULD see the movie some time).
For a passenger train that will look especially good with your Christmas village, consider the Hawthorne Village Thomas Kinkade Christmas Express. It's been the most popular On30 Christmas train ever, but it IS a limited edition, so there may soon come a time when it is unavailable. Bachmann, who makes the frames for the Thomas Kinkade train, usually has their own passenger set, but this year the "old" set sold out before the new set hit the stores. The new version has red cars and will be # 25021, but it may or may not reach the stores before Christmas. If you want to keep an eye out for it, go to Amazon.Com and search for "Bachmann 25021."
What ever kind of train (or town) you'd like this year, if you see one you want, order it now. If you DON'T order before December 15, all bets are off. I used to spend many of my hours between December 15 and 24 helping people track down trains (and towns) that were available a few days earlier but were suddenly gone from the shelves across the country. But I've made the decision that after December 15, my family and friends (including internet friends) come first.
For more information on really big Christmas (Large Scale) Christmas trains, click the following link:
For more information on medium-sized (O Gauge) Christmas trains, click the following link:
For more information about Hawthorne Village On30 Christmas trains (and towns), including the Thomas Kinkade Christmas Express, click the following link:
For more information about Bachmann On30 Christmas trains, click the following link:
 Christmas Site Updates
Last month we introduced a brand new web page for collectors and builders of vintage-style cardboard Christmas houses. This month we're pleased to announce that the discussion forum is thriving, with many collectors and builders contributing and more folks signing up every day. In addition, with the permission of "Papa Ted" Althof we are now hosting an archive of "Papa Ted's Place," the Internet's most comprehensive guide to these little houses. Sadly, "Papa Ted's" health is not good, and he wanted to be certain that his work would carry on regardless of the outcome of his current treatment. We have also set up a forum on CardboardChristmas that is just for Papa Ted and his readers.
 In addition, through the diligent efforts of Tom Elmore, an Alaska-based short-wave fan, we've been able to add an archive of Bill Nelson's 2003 "Antique Christmas Lights" web site. Our "OldChristmasTreeLights.com" is a reconstruction of George Nelson's 2008 site, but Bill had content that his brother George removed and vice versa. So it's nice to be able to offer both versions for people who are want to know more about historical Christmas lighting, who want to date a light strand they've come across, or who just want to stroll through memory lane.
To jump to our CardboardChristmas.com site, please click on the link below
To jump to "Papa" Ted Althof's site, please click on the link below
To go to OldChristmasTreeLights.com, our reconstruction of GEORGE NELSON'S 2003 CHRISTMAS LIGHT SITE, please click on the following link:
To go to Tom Elmore's reconstruction of BILL NELSON'S 2003 CHRISTMAS LIGHT SITE, please click on the following link:
This article is targeted to Large Scalers and Garden Railroaders, but it contains ideas that might interest indoor railroaders who set up portable or seasonal displays. It's a follow-up on an earlier article about reusing the plastic form those fluted-plastic signs that fly-by-night businesses use to illegally trash up your neighborhood. In this case, I needed some temporary buildings to set out for our open house, so I made a bunch using those signs and some weatherproof laser printer labels. Now that I have them, I think I know how to cheaply decorate public displays, and to keep my permanent railroad from looking so "abandoned" after I take in my houses this January.
To see the article, please click the link below.
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 season!
Paul Race
BigIndoorTrains.com
BigChristmasTrains.com
FamilyGardenTrains.com
To view the Trains-N-TownsTM newsletter for October, 2011, click on the following link:
http://bigindoortrains.com/trains_n_towns/11_10_newsletter_indoor.htm
To read more, or to look at recommended Indoor or Garden Railroading products, you may click on the index pages below.
|
 
|
Report: Fourth Annual Christmas-Themed Open Railroad
New Article: How Much is My Collectible Worth?
A Classic Musing: What do Trains Have to do with Christmas?
Train and Town Availability Update
New Article: Temporary Building Fronts from Recycled Plastic