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.
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Didn’t put mine up yet. We have a 4 month old puppy, with a wild streak, and I am worried what she might do. I did set up my basement Christmas tree yesterday, and I opened up my Thomas set and dropped that on the floor. She was better than I expected, but she did put her nose on the track while it was running. Judging by the height of her jump, I assume she was shocked. Maybe that will keep her away from now on. 😊
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.
Wonderful. It’s amazing how adding beautiful music simply makes you feel like a little kid again. The memories are wonderful. Thank you.
I've been putting up this tabletop layout every year 
since 1986.
Out of the past and today!
Everyone's looks great! Here is mine for this year, I just finished up over the weekend! The Christmas tree goes in the living room, but there really isn't room for trains and presents there, so the layout is in one of the unused bedrooms now that both daughters are grown and married. No video yet.
Great Northern 17 posted:
Well done! Thank you for sharing it with us.
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.
Mark Boyce posted:Everyone's looks great! Here is mine for this year, I just finished up over the weekend! The Christmas tree goes in the living room, but there really isn't room for trains and presents there, so the layout is in one of the unused bedrooms now that both daughters are grown and married. No video yet.
Very nice, Mark!
This is last years, my first attempt to place the layout on a 6' table with my Dept 56 Christmas in the City. I generally have only a tinplate loop around the tree. Maybe both this season!
Great Northern 17 posted:
Gorgeous
they all look great! first year doing a christmas tree layout, started very small and i believe i will just add to it all the way up till the 25th. trying to semi stick with the postwar to get that old time feeling going!
My son asked the wife last night if he could have a train under the tree. Wife told him to talk to me (I was at work, so he was asleep by the time I got home). I may need to grab a few pieces of O36 track before I can make it happen, but I'm hoping that I have enough to get it done tonight. It won't look half as beautiful as the setup's you all have been posting, but perhaps - over time - my son and I can make that happen.
Was trying to think of what train to have run under the tree ... and I'm thinking it probably has to be my LionChief Thomas.
And here's what's going on in my basement!
Here are a few shots of the activity on my tree layout (lots of holiday passenger traffic, circa the late 1930s). The layout - which is a large L shaped one with dual reversing loops - is still in the progress of being set up. I will be taking more pictures showing the train action this weekend.
Attach are a few photos our Christmas Trains around the Tree.
Thanks; Idea-thinker
Still working on mine...hopefully done tomorrow night
Always an enjoyable thread to follow. Thanks 
Skip.
on the floor with the long lived Lionel starter set steam engine.
Deuce posted:My son asked the wife last night if he could have a train under the tree. Wife told him to talk to me (I was at work, so he was asleep by the time I got home). I may need to grab a few pieces of O36 track before I can make it happen, but I'm hoping that I have enough to get it done tonight. It won't look half as beautiful as the setup's you all have been posting, but perhaps - over time - my son and I can make that happen.
Was trying to think of what train to have run under the tree ... and I'm thinking it probably has to be my LionChief Thomas.
Build layout up together, no matter how simple, and make lifelong memories for both of you!
Great Northern 17 posted:
Wow, quite the Dept 56 collection. You have a very clean, well laid out layout with great lighting too. Everything was top-notch. I wish I had the space you have.
NYC Fan posted:And here's what's going on in my basement!
Skip, I have no doubt that you are as happy today with that custom layout as the day you brought it home. What a masterpiece and worth every penny you spent on it. There are many of us who would love to have it ourselves.
Nothing different this year except Commie Oates left his usual Slaton to Amarillo pool assignment, and bumped onto the Christmas Extra Board to run the Polar Express. The track gang added Frosty this year.
Here is mine! Just gotta add the tree.
Deuce posted:My son asked the wife last night if he could have a train under the tree. Wife told him to talk to me (I was at work, so he was asleep by the time I got home). I may need to grab a few pieces of O36 track before I can make it happen, but I'm hoping that I have enough to get it done tonight. It won't look half as beautiful as the setup's you all have been posting, but perhaps - over time - my son and I can make that happen.
Was trying to think of what train to have run under the tree ... and I'm thinking it probably has to be my LionChief Thomas.
Yes, had enough track. Thanks to Paul who sent me a 10" straight that was already wired to connect to the transformer so I didn't have to make a new one. Threw a bridge along the back and Thomas is good to go. I almost think though that I should screw it all down onto a piece of plywood and affix some white batting onto it. I'll have to give it some thought.
Some pics from a 4x4 display a number of years ago:
Then there's always the freak snowstorm on the basement layout:
Hope everyone has a great holiday...
PD
2018 will be in place in a week or so, not many changes from ‘17. Couple of phtos and a snippet of video.
My trains dont get put up until the 23rd at the soonest so here is my 2017 floor layout that I take to my brothers house .
pd posted:Some pics from a 4x4 display a number of years ago:
Then there's always the freak snowstorm on the basement layout:
Hope everyone has a great holiday...
PD
Very Nice, love the Tinplate.
2 feet from my easy chair...........Pat
Another shot from the archives:
GREAT PHOTOS all of them , brings back warm memories, I wish i did not lose my old christmas photos from 1955
TedW posted:2018 will be in place in a week or so, not many changes from ‘17. Couple of phtos and a snippet of video.
Nice use of available space.
Joe Hohmann posted:TedW posted:2018 will be in place in a week or so, not many changes from ‘17. Couple of phtos and a snippet of video.
Nice use of available space.
Thanks
We decided to give it a shot, so we carried in the platform this afternoon. Probably take the better part of the week to get it done. I’m going to leave out the Santa pylon, and probably the animated billboard. The less moving parts, the better our chances. She looks sweet here, but trust me, she is just resting up for the next rampage.
