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The tree and one end of the layout

The tree was in a corner of the living room.

The television cabinet and a small box supporting VCRs provided a challenging obstacle for the surveying crews.

A panel of light blue cardstock and some simple construction-paper shapes suggesting background trees and buildings kept the lower parts of the cabinets from distracting from the feel of the layout.

Presents and the Junction

There's enough room for trains and presents too (if you stack them over the bridge and make creative use of the windowsills).

The snow area under the layout was made of Christmas-tree skirting material of gauzy white cotton with specks of glitter. This gave a festive, snowy appearance and kept locomotive oil off the carpet.

The Station and the City
The station is the familiar Plasticville suburban station. I used scrap pieces of the snow ground cloth to add snow to the roof. Looking at the photos, I wonder why I didn't think of doing it to the waiting shed. The city buildings are decorative tins sold this Christmas by Target stores. The diner is from Coca Cola, the middle shops are Silver Crane and the end shop is Hersheys. The cookies that came in them provided welcome refreshment during the arduous task of tracklaying.

The blue backdrop is stiff paper from an educational supply store. I sprayed it lightly with white paint in patches to suggest clouds. The tree and building shapes are just cut from construction paper and placed against the backdrop.

The Curve around the Mountain
features a Marx weight-actuated semaphore (amazing that something so simple and cheap can work so well). A Dimestore Dreams fire chief's car adds some Christmas color, and a couple of painted Bachmann figures blend well with the lithographed children on the front of the cookie-tin dry goods store.

The mountain is just more snowy ground cover draped over an old camera case containing tools, train oil, and track cleaner. Out of sight around the bend, a Marx hobo trudges his weary way toward the lights of town.

Press the Green Control Button to continue the tour.