December, 2013 Update from Family Garden Trains^TM

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In this Issue

I keep hearing from folks who wonder where they're going to get their track now that AristoCraft is apparently out of business - they did make great track. I've also heard that one more container load should arrive in a few weeks, although it may be sold under another name like GeneratioNext. If that doesn't materialize for some reason, Bachmann is now making brass track that, while not quite as sturdy, is pretty compatible. Our buyer's guide for garden railroad track now cross-references the Bachmann, LGB, USA Trains, and AristoCraft part numbers for the most common pieces. Click the following link if you want to take a look.

http://garden-train-store.com/track/track_order.htm

This time of year, I get a lot of questions about indoor trains, tinplate trains, Christmas trains, etc. I've even set up several "sister sites" to contain the information that I've organized to answer those questions. Some of them support my friends' "niche" hobbies that don't have a home otherwise, but don't belong on a garden train site. The good side of this, for garden railroading, is that our hobby gets promoted far outside this venue. And sometimes our readers here enjoy seasonal bits that have found their way over from the other sites. I hope you don't mind the occasional "bonus."

Christmas preparations in general have made me put a couple structure articles on hold that I was hoping to have done in time for this newsletter, but you all are probably too busy to start building more houses or whatever before January anyway. So stay tuned.

Please accept our wishes for a great rest of the year. And please enjoy any time you can spend with your family in the coming months.

Topics discussed in this update include:

• Report: Christmas Train Day, 2013 - A report on our our sixth annual Christmas-themed open railroad
• Garden Railroading in January
• Christmas Train Update - If you still need a train for your tree or town.
• Why Our Culture Needs Santa Claus (and the Easter Bunny) - A nod to the season from our sister site FamilyChristmasOnline.com

Report: Christmas Train Day, 2013

To see the report on our Christmas Train day, 2013, please click the following link

http://familygardentrains.com/newbost/13_11_christmas_train_day/train_day_2013.htm

To see information about Southwest Ohio and Greater Cincinnati Christmas-themed open railroads that have yet to happen, please click the following link:

http://familygardentrains.com/outside_resources/openhouses/christmas_open_houses_2013.htm

Garden Railroading in January

You could put backgrounds on your storage shelves or inside shelf railroad to provide a little better appearance. If you want to add a business district, you can easily download some storefront photos from our Building Front Photos page. Click on the following link to see what we mean:

http://familygardentrains.com/resource/buildings/building_fronts.htm

Or if you want to build a whole three-dimensional street scene that is only a few inches deep, check out the following link.

http://bigindoortrains.com/primer/buildings/store_fronts/store_fronts.htm

If Santa (see below) took your list seriously and got you one or more building kits, check out our article on painting plastic structures to learn how to double or triple the life of your outdoor buildings.

http://familygardentrains.com/primer/structures/painting/structure_painting.htm

And if you're planning to break ground or to expand an existing railroad this spring, you might consider reading our planning guides one more time:

• Building a Garden Railroad on a Budget - Planning to build and expand a garden railroad that stays inside your budget now and later. Click the following link.
  http://familygardentrains.com/primer/budget.htm

• Planning Your Garden Railroad for Watchability - Dreaming up a railroad that folks want to stick around and watch. Click the following link.

  http://familygardentrains.com/primer/watchable/watchability.htm

• Planning Your Garden Railroad for Operations - Planning your railroad so you can run trains in a realistic manner. Click the following link:

  http://familygardentrains.com/primer/operations/operations.htm

• Planning Your Garden Railroad for High Reliability - Planning your railroad to minimize derailments and other problems. Click the following link:

  http://familygardentrains.com/primer/reliable/reliable.htm

Christmas Train Update

If you still need a train for your tree or town, you can still get them, especially if you order soon. Our buyers' guide pages include links to vendors who can get you a train lickity-split. Let's talk about trains for trees first.

If you have a really big tree and a lot of room, consider a Large Scale Christmas train, such as those shown in the following link. Some of them are downright "jawdropping" indoors:

http://bigchristmastrains.com/ls_xmas/ls_xmas.htm

The other major option for trains around trees is classic O gauge, such as Lionel. The Lionel Polar Express is a rugged, charming set you'll be tempted to leave out all along, but several other great sets are still available:

http://bigchristmastrains.com/o_gauge_xmas/o_gauge_xmas.htm

If you're looking for trains for your Christmas village, you should know that O gauge trains will work, but modern On30 trains were developed especially for Christmas villages. Almost all of them are made by Bachmann, whose trains have been flying off the shelf this year. In fact, when I checked last night, I could only find a handful in any of the online stores I usually refer folks to. The good news is that they also mak a very nice trolley setup that goes back and forth, so you can set it up almost anywhere. Click on the following link to see some of Bachmann's offerings:

http://bigchristmastrains.com/on_30/on_30.htm

Most Hawthorne Village trains come a piece at a time, so it's too late to get a whole train for Christmas with a few exceptions. One Kinkade-themed train, one Coca Cola-themed train, and several of the Sports-themed trains are available in "super starter sets" so you get the first three "issues" at the same time - a locomotive, two cars, and a circle of track and power supply. That is enough to run trains the first day, then the other pieces will follow, about one a month. As always, you can stop whenever you want to, and return any pieces you don't want.

To jump directly to the Thomas Kinkade-inspired villages and towns, click the following link:

http://bigchristmastrains.com/hawthorne_trains/kinkade_train.htm

To jump directly to the Coca Cola-themed trains, which are also going fast, click the following link:

http://bigchristmastrains.com/hawthorne_trains/coke_train.htm

And for the sports fan in your family, you can always start an NFL, MLB, or NASCAR collection by clicking on the following link:

http://bigchristmastrains.com/sports_trains/sports_trains.htm

Why Our Culture Needs Santa Claus (and the Easter Bunny)

http://familychristmasonline.com/musings/santa/santa.htm

Keep in Touch

Finally, please let us know about your ongoing projects. Ask questions, send corrections, suggest article ideas, send photos, whatever you think will help you or your fellow railroaders. In the meantime, enjoy your trains, and especially enjoy any time you have with your family in the coming weeks,

Paul Race

FamilyGardenTrains.com

To view the newsletter for November, 2013, click on the following link:

http://familygardentrains.com/fgt_newsletter/13_11_newsletter_gr.htm

To read more, or to look at recommended Garden Railroading and Big Indoor Train products, please click on the index pages below.