# AV Christmas display?... cross your fingers



## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

The guy who manages the Old Stone House (historic carriage inn) for the local university told Kim that he'd like us to put up a display in December (two consecutive weekends)- not sure if we'd be inside or out, or how much space. - He said he'd get back to us with the details after T-giving.









While we aren't even certain how much space we'll be given, we still have several choices to consider on scenery
Option 1: Kim collects Christmas houses, she has about 50, but they are pretty much O scale.... OTOH we could put more stuff in the same space 
Option 2: The Piko buildings from the layout, tarted up with tiny wreaths from the craft store.
Option 3: The handbuilt uncompressed scale (ie huge) buildings that we take to outdoor events
Plus about 30 little artificial pine trees to fill in. 

We'll probably get white batting or bedsheets to fake 'snow', and to keep from any possibility of scratching their floors if we're inside.

Other than that, we'll also have to decide freight or passenger, and which engine to use. If we have a large enough space, then the Connie or 2-4-4-2 with a long freight is impressive... Otherwise it will probably be the modified Stainz.... unless I have the battery powered plow mogul finished.

It's really hard to plan when you don't know if you're planning for 5' x 8' or 20' x 25'.......


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## steamtom1 (Jan 2, 2008)

Our Club did a Christmas Show some five years ago. It was great fun...


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## Allan W. Miller (Jan 2, 2008)

Getting back to you "after Thanksgiving" sure doesn't give much time to plan and execute much, especially since he didn't even specify an indoor or outdoor location. It's easy enough to throw something together on short notice, I suppose, but I wouldn't want to be involved in such a project unless I could do it right.


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

My theory is this - guys who say "My way or the highway" irritate the crap out of me. So I try to be extra flexible over stuff that, in the big picture, doesn't really matter. The stone house is a mile from our house, so hauling stuff back, or even making a second trip for more, isn't really that big of a deal. I waste more money than that on cheese crackers. 

If I can find a plywood base of suitable size, I have coroplast and Lemax vinyl 'stone' sheeting here, so I may even build a 1/24 model of the building itself, as it appeared in the teens, when it was a private home.


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Well, the display is a definite go. We'll be inside, on Dec 9. We'll find out exactly how much space they want us to fill on Nov 29. - for now I'm going on the assumption of about 8' x 12'. The era will be 1925-ish.... unless I get a whole bunch of 1880s stuff given to me before then, or lemax goes on clearance, lol! 

If anybody is local and wants to help, I won't turn it down. If you want to stop by and say, "Hi!" That would be great too


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

I thought I'd show you all what we've got to work with. This is the room we're to set up in. The room is 13' x 13' - minus a 6' x 7' section where the visitors stand. which leaves us usable space in an el shaped footprint with one leg about 5-1/2' wide and the other 6' wide. Room enough for r-2s.... just

























At the moment, I'm leaning towards two ovals one inside the other, with the outside one being a bit bulbous at the bottom of the el. And then put Kim's Christmas houses in a village all their own over in the narrower leg. 

I think I'm probably going to use old reliable #6 (the custom LGB 2017) with Kim's Kalamazoo coaches on the inside loop, and the Connie with a mixed freight running the other way on the outer.

The open house is from 6pm to 9pm on Friday the 9th. (We don't get the room until noon, so it's gonna be fun!...) There is a Civil War thing the going on rest of the weekend. -- if I had more 19th Century style stuff, we'd be more inclined to stay Saturday, too... maybe next year?

Meanwhile we went to the dollar store..... the 'model railroading' purists may shudder, but I think the casual visitors will like my special holiday hopper and gon loads.


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Car is loaded up with all kinds of stuff. We get the room at 1:30... giving us about 4 hours to create a miniature winter wonderland. Camera batteries are charged. I think we're ready... I hope


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Well, it went off, with a few hitches. My connie decided that there were a few spots it did NOT like, and one of the power packs was acting up (the train would speed up and then slow way down on it's own). There was a real good crowd while stuff was acting up... then, of course, they thinned considerably after I mostly got stuff sorted out. 
There were also no lights in the room to see to fix stuff after it got dark.... We'll have to figure out something before next year. 

Anyway, to the photos... 
Setting up 









Santa's little helpers? 









village 









merry go round - I still need a 3v power source to make it go! 









Fat old Mikster with "fans"? 









kids and trains, that's what it's about! 









Mary Anne 









W/out flash... 









Kim's village 









good old #6. Never a problem 









Storyteller in the next room 









Downstairs


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## Dick Friedman (Aug 19, 2008)

Very nice! The Sacramento Valley Garden Railway Society set up a Christmas display Nov 15 at the Folsom Historical Museum (Folsom, CA) to run 'til January 16! We've got about a 14 foot oval with lots of fake snow, and lots of buildings, cars and trucks, and people. Buildings from kits, built up, and scratch build. I'd attach some pix, but don't know how it's done here. Sorry, they're really interesting, just like my pictures of the fish that got away!


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