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 Post subject: Ice Cream Parlor Train
PostPosted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 9:11 am 
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A reader writes:

I'm opening an old fashioned ice cream store and thinking about installing a train set with about 200 ft of track to go around the store interior.

I want a large train and was thinking about the polar express. Your thoughts please

---------Our Response ------------feel free to post yours below

Thanks for getting in touch.

Are you thinking about putting the train above the doorways? Most people who do that use "Large Scale" trains because O gauge trains are hard to see when they're that far away.

Any of the trains on our "starter set page" would do for this.

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

You could even use the track that comes with Bachmann for a while, since it will be indoors on a hopefully stable surface. But you'd probably want to buy brass track eventually.

Now here's the "bad news" in a sense. The Large Scale Polar Express is a battery-powered toy that you wouldn't want to use in a permanent installation (I let friends' kids play with mine a few hours every year - it helps keep them from grabbing the expensive trains). The largest Polar Express train that is made for continuous running is Lionel's O gauge train, shown here:

http://bigchristmastrains.com/o_gauge_x ... e_xmas.htm

Though this train looks big in the box, it is too small to be VERY impressive running near the ceiling. Folks who use O and smaller scales in indoor installations do other things like putting them in long glass cases with scenery at table height. Or even IN the tables along the wall. But that WILL cut down on available seating space, so it's mostly done by restaurants that serve alcohol - the only reason to provide a feature that keeps customers there longer than it takes to consume their order.

Hope this makes sense. I'll be glad to help with any follow-up questions at all.

Best of luck with your store - wish I could be there for the grand opening. :-)

- Paul


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