November, 2014 Update from Family Garden Trains^TM

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In this Issue

If you're going to be anywhere near Springfield, Ohio on Nov. 23, drop me a line and I'll send you the where and when.

By now most of you who are "serious" Black Friday shoppers have already downloaded and dug through the Black Friday ads. My guess is that you've seen lots of video games and 65" television sets but no trains. Remembering what "play value" and opportunities for constructive cooperation trains brought to my whole family when I was little, I can't help thinking what video-addicted kids are missing out on today. Of course, I'm writing this as I sit at my computer. but that's mainly because there's snow on top of my "train set."

Topics discussed in this update include:

• Christmas Train Day, 2014 - Rain or shine. Plus schedules for other open RRs in the region.

• Prepping for an Early Winter Open RR - What it takes to get trains running the Sunday before Thanksgiving.

• More Signs for Your Structures We have reorganized and added to our pages that include business sign graphics for dressing up your structures.

• Garden Railroading in Mid-Winter

• Great Trains Are Still Available - with added links to great kid-friendly large scale trains

Christmas Train Day, 2014

One thing I'm also trying to do is making some of the kids' railroads bigger and better, especially the ones that have remote control trains for the kiddies, since those are such a huge attraction. We're continuing to hope for nice enough weather to set out more trains and other great activities for the whole family.

Click on the following link to see the page of information we have so far:

http://familygardentrains.com/outside_resources/openhouses/christmas_open_houses_2014.htm

Prepping for an Early Winter Open RR

Click on the following link to see what we've done so far to get ready:

http://familygardentrains.com/newbost/14_11_prep_for_train_day/prep_for_train_day.htm

More Signs for Your Structures

We also have new graphics from James Powell's Coca Cola sign collection that we couldn't post before because the file he sent us way back when was corrupt. A clever reader told us where we could find the original.

Click on the following link to see scalable versions of the new signs we've posted, as well as our "old standby's"

http://familygardentrains.com/resource/business_signs/business_signs.htm

To jump right to the "Sticker Sheet" page, which has our business sign graphics on pre-sized pdf files for easy printing, click the following link.

http://familygardentrains.com/resource/sticker_sheets/sticker_sheets.htm

To jump to our archive of James Powell's sign collection, click the following link.

http://familygardentrains.com/resource/j_powell_signs/j_powell_signs.htm

Garden Railroading in Mid-Winter

• Build a "Test Track" for your smallest Large Scale train - You may not have room for a permanent indoor railroad, but do you have room for a 5'x5' piece of plywood that you can set out on a card table in the basement or garage? Line the bottom with felt or something so it doesn't scratch whatever you set it on, then add some of that no-slip rubbery shelf-lining stuff so if the whole thing doesn't slide off easily if someone bumps it a little. Consider putting "indoor-outdoor carpet" or something on the top (and on the edges so you don't get splinters).. You probably have a loop of 4'-diameter track you're not using outside (if you've ever bought a Bachmann Large Scale train, I KNOW you do.) Lay the track on the surface, draw a line around the inside and outside, remove the track, paint the astroturf where the track will be gray or brown, and fasten the track down. (If you want you can glue Tidy Cat litter, aquarium gravel, or used swimming pool filter sand between the ties and along the edge.) Choose a couple buildings that don't take up much room, set out your smallest train, and you're ready to go. You can even use the lamp sets and figures they sell for Christmas villages. By keeping it portable and simple, you can also easily take it to school or church on special days to make things a little more festive and draw new people to your hobby. Alternately, you could . . .

• Start an On30 Railroad - Bachmann, the same company that made garden trains affordable for many families, has a line of O-scale trains that run on HO-gauge track. They were originally manufactured to look good with Christmas villages, but now they're popular in their own right. And you can use ANY O-scale products with them, as long as you have space. By Large Scale standards, you can get a ridiculous amount of trains and accessories into a relatively small space. In fact, Bachmann even makes an On30 back-and-forth trolley set you can put on a mantel, shelf, or spinet. Ironically, most Lemax figures and many accessories that are sold to be used for Christmas villages will work on your garden railroad when you move outdoors again in the spring, anyway - they're better proportioned for garden trains than for indoor trains.

