If you're still looking for ideas for that Christmas tree layout you plan to build (better get moving!) there are a couple of threads on the O Gauge Railroad forum you'll want to check out.

• Christmas Track Plans
• Christmas Layout 2007

Related Posts

O Gauge Track Plans
Building Your First Christmas Layout - Part 1
Building Your First Christmas Layout - Part 2
How To Build A Train Platform

Frank53 started an interesting thread over at the Model Train Journal forum that is worth a look.  Frank53 is asking everyone to post a photo of a post war Lionel item (items produced between 1945 & 1969) along with the Lionel item number.  You can post photos of as many items as you like as long as they have not been posted yet.  The thread started on 10/30 and has 22 pages of photos and counting.  The thread is becoming a great free photo reference of post war Lionel items (wiki anyone?).  Use the forum's search function to search by item number to see if a photo of your favorite post war item has been posted yet.

View the thread here.

Thanks for the tip Frank.   

If you're like me you just don't have the room for a large O Gauge layout.  There's a good thread on the OGR Forum about small O Gauge layouts with some great photos of small layouts and some cool track plans.  Check it out here.

On the O Gauge Railroading on-line forum, L. Larson put together a nice post about making card stock buildings for your O Gauge layout.  Card stock buildings are an inexpensive way to to add life to your O Gauge layout. 

Card Modeling FAQ is another great resource for card modeling.

Related Posts
Cheap O Gauge Ballast
What Foam To Use For Layout Construction

A new on line forum dedicated to model railroading has apparently opened up over the past week.  The forum, ScaleRailsOnline, seems to be getting a little bit of traction with the N and HO scale crowd but not much for O Gauge yet.  In one of the posts there was a link to guy who weathers locomotives and rolling stock and his work is amazing.  The site is called Griff's Grime Shop and there are plenty of photos.  All the examples of Griff's work on the site are HO but they are real nice.

The TCA's Eastern Division has a longstanding rule prohibiting photographs from being taken within the halls of their York meets.  This year, for the first time, the Eastern Division invited a modular club, National Capital Trackers, to set up their layout.  Unfortunately, someone from the National Capital Trackers ignored the no photography rule and snapped a picture of the layout displayed in the Black Hall and posted it as a reponse to a discussion thread on the O Gauge Railroading forum.  Based on another post on OGR, The Eastern Division took action against the National Capital Trackers by revoking their invitation to return to York.  The Eastern Division is also seeking the individual(s) who snapped the photo and will suspend them from visiting the York meet for 1 year.

Installment #7 of my periodic list of interesting posts from the various O Gauge forums.  As you may have noticed from past forum roundups, I primarily focus on posts that feature "tips and tricks" you can use to improve your O Gauge model railroad. 

Common Sources for Layout Building Materials  on the OGR forum.  This post discuss alternative sources for building materials.

Chain Link Fence Question on the OGR forum.  Lot's of discussion on how to model chain link fence on your layout.

Where To Purchase Back Drop Scenes on the OGR forum.  Discussion about sources for back drop scenes for your layout.

Cardstock Buildings on the Model Train Journal forum.  This is a good discussion about building   structures from printed card stock.

How To Make Inexpensive Conifer Trees on the Classic Toy Trains forum.  In this discussion you will learn how to make Conifer trees out of a furnace filter.

Corrugating Tin Cans. How? on the Classic Toy Trains forum.  Learn how to use a soda can to create corrugated metal material for use on your layout structures.

Place To Get Parts on the Classic Toy Trains forum.  In this discussion you will find a good number of sources for repair parts for your locomotives and rolling stock.

Installment #6 of my Forum Roundup:

John Allen's Gorre and Daphetid Railroad by Ray Marinaccio on The Gauge forum.  In this post there is a link to photograph's of John Allen's layout.  John Allen modeled in HO but is considered to be one of the pioneers of model railroading.

Making Clay Clods and Old Dirt Roads by hminky on The Gauge forum.  If you are looking to model dirt roads on your layout check out this post.

Custom dry transfers? by raydunkin on Google Groups - rec.models.railroad.  In this post you will find several links to sources of custom dry transfers.

