It's Time to dust off the Department 56 houses!

birdthunder:

Absolutely beautiful display!!!!

I typically keep Department 56 buildings and accessories separate from O gauge buildings and accessories in order to maintain consistency (that's my personal preference, but they are relatively similar in size and can work together). As of now, our full time layout is composed of strictly O gauge, while our Christmas layout (up between Thanksgiving until late January) is entirely Department 56 with the Polar Express running around the village. As other members have alluded to, I try to avoid mixing the various village lines, and stick strictly to the Snow Village (however, I have been tempted into incorporating Christmas in the City). Here's a video of last year's Snow Village, that will be going up in a little more than a month:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WnfuS8bhb4

Thank you for taking the time to send me the kind words.

I have so much I can't even display it all.  Department 56 is, by far, my favorite but I have LeMax and Kohls' St. Nicholas Square pieces, as well.  Here are  few shots from the past.

Thanks Guys,

and thanks for providing the link to the website Allen.

Wow, I only have a few buildings of Department 56 but more are coming soon. My question is where am I going to fit in the hobo scene?

Mike Maurice

I have a couple Dept 56 Snow Village houses that are soooo old the snow just FELL off them.  Some people display their collection all year long.  Too much trouble for me to unpack and set them up then tear them all down and repack.  That tires me out just thinking about it.

Rick

RICKC...Send them to me and I will relieve you of your anxiety.

Bob

Yes, the packing and unpacking is a chore and the boxes go through a lot of wear and tear in the process, if you care, which for these as collectibles, does matter to most folks.  At least the SV buildings are fairly robust, while NPV has lots of little flags and signs that easily breakoff.  That, and the "glitter snow" used on them, wears off easily as well.  But I can't imagine leaving them out year round and collecting dust.  

Tommy, we have a bunch and we leave them out year round. On our main layout, there are over 200 D56 buildings. We also have a shelf in our living room that wraps around the room where we display our Dickens Village collection. Every night we get to enjoy this wonderful display of lights, buildings and accessories. Yes they do collect dust, but it is sure easier to do the cleaning task rather than to have to create a new display every year.

PTC..Post pictures.  I would love to see it.

Bob

Here is one view.

Fantastic!

I picked up a LED Christms warm white light string that has C7 sized globes and will try that out this year.

Great Northern 17 - Enjoyed the video great Department 56 layout.  The music has put me in the mood for the big day, even if the temp right now in Tampa is 80 and going up.  Can a Ralphie sighting be far off?   Great topic.

Many thanks,

Billy C 

We have a sizeable collection of Lemax from Michael's purchased either after Christmas when they are marked down 75% or more or when Michael's runs a newspaper/email ad + coupon sale.  I can't recall paying more than half price.  Many of the Lemax accessories work well for O too, like street lamps and some park benches, etc.  But, the people are too big; way off scale - closer to Lionel people.

To tone down the 7 watt light bulbs, you can try replacing them with 4 watt and/or a dimmer.  We did both.  The dimmer gadget came from Home Depot plugs into a regular 110v female a tethered dimmer slider to reduce power output, similar to this one:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lut...2502171#.UmO-qfnUkng

PCT, I wish someone would release a video on your layout!

it is one of my favorites.

Thanks chipset for the compliment.

PTC..........That is an amazing village.  I am sure when you sit down after a hard day, it takes you back to when times were much simpler. 

What have you used for a base?  How do you get to any light bulbs that burn out and do you have all the lighting on remote control? 

Send off more pictures when you have a chance.

Happy Holidays!!!!!!!!!

Bob

PTC.....Do you invite school classrooms or any needy/disabled children organizations in for a look? 

Bob

Good morning Bob:

You will see some more pictures of our layout in the upcoming issue of the December OGR magazine. I also post many pictures during the Christmas season on this Forum.

We do invite people served that reside in a local not-for-profit healthcare firm that specializes with clients with intellectual disabilities for layout visits. This is a special time for both the residents and us as they just love to watch the trains run, listen to the sounds, and see the engines smoke.

Thank you very much for your kind remarks.

It has to be a special feeling see their eyes light up and the smiles on their faces.