• Display Your Trains - Even if you can't run them, you can display them on a shelf somewhere as part of your Christmas decorations. A station platform and a few figures can make a display that will draw the attention of every visitor.

• Consider a Winter Open House - Lots of folks around the country have at least one open house near the holiday season. If you can't have one yourself, try to attend one and get ideas. Check with your local garden railroad club - you might be surprised.

• Build Something - Building kits, etc., make wonderful Christmas presents, and are a good way to keep in touch with your "railroading side" when you can't actually do any railroading. And, if you've built a "test track," you can always set your "work in progress" near the train to get an idea of how the thing will look with the rest of your railroad eventually.

• Surprise People by Giving them Fresh-Cut Greenery - Okay, your conifers and holly bushes needed trimmed anyway. But this is a great time of year to make certain the trimmings get put to good use for a few days, at least.

Good Trains are Still Available

Here's a quick recap of where "Big Train" markets stand as of November, 2014:

Large Scale Trains in Railroad Names - Bachmann "Big Hauler" train sets are still available. For a time, the stocks were looking pretty thin, but I think the vendors are starting to dig a little deeper, and posting sets that were imossible to find a month or two ago. So you have a wider array of choices that you usually get this time of year, but stocks are still shallow. Starter sets from Piko are still available. On the other hand two sets that were on this page in September are gone now.

To see our best currently-available recommendations, click the following link:

http://garden-train-store.com/begin/ls_starters.htm

Large Scale Trains in Christmas Colors - These are perfect for big displays in bank lobbies, etc. And they are "jaw-dropping" around the tree. A couple of the most popular Bachmann Christmas-themed Large Scale sets are still available. A Bachmann "Lil Big Hauler" Kids train decorated for Christmas might be the best solution for folks who want a real train around the tree, but whose kids still have "pokey fingers." The Piko Christmas set that is available this year has a very nice paint job as well, and seems reasonably solid. Two other trains from this page have sold out in the last three weeks, so don't wait too long.

To see the Large Scale trains that are decorated for Christmas, click the following link:

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

Large Scale (Garden-sized) Trains for Kids - Last year, several of the trains we posted disappeared very fast. Fortunately, the suppliers have reordered, and some delightful trains are available as of this posting. If you want individual cars to add to the train, they're catch-as-catch can - some are already gone, and some are still in good supply.

To see Large Scale trains that are designed to be kid-friendly, click the following link:

http://garden-train-store.com/kids_trains/kids_trains.htm

O Gauge Trains in Railroad Names - Lionel has issued a number of new trains and has reissued several existing sets with a different locomotive or different cars. This year, trains pulled by F (streamlined) units and freight diesels are also available. I expect the diesel trains to sell quickly - they always do. Several of the other sets are getting "thin" as well. If you were thinking about getting a Lionel set or adding to a Lionel railroad this year, don't wait too long.

To see the Lionel trains that are painted for PRR, NYC, UP, and other "real-world" railroads, click the following link:

http://bigtrainstore.com/o_gauge/o_gauge.htm

O Gauge Trains in Christmas Colors - This year, Lionel has more trains decorated for Christmas than they have ever offered at one time. Again, some of the units are already in short supply. And I expect others, like the Peanuts-themed train, to sell out quickly. Big and sturdy.

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

On30 Trains in Christmas Colors - Hawthorne Trains used to order specially painted On30 train sets from Bachmann to sell in "collections." They featured art from folks like Thomas Kinkade and Al Agnew, as well as cultural icons like Coca Cola and "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Several of these classic collections are still available new, although I don't think any new sets have been ordered since 2010. So once they sell out, they are gone forever.

These come one piece at a time, except in some cases you can order a "super saver set" in which the first three "issues" come in the first shipment, and after that, the subsequent pieces come one at a time. To see which collections are still available, click the following link:

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