Video

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B45g-0dPDUQweHIyRHdTVjV2Um8/preview

Engine is Atlas Classic and all cars except for the Pennsylvania hopper which is Bowser are Bachmann Nscale

HO Christmas tree trains circa 1961

When I was small my dad set up some new HO trains around our Christmas tree. The train front and center was probably an Athearn set. There is a smaller oval in the center (barely visible) with a European-style Lima HO passenger train. The bridge is made from a Kenners building set, my Christmas gift from the previous year.

We had trains under the Christmas tree for maybe three seasons before we built a permanent 4x8 layout in the basement. Ironically, dad's old Lionel train from 1931 was stashed away in the basement, unused, because we had "newer and better" HO scale trains.

Four years ago I did this setup: a smaller tree but bigger trains.

Nice, I love seeing all the

Nice, I love seeing all the old memories. The N scale here has replaced one of the cheap battery powered large ones, maybe I will make it RC one of these days.

Moved top post down here, hopefully this will catch on.

Well as the holiday season comes around we begin setting up the Christmas trees (or whatever holiday you celebrate) a common staple is the train around the Christmas tree (This may work with other things, though a train around the Menorah might not work as well). Just setting my grandparents tree I decided to set up my N scale stuff around the tree. Below are some photos and video of it. Also let's see some other peoples holiday setups!
 

Weird Yet fun looking effect (from moving the camera to tree during exposure)

Tis the season

The bench work build for my updated layout is taking a long time so to keep things interesting, and get some trains running, I indulged in this small project, making use of unused equipment. 

Happy holidays!

Love it

We don't have a train under ours either. Dog issues 

The tunnel is great!!!

Our solution for our dog at

Our solution for our dog at my house (this is at my grandparents) is to use our Disney World Monorail our tiny Pom can 't do damage to that.

Our Christmas tree this year

Our Christmas tree this year at my step-father's house features a partially restored / oiled / greased / caressed into motion Lionel #41 switcher. I think this is first time I've run it since it got water and smoke damage in 1984 during a Christmas Eve fire. It's quite a growler, but I think it always was - on the upside, I don't need a sound system with a growler like that!

As for dogs.... we just adopted a puppy on Sunday (12-4-2016), and thus far Echo has left the tree / tree skirt also despite his bed being right next to it.

Christmas Tree Train

This was my Christmas Tree train. A Bachmann G scale Tweetsie Passenger Set.

Sadly, a few events beyond my control required a move to a apartment. I no longer have room for the G scale set under the tree, but that's OK as I still have room for my small N scale layout in the spare bedroom. 

We moved beyond a single tree

We moved beyond a single tree a few decades back.   Now we have a Christmas Forest rather than a Christmas Tree.   Instead of 1 train per tree, we use a few trains to go around all of them.   Last year we had 30 trees and 10 trains.  Here is one piece of it.

"Garden" railway?

I like the christmas forest

I like the christmas forest idea that is not one I have seen before!

Christmas trains

The Christmas layouts under the trees are beautiful.  Kids love them the most since they can control the operation.  Adults enjoy them also.

Christmas tree train

Christmas Tree Train

Track is a single 18" radius on pink foam and 1/4" plywood. Stores under a bed.

Buildings are a "work in progress"

 .

Nice I see there is an around

Nice I see there is an around the walls ceiling layout to!

Cats and trains don't mix

We used to have the trains; Then I got married and my wife suggested putting the trains around the tree I said even if it were a California giant redwood, the tree is not to scale!! But she insisted. So I cut a hole in the platform and put the stand under the platform with the tree protruding through it. 

It looked ok but I really did not like having to clean tree sap off my cars and buildings after the tree came down. So next year I decided to just put up the race cars and that drove the cats nuts as they chased them around the track. We had some fun by stopping the car as the cat got close and the cat could not stop as quick as the car and shot past it, so that was fun for a while until the cat got wise and decided to just sit near the track and as the car approached he would quickly snatch the car off the track and sail it across the room - bet you thought that cars couldn't sail or fly!! Glad they made them rugged. That was many years ago and the cats are gone but now we are getting up in years and don't put up a big tree anymore. Still the memories are there.

Happy new year to all

Rick

My 2016 Christmas layout with 3 trains and a trolley

My Rabbi...

I keep telling my rabbi that I'm going to build a Chanukkah train...

The rabbi suggested that if I do, it should be called the "Macabee Express"...

(yes, I'm a Jew... and yes, I do decorate for the holidays... plus, I play the neighborhood Santa, and give out gifts to the neighborhood children, because I live in a very poor area, and it's the only holiday most of the kids around here will get... it isn't much, but anything to make the world a bit better. Hmm... maybe I will do a holiday train this year!)

 

 

The Jewish Sinterklaas. (shhh... only a few folks in the neighborhood even know it's me)

SARGE!

Good to see you here, Terry! (now here's a guy with some amazing Christmas time setups!)

Not yule, but...

Here's my Samhain/Halloween train at the Orlando Society of Model Railroaders.

Bachman Spectrum 0-6-0, Roundhouse short passenger cars, cheap figures painted white inside, and preiser grim reaper on the platform,  Next year, the stock car, where his pal horse rides, will be marked "Mortis."  I might add a flat with a Jordan Highway Miniatures hearse.

Even a high priority intermodal ends up in the hole for this train!

I would suggest that, if you see this one as the secnd secion of a passenger train, get tickets for a later train...

Love the hearse!

 

It took me several days to build, but BOY was it worth it!

Neat place

This is a cool site. I'm still trying to navigate around on here but I'm getting it.

Christmas 2004 train

The "fantasy" loco. I took a Bachman F unit and removed the body and replaced it with an old time combine body and a fuel bunker thing from a steamer. I had to add a piece of strip wood along the top because there was a gap. I put a steamer pilot, smoke stack, and headlight on it. I had some little people and I painted them to look like elves. I liked the way it came out and it was a hit with kids that came over.