OK, I have been requested to put together a "Christmas Train" for the local museum to run on their large HO scale layout over the holidays. When I asked exactly what they meant I was told, "Well we don't know exactly but something with lights."
So I had three ideas.1. A more serious/realistic train with minature cut Christmas trees going to market, a decorated loco & caboose.
2. A category 100 type train with a special painted loco caboose cars. Flat cars with a decorated trees, open top stock cars with reindeer, oversized packages on flats, a Santa & Sleigh on a flat car. Sort of like each car is a float in the Macy's parade. I just don't have enough ideas for "floats" yet.
3. An excursion train with 1920's (heavyweight) cars. While the cars are standard Pullman green w/black roofs, they would have lighted garland or red ribbon sashes. I thought maybe there would be some way to use fiber optics to light the garland, or could light each car with red & green interior lighting.
What other ideas do the users of the world of the trains.com have? Other ideas or extensions, additions, or variations of those I already had?
An informal 12th night party gathering was scheduled for my home (aka Three Kings Day, Epiphany, the day the wise men arrived in Bethlehem to worship the baby Jesus according into tradition). My "dream railroad" had an indirectly Christmas related theme. The big city I planned to model someday when I had a 30 foot square train room would be named SANTA VACA.
The Legend of Santa Vaca
In one of the early Spanish missions established in Texas to convert the Indians, a priest was telling his congregation they should give to the church even though they didn't have much to give. He said that God can use our gifts more than we know, and he told the story of the cow who gave up her feeding stall to make a place for the Baby Jesus to lay. He said the cow's gift-- the manger-- became more a part of the Christmas scene than even the expensive gifts of the Wise Men.
But the Indians confused the cow in the priest's Christmas story with a buffalo cow who was worshipped in their pre-Christian native religion and they began to bring back the cult of the Holy Cow. The Church tried to discourage the practice but could not stop it entirely. The village near the mission took on the name Santa Vaca, and it grew into a major city served by a subsidiary of the Santa Fe Railway.
At the cathedral in Santa Vaca near where the mission once stood is a stained glass window with the manger scene featuring the Baby Jesus, the Virgin Mary and the Holy Cow, each with a halo.
I never got far enough along to build the city of Santa Vaca...
but the portion I had built-- the Piney Woods line shown in green- could be part of a route to Santa Vaca from the east (Lost River).
I envisioned a post-Christmas festival at Santa Vaca in which Three Kings come from the east BY SPECIAL TRAIN. A Santa Fe horse-express car would carry their camels, followed by several elegant old heavyweight cars. Each car would have a temporary sticker in gold with three crowns, indicating it was a "royal train." I could not model the arrival but I could at least have it run through my modeled scene.
At least I thought I could. It turned out that my spare room layout had curves too sharp for full-length passenger cars. That lead me to decide eventually to abandon the layout nand start a new larger one, still in nthe spare room but taking up most of the room and having broad curves to accomodate full-length passenger traffic.
Someday I hope to run special operations like the Three Kings train.
Opportunities for two train consists to have "a meet" would provide extra bi-directional light-watching/rail- fanning should there be a dual mainline, or the appearance of one, such as returning from "the end" of a dogbone.
Conemaugh Road & Traction circa 1956
Go with #2
I'd include a Rudolf with lighted nose - on the engine if possible.
Some elves, really cool if they're hammering something.
Have a car for Mrs. Claus.
A North Pole car with snow piled on it.
Some log cars with candy canes.
Hopper cars with red and green M&Ms
Pond car with ice skaters.
Penguin car.
Polar bear car.
Sounds like a fun project. Enjoy yourself
Paul
Round these parts, the Madison serves an entity calling themselves the "Christmas Gift Express". They collect discards from stores and closeout outlets, things that didn't sell, things they could sell but are easy enough to fix if you put the 5 minutes of work into it, etc. Things like power tools that were assembled wrong are then turned around and given to Habitat for Humanity, for example.
Come Christmas time, they band up with Toys for Tots and the foodbanks, set up big hoop-las, couple together a massive train painted in sponsored cars (EG, the Christmas cars the model makers put out) coupleon two crew cars and a pair of baggage cars for tents, and a place to do storytime movies at the stops. Broadway stage hands jup into action unloading the right gifts at the right stops, set up tables of treats, Santa gets in on the act, then at the end of the day, it's all piled back in and they hit the road. How they cover so many stops and get such a long train into these palces is,well, a bit of Christmas Magic.
