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Trains-N-TownsTM, the Official Newsletter of BIGIndoorTrains.com, BIGChristmasTrains.com, and HalloweenTrains.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, Big Christmas TrainsTM, and HalloweenTrains.comTM 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
However you celebrate the winter holidays, you have to admit that there's a whole lot more interest in trains this time of year. As we approach Christmas, we naturally get lots more questions about Christmas trains and related topics. Fortunately, the "Primer" pages for BigIndoorTrains.com(tm) and BigChristmasTrains.com(tm) have an ever-expanding list of answers to most of those questions. But we do try to answer your e-mails in a timely manner, even if it's only to point to one of our articles. In fact, many of our articles came about because so many people asked the same question. This includes two articles featured in this newsletter. Though they were originally published in our FamilyGardenTrains.com(tm) pages, they apply just as much to indoor railroaders.This time of year, we're also very busy getting ready for our outdoor Christmas-themed open house (Nov. 10, near Springfield, Ohio). Our "Step-by-Step Trashbuilding" article describes how to make toylike buildings (in this case actual toys) look more realistic and unique by careful planning, masking, and painting. We also have a reminder not to pitch the wires on those bad light strands - you can get a lot of project wire from a single strand, and it doesn't cost you anything.
And, technically, Halloween hasn't happened yet (though I realize that Beggars Night has come and gone in many communities). We're offering one more chance to read our family-friendly Halloween-themed novel Spook Hill Chronicles before goes away for the season.
Finally, please accept our wishes for a great holiday season. And please especially enjoy any time you can spend with your family in these days.
- Trashbashing Step-By-Step - Detailed photographs and descriptions of each step required to turn a toy or toylike structure into an attractive model.
- Back & Forth Operation - Need to squeeze an operating railroad where no train has gone before?
- How do I Sell My Train Collection? - What if you have way more
trains than you need, or you suddenly inherit a loved one's
"collection"?
- Spook Hill Chronicles - a brand-new, family-friendly Halloween-themed novel for our readers. Now 100% online, just in time for Halloween!
- Christmas-Themed Open Railroads - Contact your regional garden and model railroading clubs to see if they're putting on any Christmas-themed public displays the year. If you live near, or pass through the Springfield or Cincinnati, Ohio areas, there are several scheduled, delightful events.
- Free Project Wire from Bad Light Strands - A reminder that you can save a bundle by "repurposing" the wiring in bad light strands.
From our sister site Family Garden Trains - We have lots of painting tips elsewhere, but this article includes additional tips on using masking tape to get a clean, professional paint job with no skill required but patience. The name "trashbashing" means that we're using busted-up toy buildings as a starting point. But the principles apply to almost any model you paint. Detailed photographs record each step.
To see the article, please click the link below.
Maybe you have no space for a circle of track, or maybe you want to add a train to a seasonal display, or maybe you want to add a little more action to an existing railroad. For whatever reason, you want a streetcar or short train to go back and forth somewhere, and you prefer to use off-the-shelf products. This article provides, not a wiring diagram (those come with whatever product you settle on), but an overview of the available solutions for HO, O, On30 and Large Scale.
To see the article, please click the link below.
I often get contacted by people who've found, inherited, or grown tired of a train "collection" and need help figuring out what to do with it. Unfortunately the sad circumstances that may have caused you to become the unwilling "curator" of another person's collection don't mitigate the financial realities of selling used, possibly collectible trains, and accessories. This article is a collection of advice I've given and the best advice I've heard on the subject.
To see the blog-like article, please click the link below.
Inspired by Howard Lamey's "Spook Hill" building projects, we've done our best to imagine what it would be like to live in a town where it was Halloween all year 'round. We've been publishing the Spook Hill Chronicles a chapter at a time. But it's all online now, just in time for Halloween. If we get a lot of response, we may "publish" a sequel next year.
To jump to the home page for Spook Hill Chronicles, please click the link below:
 Christmas-Themed Open Railroads
Our garden railroad, the New Boston and Donnels Creek, was first open to the public in 2003, as part of the National Garden Railway Convention that took place in greater Cincinnati that year. Since then, we've been open several times to visitors, especially for our annual Christmas-themed events in association with the local NMRA train show.
This year we're going to be open on November 10th. There will be several trains running, two or three trains that the kids can run, lots of Christmas lights, Christmas music, outdoor movies, popcorn machine popcorn and other treats - in other words, a good time is expected.
For information about this and several other opportunities to see big outdoor Christmas trains in the region, click on the following link:
This is a reminder, from 2009, that non-working light strands are a great source of free project wire.
Click on the following link to see the original article:
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(tm)
BigChristmasTrains.com(tm)
HalloweenTrains.com(tm)
FamilyGardenTrains.com(tm)
To view the Trains-N-TownsTM newsletter for August, 2012, click on the following link:
http://bigindoortrains.com/trains_n_towns/12_08_newsletter_indoor.htm
To read more, or to look at recommended Indoor or Garden Railroading products, you may click on the index pages below.
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Trashbashing Step-By-Step
New September, 2012: Back & Forth Operation
New September, 2012: How do I Sell My Train Collection?
Spook Hill Chronicles - A Family-Friendly Halloween Novel Just For Our Readers
Free Project Wire from Bad Light Strands