Big Indoor Trains™ Primer Articles

Big Indoor Trains™ (a division of Family Garden Trains™) was started in early 2007 to answer questions about using big trains indoors all year round. Many of our readers bought their first train to run around a Christmas tree or around a holiday village such as those made by Hawthorne Village™ or Dept. 56™. So they often have questions that neither the collectible village suppliers nor the hobby shops can answer. This page and the other Big Indoor Trains™ pages we intend to add were created specifically to "fill the gap."

We will try to answer questions about:

• Hawthorne Village™ train and village collections
• Bachmann On30 trains (these are the trains that the Hawthorne Village™ trains are based on, so they go together very well)
• Lionel™ O-gauge train sets
• Other collectible villages and the trains that go well with them
• Using other big trains, including Large Scale, indoors.

Many questions about these trains and villages have already been answered on the Big Christmas Trains™ Letters to the Editor™ page. But as more people use these trains and villages year-round, we thought we'd add a page that focuses on the "non-Christmas" uses of display villages and the model trains people use with them. In addition to the articles listed below, we also have several articles in the works. So please check back every so often. In fact if you would like to be notified when a new article is posted, please Join our Mailing List.

Two Hobbies Converge

Miscellaneous Related TopicsWhat happens when you combine collectible villages with toy or model trains? - O gauge trains (such as those made by Lionel®) have been around for over 100 years. Christmas display villages, such as those made by Department 56 have been around since about 1976. Both represent hobbies in their own rights, with many magazines, web sites, clubs, and other resources serving their respective hobbyists. This web page is about what happens when the two hobbies converge - when collectible display villages (such as those from Dept. 56®, Lemax®, or Hawthorne Village®) are being "served" by toy or model trains.

Since Bachmann® and Hawthorne Village® On30 trains became available, even more people are combining holiday display villages with toy or model trains. The advantage is that this combination of hobbies gives you literally thousands of choices for what to buy and how to do things. The disadvantage is that the train hobby and the town hobby have two distinct cultures - you could almost say that train people are from Mars and village collectors are from Venus. Until the Big Indoor Trains(tm) site was founded, very few resources were available for people who want to try and learn about both at the same time.

We hope to continue adding articles about all aspects of these hobbies, and we usually have a couple in the works at any given time, so please check back often. Or Join our Mailing List for free hobby ideas and to be notified when new articles are posted.

In addition, you can help by sending us project tips, article ideas, and photos of your railroads and villages. We want this site to be as useful as possible to as many people as it can be. As the hobby grows, we all benefit.

Available Articles:

Our list is growing slowly but surely.

Introduction to Trains and Towns

• Combining Trains and Towns - Why combining collectible village pieces and model trains is a growing and rewarding hobby. Updated December, 2007!

• Sizes and Scales of Big IndoorTrains - Which trains are best for around a collectible village or other indoor use? How much room do these trains take up anyway? - May, 2007

Real Trains We Model

• 30" Railroads - On30 is a fast-growing hobby and the trains are sure "cute." But do you know there is a century of fascinating history behind those "teakettles" and the thirty-inch-wide tracks they ran on? There were a few passenger trains, but there were hundreds of industrial railroads that would be fun to model, along with the mining towns, logging camps, and river towns they served. New, April, 2008!

• Small but Mighty - 30" Power - This article reviews the "real-world" steam locomotives that pulled 30" trains in North America (and elsewhere, to some extent). Baldwin, Shay, and other manufacturers made some amazing developments in their efforts to maximize power on minimum rail gauge and weight. The article also gives real-world examples (when possible) of the engines that are available as detailed models in On30 scale and suggestions for modeling 30" railroads in Large Scale as well. New, May, 2008!

• The Little River Railroad - Our sister site, Family Garden Trains™ profiles a standard-gauge logging railroad with common carrier aspirations. This Smoky Mountain railroad used compromises and combinations of equipment that hardly anyone would believe today if it wasn't for the photographs. Includes many unique modeling suggestions for modeling this kind of operation with On30 trains. Five new articles, August, 2008

Scenery Project Ideas

• Portable (Foam-Based) Indoor Displays - Using a foam-based portable scenic foundation to display your trains and towns to their best advantage. Updated, October, 2007!

• Easy Indoor Lakes and Rivers - How to get the effect of waterfalls, rivers, lakes, and streams on both temporary and permanent indoor railroads and display villages.

• Easy Homemade Trees - How to make realistic and inexpensive trees using (mostly) natural materials. Updated, October, 2007!

• Desert Accessories from Playmobil Products - How repainting carefully-chosen toys can add fun details to a Large Scale desert landscape New, August, 2008!

• Bringing Autumn to Your Railroad or Display Village - How two easy crafts can make your model railroad or display village look like it is enjoying the fall season. New, September, 2008!

• Add Spring Color to Your Village or Indoor Railroad - How to use "Easy Homemade Trees" to brighten your railroad or display village for spring. Updated, November, 2008!

• Modeling Sea Grass - an easy and inexpensive addition to any seaside railroad or display village. New, January, 2009!

• Modeling Palm Trees - This easy project adds a tropical feel to your setting. New, March, 2009!

Building Project Ideas

• Easy Street Scene - This new building project uses downloadable building graphics and a little cardboard or foam board to build up a convincing downtown scene that is only a few inches deep - perfect for shelf layouts, tight spots, and dioramas. We also provide links to high-resolution graphics that will work for any scale. New, April, 2008!

