Building Your First Christmas Layout - Part 1
You remember the Lionel trains from your youth and the fun you had playing with them under the Christmas tree. You’re all grown up now and the trains are probably long gone but the memories remain and now you’re ready to build a layout for yourself or your children to rekindle the tradition of a train under the Christmas tree. Whatever the reason for building a Christmas layout, you’re ready to get started but not quite sure where to begin. If you’re a regular reader of the OGaugeWatch blog and a seasoned enthusiast this post will probably invoke memories of your first Christmas layout building experience. If your a beginner and came upon this blog post while searching for some free Christmas layout advice on the Internet than this post will help get you started down the path to building a successful layout. Building Your First Christmas Layout will be a 2 part series.
Click on the link below to read on
The tradition of running model trains under the Christmas tree has been part of the American Christmas for almost 100 years. Thanks to the marketing genius of Joshua Lionel Cowen, founder of Lionel trains, every little boy in the early and middle part of the 20th century dreamed of a Lionel train running under the Christmas tree. The coming of the space age, computers and electronics pushed model trains off of many children’s Christmas lists in the 70’s through the early 90’s. Shows like Thomas the Tank Engine and the trendiness of everything old being new again has helped model trains, especially O Gauge model trains, make a bit of comeback.
The tradition of running trains under the Christmas tree is a great one the whole family can enjoy and I hope more people embrace it. One of my goals when I started the OGaugeWatch blog was to help get more people interested in the O Gauge hobby. In that spirit, I’ve put together a few things any beginner should consider before starting their first Christmas layout project.
Time & Budget
Time and budget will be the most limiting factors when building a new layout. With today’s starter sets anyone can have a basic oval of track on the floor around the tree in no time for less than $150. If you have bigger aspirations of building a semi permanent layout on a wooden platform and an even bigger wallet, you can cram plenty of action and detail into a small 4′x6′ or 4′x8′ layout but don’t expect to be able to throw it all together on Christmas Eve night.
I built my first O Gauge Christmas layout in 2005. I decided to recreate a layout reminiscent of one from the 50’s or 60’s and found my little 4′x6′ layout took me much longer than anticipated. I had plenty of other things to get done in preparation for the holidays leaving me with less time to work on the layout. If you’re building anything other than a simple oval of track on the floor be sure to give yourself plenty of building time. Also, it’s very easy to break the budget once you get caught up in the excitement of building the layout so don’t be surprised if you spend more than you anticipated.
Your Skills and Tools
Building a wooden platform for a semi permanent layout may require that you cut some wood. Make sure you have the proper cutting tools and a place to make simple cuts. If you don’t, your local Lowes or Home Depot will make simple cuts for you, provided you are buying the wood from them of course. You’ll also need to be able to handle some electric wiring if you want a more elaborate layout with lights and operating accessories. If your not confident enough to take on the wiring so be it. Layouts don’t need fancy lights and accessories to look good and be fun.
Where To Buy Your O Gauge Stuff
Do you have a reputable model train shop nearby that sells O Gauge trains and accessories? If you’re not sure, you can search for one here. Your local train shop should be more than willing to answer all your questions and give you suggestions of what to buy. Don’t wait until a week before Christmas to visit a shop because it will be very busy. I found you receive better service if you visit a shop weeks before Christmas on a weekday night when shops are less busy. You can also use eBay or an Internet retailer to buy your trains, especially if you don’t have a train shop nearby. If choose to buy from an eBay seller or an on-line retailer, call them first and ask the same questions you would have asked a local merchant. You can also find starter train sets in department stores like Target, Boscov’s, Fortunoff’s and the like but I found most train shops offer better prices and service plus the department stores don’t carry many accessories.
I chose to purchase my first starter set and many of the accessories from local train shops because 1) I love visiting train shops. 2) I wanted immediate gratification and didn’t want to wait for the stuff to be shipped. 3) I had plenty of questions and wanted to speak with someone in person. My advice is to visit a local hobby shop to make your initial purchases and beyond if it’s a good experience. Look to the Internet for purchases once you are more comfortable with hobby.
The Trains
If you’re not lucky enough to have the old Lionel set from your childhood or to get one as a “hand me down” from good ol’ Uncle Fred, you’ll need a good starter set. Starter sets are a great value because you get everything you need for your fledgling railroad empire - track, transformer and a locomotive with freight or passenger cars for much less money than if you purchased everything separately.
When looking for a starter set be prepared to be presented with many choices - passenger or freight cars, steam or diesel locomotive, with digital sounds or without. There are a few brands to choose from too. Lionel, the company that made O Gauge popular back in the early part of 20th century, has many options in the O Gauge starter set category including Christmas themed sets. MTH, a lesser known brand to beginners which came into it’s own as an O Gauge company in the 1990’s also has many options including Christmas themed sets. You may also see some sets by K-Line even though the company went bankrupt and is no longer making starter sets. With so many sets and price points out there to choose from my advice is to visit a local area hobby shop or talk to an on-line retailer that specializes in O Gauge trains so you can compare and contrast all the different offerings. Even if you do have an old set you may want to still consider the new O Gauge sets on the market because they have some really neat features, including cool sounds.
If you do end up using Uncle Freds old set, I recommend taking the engine and transformer to your local hobby shop so they both can be tested to ensure they’re working properly. Any necessary repairs will usually be very inexpensive. On thing you want to avoid is finding out the locomotive or transformer doesn’t work on Christmas Eve night.
That’s it for Part 1. In Part 2 I’ll recommend some starter sets and have a few links to videos of starter sets I own and discuss track and simple layout and scenery design.
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One Response to “Building Your First Christmas Layout - Part 1”
Detailed, but easy-to-follow information like this isn’t easy to come by on the Web. Thank you.
Posted by: Thane | Dec 17, 2006 at 11:53 PM