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Trains-N-TownsTM, the Official Newsletter of BIGIndoorTrains.com and BIGChristmasTrains.com
This newsletter is for people who like O scale trains and Christmas trains, especially people who combine On30 or O gauge trains with collectible villages. It is produced in conjunction with the Big Indoor TrainsTM and Big Christmas Trains 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.
New This Month
This issue has several two new articles by our project designer Howard Lamey, as well as updates regarding Christmas trains and coping with Christmas in general. Once again, if you also get our Family Garden TrainsTM newsletter, you will notice that the parts about Christmas trains and about Christmas in general overlap, because we fell that they apply to both audiences.
Topics discussed in this update include:
Note: As always, we have more articles in the works, so check our site often.
Bay windows were popular in Europe for centuries; they were also popular in the mid-20th century in North America. This project will add an heirloom-quality structure to your Christmas village for only a few dollars' investment.
To see this article (and maybe start the perfect indoor winter hobby), click on the following link:
Use scraps and "found materials" to add a vertical dimension to your Christmas village or railroad at little or no cost. A few scraps of Christmas tree or garland, a scrap of Styrofoam, and some twigs provide the basis for a charming addition to your community's setting.
To see this article, click on the following link:
Our outdoor train fans have been very busy this Christmas as well. Even if you're not signed up to receive the Family Garden TrainsTM newsletter, you may find some articles interesting for Christmas, including new articles about running big Christmas trains outside, and about running O gauge trains outside. We even have a photograph of a Lionel railroad with real snow on it - something you don't see very often.
If you go over there and you like what you see, you may sign up to receive them in the future, or not, as you decide. Like the Trains-N-TownsTM Update you're reading now, all articles are completely free, so you never have to worry about getting interested in a topic, then bumping into a message demanding that you sign up or sign in before you can see the rest of this message." For your "sneak preview," click on the following link.
It's not too late to get a Christmas train, although some sets are beginning to sell out.
Trains for Trees - If you want a train to go around your tree, you should probably consider an O gauge or Large Scale train:
- A Lionel O gauge Christmas Train - these include the classic three-rail train sets that many people grew up with. They also include some very attractive new trains inspired by shows like The Polar Express, Harry Potter, and Thomas the Tank Engine.
To see a list of currently available Lionel O gauge Christmas Trains, click on the following link:
- A Large Scale Christmas train. These are big enough to look good outside or in store windows, and they make quite a statement around a Christmas tree. The biggest Christmas-themed model trains you can buy are listed in our Large Scale Christmas Trains page.
To see a list of currently available Large Scale Christmas Trains, click on the following link:
Trains for Towns- If you don't have a train around your holiday village yet, consider an On30 set. On30 trains are about the same scale as O gauge trains (like Lionel) but they run on HO track, and they tend to take up less room. These include:
- Bachmann On30 sets. These are excellent quality scale models that are painted in cheerful Christmas designs. Better yet, they were invented to look right with holiday villages, and they have a lifetime warranty from one of the world's largest model train manufacturers.
If you'd like to see some popular Bachmann On30 Christmas sets, click on the following link:
- The most charming On30 trains you can get for your Christmas village are sold by
 Hawthorne Village. They're built on Bachmann mechanisms, so they're very reliable, but they feature art and characters by Thomas Kinkade, Disney, Norman Rockwell, and more - even Winnie the Poo and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer are featured in Hawthorne Village Trains. Because these are subscription trains - you get one piece about every four weeks, starting with the locomotive.
If you start your subscription now, you should still have the locomotive, tender (coal car), one car, and a loop of track by Christmas. (If you have an HO power supply from another set, you that gives you what you need to run your train.) These are quality products, with a one-year money-back satisfaction guarantee from Collectibles Today and a lifetime mechanical warranty from Bachmann Trains.
Click on the following link to learn more about Hawthorne Village On30 collectible subscription trains.
We recognize that many folks are going to have a "belt-tightening" Christmas this year. That's one reason our sites are emphasizing so many craft and hobby projects that cost little or no money. We've also done some rethinking about what is important about Christmas and what is just stuff we could do without if necessary.
Our sister site FamilyChristmasOnline.com has articles that may help you sort through your holiday priorities as well. At this time of year, we especially recommend:
While you're there, poke around the site to see some very inexpensive entertainment resources like free craft and wrapping paper patterns and family-friendly classic Christmas stories for reading yourself, and for reading to children.
We also have other articles in the works, so check back often.
Keep in Touch
Each year, 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 Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!
Paul Race
BigIndoorTrains.com
BigChristmasTrains.com
FamilyGardenTrains.com
To view the Trains-N-TownsTM newsletter for November, 2008, click on the following link:
http://bigindoortrains.com/trains_n_towns/08_11_newsletter_indoor.htm
To read more, or to look at recommended Garden Railroading and Display Railroad products, you may click on the index pages below.
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Building a Bay Window House
Free Scenery Set Pieces
"Sneak Preview" for This Month's Garden Trains Newsletter