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Do you have a centerpiece of your collection or a favorite display for house guests apart from your train room?

Here's mine - nothing like a warm fire and a large Hudson to brighten up a cold winter morning!

Let's see yours

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Last edited by c.sam
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This building was often removed from my home layout to be the centerpiece of my trackers' club shopping mall module. A thin Sony speaker can be seen in the windows of the lower pic that provided organ music I had recorded and marketed in the 1980's. Several years of setups passed before a fellow tracker club member asked: "Is that you?"DSC_0033-OGRDSC_0037-OGR

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Last edited by OddIsHeRU

Great topic, difficult choice, don't you think you have multiple centerpieces? I do. But,  if I had to choose one, here it is:



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Arnold

Arnold, I always enjoy seeing your ballpark and I love the backstory of how you came to find those terrific, charismatic figures at the Choo Choo Barn with your family here in PA.

Last edited by Tuscan Jim
@c.sam posted:

Here's mine - nothing like a warm fire and a large Hudson to brighten up a cold winter morning!

Let's see yours



@c.sam,

It's my choice too, only a little smaller.

Unfortunately my fireplace/mantel is presently under construction so these pictures come from my photo bench.

But, it'll be there soon.

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Mike

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Last edited by Mellow Hudson Mike

Well my "Centerpiece" is a glass front cabinet, likely at one time that held flat goods (cloth etc) as its only about 5" deep but is 4 ft 9" wide and 5 ft 6" high.  My wife and I refinished the cabinet (its antique oak) and added glass shelves inside to hold trains.  I keep it on the wall facing my desk in the office and fill it with my most rare trains, some tin toys, and a shelf full of Suitcliff clockwork boats.  We got this piece in 1982 while I was on a 1 year special duty in Boston, Massachusetts.

Most of the contents are from the 1920's to the 1930's.  It holds Lionel 603/604 passenger cars from 1920-25 , 253 Apple Green Engine and pass cars from 1932-34, a 248 red set and a 248 orange set both from 1928-29, Ives #50 Parlor Car and #52 Baggage from 1930, American Flyer Hummer from 1920, American Flyer 3110 set from 1928-29, and two Dominion Flyer 1106 passenger cars, a Marx 10,000 stream liner from 1930, and several Fandor Cars from Germany plus some other foreign stock that I have managed to find on some European trips.

The large cardboard Lionel sign comes from the Christmas display from what I believe was the last small retail store that carried Lionel trains at Christmas in Waco .  The Marx B&0 F3 Diesel F3 set is not that old, roughly 1953, or rare...but it was one of the very first sets that I found when I was starting to collect.

Train Cabinet  

Best Wishes

Don

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@C Sam, Wow, great thread, beautiful Centerpiece, beautiful Hudson, beautiful mantle, beautiful fireplace, it’s a jaw dropping gorgeous. As you can see, this thread is bringing out the best of the best, @Eric C. Lindgren, your a Master Modeler and your art is unsurpassed, just amazing, your pictures are so beautiful, @Don McErlean, your display cabinet is full of fun to review trains, the cabinet is really nice, @Wood, your Canadian Pacific diesel in the tunnel beside the mountainside is really neat, and the couple horse back riding looks like Roy Roger’s and Dale Evans, great memories, @Mellow Hudson Mike, now that’s a beautiful Hudson, it’ll look great on your new mantle, @Ron045, your pictures reveal a lot of beautiful modeling and I love the Grand Central Station, all a Wow, @Arnold D. Cribari, that’s a beautiful baseball field, which is as American as the beautiful Hudson’s on display, your layout is so cool, Everyone, thanks for your contributions. Happy Railroading Everyone BA2C88AF-85F2-43AA-AA6F-7F1EED9920A35432D5F8-F654-44A9-BC11-39D5D875CD4B6BDE9784-7DA1-4AC0-9C3D-E0E7B010CFB559AE2C7B-7E3B-4BD1-BC6F-FB681DC573CD

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@G37500, George, forgive me, I meant to mention your beautiful Centerpiece, the beautiful Pennsylvania Passenger train and the Beautiful double header Steam Locomotives pulling a long freight train over a truly unique bridge, awesome scene, your background clouds look real, the scenery is really looking great, @Trainbub, wow, that’s a beautiful steamer #610, it’s highly detailed and I bet it’s a fun to run locomotive. This is truly unique thread. Happy Railroading Everyone 6E0AECC7-962D-4292-8DFE-3D6516D2E837

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My centerpiece is a small diorama I made to fit on the fireplace mantle.  It makes use of different photo backdrops and whatever cars or motive power I wish to show.

Below is one aspect for it, which interprets a January 1957 prototype photo by Julian Graham of Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg's private car "Virginia City" parked on a siding at Pacific Grove for the Crosby Invitational Golf Tournament that year.  Both of their automobiles are there as well, for the drive over to the Pebble Beach Golf Course.

The private car has interior LED lighting. The diorama can be set up with a hidden HO power pack connected to the track so the car could be lit up at night.

S. Islander

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Last edited by S. Islander

In my OP, I alluded to "multiple" centerpieces, which I believe many of us have. Indeed, IMO, the best layouts (which mine is not) have many centerpieces.

Another expression for centerpiece(s) in the context of a layout that conveys a similar meeting, is "show stopper scenes."

I believe I have multiple centerpieces or show stopper scenes on my layout, and my #1 is my Popsicle Stick Yankee Stadium shown in my OP.

Now, for fun, I will unveil my #2. It's a tough choice, and I'm a little torn about choosing my #2, but here it is.

Drum roll please (LOL).

It's the South portion of my removable river

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showing the Lionel NY Central Tugboat and the Lionel Bascule Bridge and Lionel Drawbridge, both in the raised position.

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Arnold

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