Not large nor small– Christmas layouts

[AKKevinT]

I have a few extra minutes today and thought I would weigh in from the northland and share a few of pictures of our Christmas layout in Fairbanks, Alaska. I apologize for the poor resolution these pictures are from a previous email to a friend.

This is a new layout this year. I was commissioned to solve the age-old problem of the clash between trains, presents and pine needles. My first step was to build an upper deck to satisfy the tree & present fans in the family. The second step required satisfying the trains fans with view of the trains while they run under the tree. The woodworking is a little crude since I had only one night to start and complete the entire project. In fact the overall project is still at the “crude but functional level” but I thought someone might enjoy seeing it and knowing there are a few “O Gauge” fans in Fairbanks Alaska.


East view of our layout– with a view of the track running under/around the tree. There are three tunnel viewing portals to watch the trains run past.


West side view of the layout. Since the over all size is small (4’X12’) I thought it would be fun to have a yard setup with some activity for people to enjoy. The two center double tunnels, at this point, are static track to store extra trains waiting to be ran. The SD70 Mac is pulling this years Christmas Candy train. It is hard for anyone to resist grabbing for their favorite candy as the various Alaska hoppers and gondolas move along the front rails at a slow speed!


The layout has some lighting for evening time enjoyment. (Here in Fairbanks the nights are a wee bit longer than down south.)


Here is a shot of some old (a 2018 Prairie Steamer; from my first Lionel set in 1958- Lionel 1597S), and some newer, (a pair of Williams GP9’s, a Lionel SD70 MAC, and the front steps of a Lionel ARR #614).

The response to this layout, by my family, has been very positive since I have been able to satisfy everyone’s request in one way or another. I guess this will be our layout for a few more Christmas holidays to come. Before I pack it away for the year I will build a control board to simplify operating the layout and thus encouraging anyone to have a go at running the outfit. I plan to add ballast to the tracks and figure other ways to give the layout a high rail look for next season without going to nuts on the project.

I have added two more pictures as a point of interest. I noticed in several of the postings many folks in the Lower-48 are enjoying a white Christmas this year. Congratulations! Fairbanks is no different; we enjoy a white Christmas every year. The pictures below document Christmas Eve (9:16pm) and Christmas morning (11:00am). 38°C = 37°F, it got a little colder that night but not much past -40°F. Since then it has warmed back up to about -19°F so our cold snap was short lived and I hope yours will be also!





Season’s Greetings from the Northland!

Kevin Turnbough

PS If anyone else has a picture of their Christmas layout it would be great to see them.

[pbjwilson]

That's great. We never can fit the presents under the tree because the layouts in the way. Good solution and carpentry!

[lionelsoni]

Kevin, it's good to see that someone has taken over the responsibility for running three-rail trains in Fairbanks since I left long ago. The Lionel trains I had then still run and very well indeed. My ARR 6636, acquired since, is one of my favorites and reminds me of the hopper cars that I used to climb over across Gaffney Road across from our apartment on Ladd AFB (now Fort Wainwright).

Bob Nelson, Monroe High School class of 1959

[AKKevinT]

Paul,

Nice Christmas layout! You have a great community sceen to enjoy and very nice Marx train taking the rails! Very, very nice!

Thanks for posting picture and your comments.

It is pretty cool to see all the creative ways folks decorate their homes for the holidays with toy trains! It sure seems to me all the kids who visit our home, young and old, are capitvated by model trains running around the rails.

Kevin T.

[AKKevinT]

Bob,

Thanks for speaking up for the Monroe Rams class of '59! It is always great to hear from folks that have lived here in Fairbanks. The winters are not as cold as they were back then or even just ten years ago, but it is still cold enough to ensure a white Christmas each year.

Fairbanks is growing larger every day, as is Alaska in general. There is talk off the ARR lay tracks from Fairbanks to Fort Greely in Delta Junction. That would be an interesting project to see unfold. There is a brand new passenger station being bult right now. When I have a chance I will post a couple of pictures on the forum. Right now it is enclosed in plastic and resembles a buildng in an opaque egg waiting to be hatched.

I was looking around the railyard here in Fairbanks the other day and came across a few older rail cars– they may have been some of the very ones you were scambling over back in '59!

It was nice to here from you. Happy holidays!

Kevin T.

[spankybird]

HI Kevin,

Your pics look great. If the pic is posted landscape (longer than
higher) then if you click on it, it will enlarge.

Here is a link to my web page and you can see some of my layout.

http://204.156.4.220/memberpages2/frame.asp?sid=1075

I am glad you joined us and keep up the posting of pics.

BTW - double check your e-mail address on your profile. I tried to respond to your emial that you sent me and it was returned as 'Unable to deliver message to the following address(es).'

tom