There's also a few local Christmasd trains, and a North Pole & Southern train (you may recognize the name from Con-Cor) that runs Canadian excursions, that helps pay for the donations side of things. CGE is also responsible for a replica Polar Express charted by Hollywood.
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On that note, it is possible and fairly easy to do a Polar Express out of the Athearn Cars. The new Con Cor cars are more expensive, but might be a better match. A can of Intermediate Blue and Cherry or Fireengine red is all you need. Paint the car red, put a mask over the window stripes, paint it blue, paint the windows yellow and put a light behind them, letter up a Bachmann or P2K Berk, And have at it.
-Morgan
I'd go for one plus three:
Then, at the station, a crowd of children (and their parents) waiting to see Santa...
Sounds like a fun project.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - 3 months too early)
FlashwaveOn that note, it is possible and fairly easy to do a Polar Express out of the Athearn Cars. The new Con Cor cars are more expensive, but might be a better match. A can of Intermediate Blue and Cherry or Fireengine red is all you need. Paint the car red, put a mask over the window stripes, paint it blue, paint the windows yellow and put a light behind them, letter up a Bachmann or P2K Berk, And have at it.
tgindyOpportunities for two train consists to have "a meet" would provide extra bi-directional light-watching/rail- fanning should there be a dual mainline, or the appearance of one, such as returning from "the end" of a dogbone.
IRONROOSTER Rudolf with lighted nose
A North Pole car with snow piled on it.Some log cars with candy canes.Pond car with ice skaters.Polar bear car.
tomikawaTTOperation Santa Claus train of heavyweights, the Merry Olde Elf in a low-side gondola surrounded by Christmas packages, a couple of baggage cars, a couple of heavyweights, banners, garlands and lots of lights.
One of the Southeast railroads (Either NS or Clinchfield, IIRC) runs an Operation Santa Claus train through rural Appalachia every year. The description I gave matches a description given to me in Western North Carolina several years ago, shortly before I departed that area forever.
My thought is that the Christmas special doesn't exist in a vacuum. Its schedule is known, and people are at trackside to meet it.
Chuck (Modeling Centra Japan in September, 1964)
Hello,
I really like idea # 2. It has almost unlimited ideas and potential for lots of Christmas colors. It really is a good time to start planning now because anyone in the hobby knows that the unforeseen does crop up when you least expect it. I will try and think up some good ideas over the next week or so and get back to you.
Sincerely,
K L Miller
tomikawaTT One of the Southeast railroads (Either NS or Clinchfield, IIRC) runs an Operation Santa Claus train through rural Appalachia every year. The description I gave matches a description given to me in Western North Carolina several years ago, shortly before I departed that area forever. My thought is that the Christmas special doesn't exist in a vacuum. Its schedule is known, and people are at trackside to meet it.
Texas Zepher Flashwave: On that note, it is possible and fairly easy to do a Polar Express out of the Athearn Cars. The new Con Cor cars are more expensive, but might be a better match. A can of Intermediate Blue and Cherry or Fireengine red is all you need. Paint the car red, put a mask over the window stripes, paint it blue, paint the windows yellow and put a light behind them, letter up a Bachmann or P2K Berk, And have at it. Do you really think a Polar Express in HO scale is going to be recognizable? I guess I didn't realize the cars were cherry red. Will have to get the movie and take another look.
Flashwave: On that note, it is possible and fairly easy to do a Polar Express out of the Athearn Cars. The new Con Cor cars are more expensive, but might be a better match. A can of Intermediate Blue and Cherry or Fireengine red is all you need. Paint the car red, put a mask over the window stripes, paint it blue, paint the windows yellow and put a light behind them, letter up a Bachmann or P2K Berk, And have at it.
Do you really think a Polar Express in HO scale is going to be recognizable? I guess I didn't realize the cars were cherry red. Will have to get the movie and take another look.
Remember your Audience. Thomas is the same in any scale. As long as you paint a car like this: images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRFoE1gPtbbS8xh6kkX9hwoqRpYvPOEUwt60Sem8BB1OPwnkkhdKg
or
(Noice the different placesments of the letterboard) they'll know.
I believe OP Santa is a CSX thing, by the way.