| There's nothing like the finished look that a Village | | | | I found was that O Scale trains are |
| with its own trainprovides! Almost all of the | | | | consideredcollectible, and therefore have the |
| Villages have train stations, and even if you | | | | potential to appreciate in value. Thedownside is |
| don'thave one, who cares?! This is, after all, | | | | that it is more expensive to buy, and it runs on |
| make-believe... The clever Village Nutwho wants a | | | | more expensive |
| fabulous setup this year will tap into the model | | | | 3-rail track (which is electrically safer than the |
| railroad trainworld for inspiration on train sets and | | | | other Scales which run on |
| the terrain around them. | | | | 2-rail track). The new Lionel Harry Potter |
| When I first decided that my Village needed a | | | | Hogwart's Express train set is Ogauge. |
| public transportation system, I started to look at | | | | HO scale trains come in a large variety of sets, |
| model railroad sites. The first thing I needed to | | | | including quite afew Christmas-decorated sets, and |
| decide was what size train would look best with | | | | is the most economical way to go. This is niceif |
| my Village and the space I had - a bigger one | | | | you just want something out-of-the-box to set |
| that looks more proportionate to the people and | | | | up. You can get tighterturns in HO Scale too, if |
| buildings, or a smaller one that wasn't to scale but | | | | space is an issue. But the smaller size of this |
| was more available and cheaper. Holy Smokes! I | | | | scalemakes it out of proportion with most Villages |
| thought this would be relatively easy, but I got hit | | | | except perhaps small ones like |
| in the face with terms like gauges and scales and | | | | David Winter Cottages. They tend to be more |
| 3-rail tracks and electrical issues. I had no idea | | | | fragile than their largercounterparts, and they are |
| what these terms meant, and was frustrated by | | | | fussier about having a level surface to run on. |
| what I thought was an unnecessary amount of | | | | Also |
| technical talk. I just wanted a nice little train for | | | | (and this was the deal-breaker for me!) HO Scale |
| my Village! I didn't want to become a model | | | | trains like to falloff their tracks easily AND they |
| railroader. | | | | are a little difficult to putback on. Lastly, they lose |
| So, just as I put together different buildings and | | | | value quickly. |
| accessories to please myself rather than | | | | Sgauge also fits well with most Villages. It doesn't |
| someone else who had different design ideas, I | | | | derail easily andruns on the less expensive 2-rail |
| thought why don't I just get a train that I like and | | | | track. The downside is that thereare fewer |
| to heck with the scales and gauges! So I did, and | | | | models to choose from and they are expensive. |
| I ended up buying a Christmas Train from | | | | The 2-rail tracksystems are known to cause |
| Bachmann. For the record, it was in HO scale... | | | | some electrical problems. |
| For those of you who'd like a little more technical | | | | G gaugetrains are the big ones we're used to |
| info, I'll just give you a bit. There are two main | | | | seeing go around the Christmas tree (evenif just |
| size references used in model railroading. The first | | | | in the movies!). While many folks consider these |
| one is Gauge, which is the space between the | | | | to be too largefor Department 56 and |
| train track rails. The second is Scale,which is the | | | | similar-sized Villages, I personally like them to |
| proportion that the item is to it's real-life | | | | runaround the outer perimeter of the village. The |
| counterpart. Forexample, a 1:1 scale means that | | | | train runs on the less expensive |
| the item is life-sized. You definitely aren't going to | | | | 2-rail track and the cars do not derail easily. |
| be putting one of these in your Village! Here is | | | | High-end brands have thepotential to appreciate in |
| some of the more popular train sizes and what | | | | price. The downside is that you need a LOT of |
| they look like: | | | | roomfor these, the 2-rail track systems can |
| Gauge HO Gauge: 1" = 87 real-life inches,or a 1" | | | | cause some electrical problems, and theyare |
| tall figurine equals a 7.25' real-life person (not very | | | | EXPENSIVE. |
| realistic) | | | | As an FYI, I've found that model railroaders are |
| S Gauge: 1" = 64 real-life inches, or a 1" tallfigurine | | | | SUPERB reality-creators in their train displays. If |
| equals a 5.3' real-life person (closer to reality) | | | | you've ever gone to a trainstore, you've seen the |
| O | | | | most amazing variety of realistic terrain and |
| Scale: 1" = 48 real-life inches, or a 1" tall figurine | | | | landscapingitems you'll ever see. Small bags of |
| equals a 4'real-life person (reasonably realistic) | | | | rocks of every size and color, fake grassthat |
| | | | looks better than the stuff in your lawn, cinders |
| G Scale: | | | | to go around the tracks,dirt, trees, moss, shrubs - |
| 1 = | | | | you name it. Lots of folks are |
| 24 real-life inches, or a 1" figurine equals a 2' | | | | cross-oversbetween the train and Village worlds, |
| real-life person (not very realistic) | | | | and their displays arespectacular. |
| I've found that most | | | | If you want to havea realistic display, then you |
| Villagers I know like the O scale | | | | want to have your train and Village items |
| O Scale trains are the most popular ones out | | | | inroughly the same size category. But the whole |
| there so theselection is good. The set looks great | | | | point about about Christmas |
| in all the Department 56 and similar-sized Villages | | | | Village displays is to help bring joy into the |
| andis easy to set up and keep running. This is | | | | Christmas Season. If you get toobogged down in |
| important if you just want to enjoythe Village and | | | | realism and perfection, you'll miss out on a lot of |
| not have to keep tending it, as the smaller-sized | | | | fun. |
| trains have a tendencyto derail! An interesting fact | | | | Enjoy! |