Need Transformer Advice by tumbleweed56 on Classic Toy Trains forum.  You'll find plenty of advice on how to use your old ZW to run your modern models, including how to add a sound activation switch and circuit breakers.

Layout Base Color by bibeaud on O Gauge Railroading forum.  Good discussion about what color to paint the base of your newly built layout.

Vinylbed by Harry R on O Gauge Railroading forum.  If your thinking about using Vinylbed on your new layout you need to read this discussion.

Making a creek/lake by Larry3railtrains on O Gauge Railroading forum.  Good discussion about using Enviro-tex to model water on your layout.

Installment #5 of forum roundup:

Need Suggestions on Basement Layout Ceiling Lighting by Walter Matauch on the OGR forum.  Discussion about the best type of lighting and lamps to use to illuminate a layout.

 Hot Wire Foam Cutters by John Devlin on the OGR forum.  Discussion about foam cutters.  In the thread is a link to a Hot Wire Foam Factory which looks like a good source for foam cutting tools.

Plywood or Homosote by rrman on OGR forum.  Discussion about the use of plywood, homosote or a both for bench work and road bed.

Making trees by kettlestack on The Gage forum.  In this post kettlestack explains how to make trees from scratch.  His trees are for HO but the technique could be used for any scale.

Woodland Scenics Grass Mat by RT on OGR forum.  A discussion about Woodland Scenics new grass mat and indoor/outdoor carpet for a layout base.  In this thread you'll find some good suggestions for the type of carpet to use for a layout.

Realistic Telephone Poles by southern rr on Model Train Journal forum.  Discussion about where to get realistic o gauge telephone poles.  The post also contains links to other posts about telephone poles in MTJ.  Be sure to check out HiRailJon's links.

O27 track questions by jpbart2 on Model Train Journal forum.  Some good discussion about the pros/cons of using O27 track.

Type of Camera used for Train Pics by TheTrainMaster on Classic Toy Trains forum.  A short thread about the types of cameras folks use to take pictures of their layout.  Lighting is the key.

Quiet Table Layout by Chip Jackson on OGR forum.  A discussion about the various ways to build a quite table layout.

Here is installment #4 of forum roundup.

Traveling Boxcar by Lehigh Valley Railroad on OGR forum.  This discussion is about a cool idea.  The "traveling boxcar" is sent around the country to members that sign up to be on the recipient list.  Members take photos of the box car on their layout then send it to the next person on the list.

Suggestions on blacktop for layout.  In this post by darianj on the CTT forum, participants recommend ways to create blacktop roads, etc on a layout.

New to Ballast. Dumb Question by SpaceMouse on the CTT forum.  Discussion about how to ballast your O Gauge layout.

Coldness and Toy Trains by Munster518 on CTT forum.  A discussion about the the effects of storing trains in cold and hot places.

ZW Instructions by jimsiv on CTT forum.  If you own an old Lionel ZW transformer, you can get a link to the original repair manual in this discussion.

Cleaning a layout by quick on OGR forum.  Discussion about keeping layouts clean.

Great Stonework Article by mm00047 on OGR forum.  There is a link in this discussion to an issue of The Keystone Modeler that has plenty of pictures of stonework on the Pennsylvania railroad.

Another installment of my periodic roundup of forum posts from around the web that I found interesting and helpful.

Ready to Roll, Great Dealer Service by rahway valley on CTT forum.  Another story of a hobby shop giving good customer service.

Some Good Reputable Online Train Ordering Sites by TheTrainMaster on CTT forum.  CTT forum members comment on what they think are the best O Gauge hobby dealers online.

O27 Switch Track Options by pgtr on CTT forum.  Anyone interested (like me) in using O27 track because it is inexpensive and/or is better for small layouts will want to check out this thread on O27 switches.

Shelves for Trains Display  by Norm on OGR forum.  Some good advice about shelves to display your trains.

What is the best glue for foam board?  by 3rdrail4me on OGR forum.  If you are thinking about using foam board for the first time, check out this thread.