• Build a Vintage-Style Cardboard Stone Cottage - Here's a new building project that is pired by the vintage cardboard houses folks used to set around their Christmas tree in the early 1900s (before glitterhouses became common). This building uses free downloadable graphic paper to put a realistic stone veneer on an old-world cottage and fence. It works with Christmas villages, or with a little customization, would dress up any indoor railroad. updated, August, 2008, with a "brick cottage" option!

• Log Cabin Building Flat - This "building flat" uses downloadable graphics and foam board or cardboard to dress up a narrow corner of your railroad or village. The techniques in this project can be used for almost any kind of building you want to represent in a tiny space. December, 2007

• Build a Vintage-Style Barn and Silo - This building project uses downloadable graphics to put realistic shingles and siding on an old barn and silo. Like the stone cottage above, it works with Christmas villages, or with a few changes, it would dress up an indoor railroad. January, 2008

Special Features

• Building a Vintage "Lithographed" Station - Here's our early summer "Blockbuster," a project that pays "Tribute to Tinplate." Free downloadable commercial-grade graphics and instructions will help you add a vintage look to any indoor railroad. New, May, 2009!

• What is a Glitterhouse? - Remember when Christmas Villages were made of cardboard instead of china and resin? Get a head start on celebrating the original Christmas village tradition! Articles on collecting and building authentic, vintage-style pasteboard houses, just like the ones we had growing up. Sure, they're not scale, but they are lots of fun! Updated, September, 2008, with more links and photos!

  This section includes several articles on building glitterhouses and typical accessories, including:

  • Building a Glitterhouse - A detailed primer on building your own vintage-style cardboard Christmas house, includes bonus "church conversion" plans for making the same core structure into a small church. Includes free downloadable plans and directions. Updated, September, 2008, with more photos and suggestions!
  • Building the Little Charmer - A new glitterhouse project that is a step up from our beginning glitterhouse. Includes free downloadable plans and directions! - New, August, 2008!
  • Building a Picture Window House - Another new glitterhouse project. This one includes unique features such as a sand finish and picture window that reveals a "Christmas scene" Includes free downloadable plans and directions. New, September, 2008!
  • Winter Trees from Floral Picks - A quick and inexpensive way to add interesting textures to your winter railroad or Christmas village. - New, December, 2007!
  • Building the Union Station - This original project by designer Howard Lamey is inspired by two traditions - the cardboard Christmas houses that were popular in US homes between 1928 and 1965 and the Lionel station that was popular for most of the 20th century. New, October, 2008!

• Introducing Spook Hill™, a series of free, 100% original Halloween building projects in O or S scale, enough to give you a complete Halloween village, including: Updated, July, 2008!
  • Spook Hill #3, a unique, easy-to-build Water Tower to serve last month's project, the Spook Hill™ Station This is another 100% original, 100% unique project from Howard Lamey. With a little adjustment, this could serve any holiday, O gauge, or On30 model railroad. Free, downloadable plans and graphics. New, August, 2008!
  • Spook Hill™ Billboards, the easiest Spook Hill™ project yet, a great way to add last-minute fun to your Halloween or Autumn village. Free, downloadable plans and graphics. New, September, 2008!

• Welcome to Sandy Shores™ - New for 2009! For those who like summer, or looking forward to summer, Howard has designed a series of seaside projects that are so much fun, you can almost smell the salt water. Includes many free downloadable plans, photos, and detailed instructions.

• What Do Trains Have to Do With Christmas? - Have you ever wondered why trains around the tree seem as natural as a star or angel on top? This article explains why the answer may be important to everybody with great Christmas memories. It also explains the history of On30 trains, such as the Bachmann® and Hawthorne Village® trains many people are using with their holiday villages - Updated, December, 2007!

• Availability and Pricing of Big Trains - Most model trains are made in batches that may or may not last out the season for which they were built. This article explains why products seem to come and go so quickly, and why we gave up posting prices for anything in our "buyer's guides."

• About Subscription Trains - With Hawthorne Village collectible trains, you get the locomotive in the first shipment, a car in the next, a car and the track in the next, and so on. This article explains the whole thing in more detail, in case you're wondering just what you'll get and when, if you order a Hawthorne Village train.

Other Resources

We will be adding links to other related resources here from time to time (in fact, we had more links, but those sites closed down - check back once in a while as we will be attempting to replace them.)

• The On30 Information and Resource Center - Larry Rickert's collection of articles about On30, including some nice project articles by several different people.

• Paper Creek Model Works - Paper Creek sells texture paper and structure patterns that you can use to make very realistic buildings for your indoor railroad. They also have a nice how-to article, and a free downloadable outhouse in scales from Z to O, to give you an idea of how easy it is to use their patterns.

• Evans Design's ModelBuilder Software - a way to easily design and print walls and roofs for cardboard or foam core buildings you design yourself. This site also offers a free downloadable building pattern and directions to give you an idea of the quality of their program's output.

Watch this page: more articles are in the works.

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Note: Big Indoor Trains(tm), Big Train Store(tm) Family Garden Trains(tm), Big Christmas Trains(tm), and Garden Train Store(tm) are trademarks of Breakthrough Communications(tm) (www.btcomm.com). All information, data, text, and illustrations on this web site are Copyright (c) 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 by Paul D. Race. Reuse or republication without prior written permission is specifically forbidden.

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