I put up a fairly elaborate winter layout under the tree during the holidays.
It made me wonder if anyone has, or has attempted, a permanent winter layout. If so, what do you use for snow, and is it hard to keep clean? Do sections of snow have to be periodically replaced?
I do a Christmas train every year it's our turn to host Christmas. It's a Hawthorn Village Green Bay Packer thing that my daughter subscribed me to back in 2007.
These are a mixture of the old(2009) and newer version (2015) I'll be setting it up next year, and take more pictures, as we are down sizing, and want to sell off what I can.
Here's the 2009 version:
And some later versions, after double tracking:
Looking forward to setting it up next year. The Hawthorn Village uses Bachmann Plus locos, and the F7 runs smooth all night long, along with the Mehano steam engine.
Mike.
My You Tube
For the past 2 years Boothbay Railway Village has contracted with the LL Bean store in Freeport, ME to set up a winter and outdoors layout which runs in their Children's Dept during the Christmas season.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
I just noticed, I never did address your question about snow. I use the Woodland Scenic stuff. I vacuum it up when I take the layout down, and add fresh "snow" when I set it up. My layout is up and running for a month, so I don't know how the "always winter" layouts do it. I suspect there are as many ways and methods as there are for modeling trees and foliage.
Do a search, and see what you come up. I know there is a modeler on MRH that does a New England layout that is always winter, and it looks great.
Quite a few years ago I bought the Target Greatland Express train set. It is basically an O scale size set with plastic track, a steam engine, tender, cars and a caboose. The batteries go in the tender.
I started collecting them, I have three sets. I pick one out of the three to run around the tree every year. Sometimes I put more cars on from one of the other sets. This seems to eat the batteries a little quicker though.
They could become collector items someday. Who knows?
Happy Holidays Track Fiddler
Noch of Germany makes a number of interesting products for permanent winter scenes, including a type of "white grass" to be applied with a electrostatic applicator, which gives a nice snow covered surface.
Take a look here!
My Hanukkah train will not appear this year as the layout move has precluded my Hanukkah and Christmas decoration.
Joe Staten Island West
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Didn't Model Railroader update the Soo Red Wing project layout as a winter layout a few years ago? I remember they used drywall compound for snow, and I think marble powder, as it glitters?
Gary
I thought of building a winter layout covered in that white stuff. Unfortunately I thought of the same reason stated above, keeping it all clean.
If I did do a winter scene I would get different freight cars and locomotives to be covered in snow. But I getting it stuck would be a difficult challenge.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
No winter or Christmas layout as so to speak but I do have a snow capped mountain and pine trees on my regular layout...
When I was a little kid I had a book about modeling scenery for Lionel 0-27 layouts. It suggested having different seasons at various locations on one layout. I liked the idea and it stuck with me. Of course in southern California every day is summer. The only question is it going to be 85 or 105 degrees today? So on my current layout I have 3 different seasons depending on the elevation. It’s summer in the valley, fall in the foothills, and winter in the mountains. Here are some pictures of the mountains area. The snow is paper towels soaked in plaster and painted white because sometimes plaster has a slight yellow hue. Some areas are also covered in DecoArt Snow Texture. https://www.michaels.com/decoart-snow-tex/10501072.htmlSnow is easy to keep clean because dust is usually white anyway.
Two of the best winter modelers I've seen:
Rand Hood - MR articles in the 90's - great scenes
Mike Confalone MRH regular - very nice winter stuff
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
I do most of my modeling during the winter. Even though I live in a state with very short, mild winters, I find the season to be bleak and depressing. So why would I want to model it? I love to come upstairs and see my favorite part of Pennsylvania on typical summer day. I think this is part of the reason we don't see many winter layouts.
However, there are some masterfully-done winter layouts. Paul Dolkos old B&M New Hamshire division was one of them. It featured bare trees, dormant grass but no snow.
Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad in N Scale.
www.prr-nscale.blogspot.com
My layout is set in winter, but more like around the first light snow of the year - more of a dusting of snow rather than deep drifts.
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/m/mrr-layouts/2290019.aspx
My question is how does the snow work on layouts? Is it removable? I model the west US desert mountains to forest covered mountains.
Steve
If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough!
NWP SWP My question is how does the snow work on layouts? Is it removable? I model the west US desert mountains to forest covered mountains.
My snow is not removable. It is there to stay. The snow is only in the higher elevations. Once you get below the snowline then the plaster is painted a sandy tan color and has gound cover and trees without snow.