Inside Fastrack Switch.... by BradK on OGR forum.  Every wonder what the inside of a Lionel Fastrack switched looked like?  BradK posted a picture of it in this thread.

Sunday Photo Fun 1-29-06 by scott.smith on OGR forum.  Great photos in this thread, especially CSX  Fan's photos of the catenary lines he just installed on his layout (about halfway down on second page).

Cutting Atlas O Track by amalie on the Atlas forum.  Some advice on what tools to use to cut Atlas O or any other track.

Here's another installment of my periodic roundup of forum posts I found to be interesting.

O Scale or O Gauge??  Posted by George Gast on OGR forum.  Explains the difference between O Scale and O Gauge.

Yer Fragmented Market  Posted by Trigtrak on OGR forum.  Many opinions on the current and future state of the O Gauge hobby.

Nascar + Lionel = Bye Bye Bankruptcy!!!  Posted by tsgtbob on OGR forum.  This one touched off some heated debate resulting in 136 replies and counting. Many different opinions on NASCAR, it's fans, and their willingness to support Lionel's new NASCAR items.  The following post by LionelPWCOperator really struck a nerve:

I don't think NASCAR will do anything for Lionel. In marketing terms NASCAR has a low-income demographic composed of uneducated individuals who drink, smoke, and watch a lot of sports on TV. This demographic lacks the purchasing power to buy Lionel products, and Lionel wasted its money on the NASCAR license. This type of demographic is better suited to the alcohol and tobacco industry which does very well with NASCAR.

The Village of Greenbrook  Posted by Charbonneau on MTJ forum.  In this thread, which started in September of '05, Norm Charbonneau keeps everyone updated on the progress of his layout.  Norm appears to be considered a legendary modeler by O-Gauge enthusiasts and one look at pictures of his layouts explains why.  It's a long thread so just skim through it to find the pictures.

Yesterday, I received an email from Classic Toy Trains magazine containing a survey referencing their February issue.  Upon opening it I thought to myself "not a bad idea".  Apparently folks over at the Model Train Journal disagree.  A thread posted by PennCentral8885 touched off a firestorm that is interesting reading.

Read the entire thread on MTJ.
Read a copy of the CTT Survey.

From time to time I will put together a list of the threads I enjoyed over the past week or so from various O Gauge forums around the web.  Here is the inaugural list:

What do you do when the buying bug bites????  From 92hatchattack on OGR.  Everyone in the O Gauge hobby has the urge to spend more than they should.  In this thread everyone explains how they fight the "bug".
An Open Letter to MTH re the No. 999  From smd4 on OGR.  A classic example of the those in the O Gauge hobby with a passion for the details and a great example of how a company like MTH reads the forums and responds to customer complaints directly.    Andy Edleman, VP of Marketing for MTH, addresses smd4's complaint (can be found about half way down the 1st page of the post).
O Gauge Confessional - Holiday 2005 Edition  From Yojimbo on MTJ.  Yojimbo sets up shop and let's everyone confess their O Gauge "sins".  A similar thread must have caused some controversy (from the PC (politically correct) police) on the OGR forum last year based on this post on OGR from Yojimbo.
What surprises will 2006 Bring to Our Hobby  From Multi-Gauge Art on OGR.  Some interesting discussion on the current and future state of the O Gauge hobby.
Kirstin at MTH -- There She Goes...There She Goes, Again  From GarySeven on OGR.  I enjoyed discovering in this thread that there are some good customer support stories out there.
Feb. CTT Article a "DUD"  From BigJim on CTT.  Readers complain about the February issue of Classic Toy Trains magazine.  UPDATE:  There is another thread covering this topic where the exchanges get a bit heated.  I love the entry from Bob Keller of Classic Toy Trains magazine in response to BigJim's complaint.  Here's Bob's response:

Jim,
If our magazine Really, Really, Really bugs you that much, I just suggest not reading it at all.

I'd hate to think you'd have a stroke over some cover blurbs. We're not curing war or world hunger here, we're writing about toy trains.

Have a low-blood pressure 2006!   

Read the entire thread on OGR.