Here is my layout from last year....unfortunatly this year (first time in about 25 yrs) i wont have a train around my families tree. Im currently deployed overseas during the holidays and wont have one this year. Next year i will make up for it HAHA. im getting some inspiration from everybody else's posts. My dad got me started in the hobby when we did out first layout when i was 5 and now at the age of 30 this was my best layout yet!
MTHPRRGURU posted:Here is my layout from last year....unfortunately this year (first time in about 25 yrs) i wont have a train around my families tree. Im currently deployed overseas during the holidays and wont have one this year. Next year i will make up for it HAHA. im getting some inspiration from everybody else's posts. My dad got me started in the hobby when we did out first layout when i was 5 and now at the age of 30 this was my best layout yet!
Beautiful layout, I can see a lot of work went into it.
Take care and Godspeed.
Ray
I built this modular Christmas layout in 2009. Haven’t really changed
2018 Santa car parade and Lionel tinplate. Merry Christmas!
Done!
First a still shot of the "Harmonyards Skyway" (so named because it would not have been built without the trestles he (Pat) supplied, including the only green one which was an emergency resupply when the skyway turned out to be one trestle shy).
And raw, unedited video of PW repaints making a test run for clearances, continuity, and ozone generating aroma. The RGB LED strings (3) can do a lot more patterns, and so can the faux tree, but you get the general idea.
[My Bad: Can't upload video at the moment; I'll figure it out and update later.]
My first real attempt at a Christmas layout- three Standard Gauge loops and 1 FasTrack O.
The picture below is a long exposure with all the trains running...
Below: look closely on the left and you'll see the Blue Comet in motion.
I'll post some better pics in the coming days.
Happy Holidays everyone!
RayKay posted:MTHPRRGURU posted:Here is my layout from last year....unfortunately this year (first time in about 25 yrs) i wont have a train around my families tree. Im currently deployed overseas during the holidays and wont have one this year. Next year i will make up for it HAHA. im getting some inspiration from everybody else's posts. My dad got me started in the hobby when we did out first layout when i was 5 and now at the age of 30 this was my best layout yet!
Beautiful layout, I can see a lot of work went into it.
Take care and Godspeed.
Ray
Thank you sir, yes it doe take quite a bit of work, but it is totally worth it!!! it takes me about 3-4 weeks, I mainly get the track plan down and operational, then remove it, place the tree (real living tree...no fake tree for me haha) then get the tree decorated, and the layout gets really started and changed about three times till im happy with it. every year i go bigger, different and more in depth. Next years layout is already planned and will be "hopefully" (barring a divorce threat from the wife) the biggest layout yet....somewhere in the neighboorhood of 8'-10'X20'....time will tell!
Restored 380 and original 200 series freight cars.
I posted these back in September under the title of "I Forgot I had These": a couple of snaps a friend took back in 1988 of the AF layout at the State Capital in Salem. Hope a repeat is OK... 
Mark in Oregon
The Clubs Christmas Layout
From the 1920s:
here's my "train" for our small Christmas village...
(the "train" mostly cardboard...see pictures and this link)...
https://www.cardboardchristmas....php?f=14&t=1628
Howard...
Hi Gang, this is our latest Christmas layout. Hope you enjoy it!
EddieZ
Austin, TX
...I found a few more shots of the 1988 Salem layout; not great, but what the heck...
Mark in Oregon
1688E around the tree
There is something about tinplate that screams Christmas to me.
Well, in between multiple TDY's, I finally had to knuckle down and get my stuff squared away or the grand-kids were going to have a fit. LOL Still an ongoing project, but have gained a few things since last year. All my kids went in and bought the Lionel flying Santa which I absolutely love. I even have the mother-in-law in on it and the wife now. Not sure the mother-in-law understands the scale concept yet. LOL 
Christmas toy trains running again in 2018,it puts me in the holiday spirit.
Finally got off my duff and set up the 2018 version of the Xmas layout. Lots of changes, at least 15 more trees, and a little more snow. passenger cars to Milwaukee Road Heavyweights... 
Here's a few detail shots.
Here’s our 2018 Christmas layout.
fastrack 036 on upper level and 048 on lower level returns. All powered by the ZW-L
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.
cliff24g posted:My Lionel baseball themed trains and Christmas tree. I also tinkered with the Hallmark Lionel ornaments. I like them better on the wreath instead of a tree.
The wreath looks great, Cliff!!
My Train Tree, as my wife calls it. Her idea to put one up.
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
Mark in Oregon, I hadn't noticed the sled under George's tree. It is excellent George!!
Mark in Pennsylvania
I've had the tree up since Saturday after Thanksgiving and the train up the next week. I was waiting the delivery of another Menard's building (hobby shop), before posting pics. The track is a simple O42 oval. The coil car and boxcar are appropriate "Unstoppable" freight for #1206.
Note: I damaged horn for #1206 in my lame attempt at installing it, so loco sans horn.
And now my first attempt at attaching a video (no sound, I believe)
Alot of these are really nice but I do have a question.
When it comes to putting presents under the tree, do the trains have to come down or how do you work it?
Ottawa_Marc posted:Alot of these are really nice but I do have a question.
When it comes to putting presents under the tree, do the trains have to come down or how do you work it?
In my situation, My trains have to be running before the kids come down on Christmas Morning, and the presents are stacked around the Display. My wife didnt like it the first two years but she knows how much the kids love the train display and she accepted the presents not being directly under the tree.
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
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