How about some photos and videos of your Christmas Tree Layouts!

Ottawa_Marc posted:

When it comes to putting presents under the tree, do the trains have to come down or how do you work it?

The kids need to improve their behavior.  No presents this year. 

Very good all! I'll post some pics of my flyer layout later on today. I don't have it really finished but real simple with Plasticville. I couldn't get to the Dept. 56 buildings this year. Too much stuff in the garage! 

Sorry, no tree (near the train).

Strummer posted:

george posted:

Mine is nothing more than a simple oval on the floor, under the tree.  I'll have to sit down and design something better and lay the track out and attach it permanently to a board.

 

I think it looks great: especially like the stand the tree sits on...is it a sled? 

Mark in Oregon

Yes, that is a sled. I found it at an antique shop.  

The Crusader made it this year.

I have a  simple G gauge LGB set that I bought a few years ago.  Nothing fancy.  Presents go over the trains.  Sadly more decoration than anything.

I'm new to the forum and sadly I don't have a layout to offer, but I hope you don't mind me sharing the Christmas card I made a few years ago. I photographed my K-Line and Lionel trains on the kitchen counter, along with my station and lights, added a photograph of the family and "painted" in the rest. Merry Christmas to you all! 

Here's my simplified, for this year, train display.

Late to the party, but plenty of time for Christmas. I wanted to have a tinplate layout for my smaller MTH/LTC trains, so I adapted David From Dearborn's O27 Marx design for a quarter circle to MTH Realtrax. I made it fit... Barely. And then my 261 died, making me move up to the 263 steam locomotive.  Here are a few pictures before the room filled with smoke.

Here’s a quick video of our tree with Mason’s Polar Express (conventional) set on duty this year. We also have the Nut Cracker gateman set up with an IR sensor.

Layout powered by a CW-80 (QC50-OK) transformer via a 240V-120V stepdown transformer. Lionel Christmas lights, bubble lights and tree topper are American and also run from the step down transformer.

Oh yes and the Candy Canes are Spanglers.

Excellent Nick!  Great timing; we are watching the Polar Express movie right now.  No kids here; our daughters are grown and married 

Very nice Nick. And bubble lights are a must!

Hi;

Attached is my 2018 picture and below is a link to the setup video my son did in 2016. Not much has changed other than replacing the original HE with the LC version. The layout was floor based with an 8 foot tree in the middle before we relocated to our current, smaller, house and needed the platform approach explained in the video.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li7s8S1MKfI

Thanks, John

Ogilvy the Astronomer posted:

Very nice Nick. And bubble lights are a must!

You are right on the bubble lights.  My wife gets them at the thrift store every time she sees them!

Everyone who sees the bubble lights loves them. Pretty rare here in the U.K. and even rarer if you can find a 240V set.

I imported these new from Bonners Christmas Wonderland in the States.

Mason and I found Toy Train Christmas Memories on Amazon Prime so we are watching that at the moment.

Have a great weekend

Nick 

John, The Video is very professional!  The layout was really planned out with care and constructed well.  Great job!

Nick12DMC posted:

Everyone who sees the bubble lights loves them. Pretty rare here in the U.K. and even rarer if you can find a 240V set.

I imported these new from Bonners Christmas Wonderland in the States.

Mason and I found Toy Train Christmas Memories on Amazon Prime so we are watching that at the moment.

Have a great weekend

Nick 

Bonner’s! Got it!  I’ll look for them.  Thank you!!!

Mark,
Hobby Lobby has bubble lights.

Big Jim posted:

Mark,
Hobby Lobby has bubble lights.

Jim, that’s great!  I’ll still order online.  The nearest Hobby Lobby is in Poland, Ohio, that’s closer than South Hills.  Thank you!!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Gary

I remember when my little brother and I were that age with matching pajamas, no less!!!  Do these have feet in them???

Excellent photograph, Gary!!!

Try Menards for bubble lights Mark. Modern bubble lights use a different fluid than the oil found in vintage ones. They don't work or look quite as well as vintage but at least you won't burn your house down. 

Ogilvy the Astronomer posted:

Try Menards for bubble lights Mark. Modern bubble lights use a different fluid than the oil found in vintage ones. They don't work or look quite as well as vintage but at least you won't burn your house down. 

Thank you.  I will look online Menards too!  That’s a good point if they are safer than old ones 

Ogilvy the Astronomer posted:

Try Menards for bubble lights Mark. Modern bubble lights use a different fluid than the oil found in vintage ones. They don't work or look quite as well as vintage but at least you won't burn your house down. 

The ones that my fiance has look good and work very well!

Christmas Central, the tracks stay up all year. the building says North Pole Express Depot. Two Lionchief RTR sets NYC RS3 and Pennsylvania Flyer, plus the 2018 Toymaker Trolley. My favorite is the MTH blinking stop look and listen boxcar.  But where is the Lionchief Plus GEVO with charging lights,or put one in a RTR set, Lionel would sell many.

Oldmike

KenJrTW posted:

is this a mth set or just put together?

Big Jim posted:

Ogilvy the Astronomer posted:

Try Menards for bubble lights Mark. Modern bubble lights use a different fluid than the oil found in vintage ones. They don't work or look quite as well as vintage but at least you won't burn your house down. 

The ones that my fiance has look good and work very well!

Yes they do. I get mine at Menards. A tip: if a light won't bubble, try tapping it with your fingernail (like flicking a piece of food off your shirt ).

Ogilvy the Astronomer posted:

Big Jim posted:

Ogilvy the Astronomer posted:

Try Menards for bubble lights Mark. Modern bubble lights use a different fluid than the oil found in vintage ones. They don't work or look quite as well as vintage but at least you won't burn your house down. 

The ones that my fiance has look good and work very well!

Yes they do. I get mine at Menards. A tip: if a light won't bubble, try tapping it with your fingernail (like flicking a piece of food off your shirt ).

Thank you everyone for the tips!  Yes, we have some bulbs that don't want to bubble, then the next time they do on their own.  I can see the flicking of it would help the finicky ones.

QueensNY posted:

is this a mth set or just put together?

The engine and caboose are sold together (30-20523-1).  The cars are sold individually.

My 3.5 yr old son last Saturday morning asked if we could run the Polar Express

Getting the tree ready for game day.

Edit- phew!, thank goodness that worked out!  The Steeler train ran for

the whole game, and now it will next week too!

Running the PE Berk and a WM BL-2 Holiday special this year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Looks great Bob!

Mark Boyce posted:

Looks great Bob!

Thanks Mark. Too bad the PE barely makes it around. Might need that new transformer soon

For my office......

That's great Peter. I did that a few years ago. It was a big hit.

RayKay posted:

NYC Fan posted:

Thanksgiving Weekend was always my favorite time to put up our Christmas Tree and my living room Christmas Train Layout. I would start on that Friday Morning and after getting the tree up and decorated, brought the layout tables up from the basement and began the unquestionable labor of holiday love.

This little video of my Christmas Tree Layout was from 2015. Not much changed since then.

I love your layout Skip, especially the placement of the buildings and scenery.

Thank you.

Andrea Bocelli, very nice.