For many people, nothing brings back Christmas memories like the site of a train circling a Christmas tree - a century-old tradition. In the early days, tinplate or cardboard buildings were often set up near the tracks, a tradition that presaged today's porcelain holiday villages, many of which include trains as well.

The first Big Christmas Trains™ page was set up in 2004 as a "buyer's guide" to answer reader questions about what kind of trains go best with Christmas trees or villages (or, in some cases, both). More questions came in, and we put up other pages to answer those questions. Eventually, we even started a newsletter for folks interested in Christmas villages and the trains that go with them. We've also explored the topic of setting up big outdoor railroads at Christmas. In other words, we started out using the word "big" to describe the trains. But the hobbies we've supported and - in at least one case - started have become "big" as well, leading to dozens of articles spread across three different web sites.

So it's high time to have an index page that pulls all of these resources together in one place for folks who haven't spent as much time surfing our sites as we have building them. That said, when we started this project we realized that there was a lot of information we should have included but hadn't yet. So many of the articles we link to on this page were either created or seriously updated in October and November of 2009. Enjoy!

What is a Christmas Train?

Which Christmas Train Should I Buy?

Many folks want to know which train they should buy, but of course different kinds of trains work for different kinds of setups. We recommend that you check out the first few articles that this page links to before you make your decision. But if you're in a real hurry, here's a very short list to give you a head start.

• For outdoor displays, commercial displays, and very large Christmas Trees, consider Large Scale Christmas Trains.

• For Christmas trees under 6' and small living rooms, consider Lionel O gauge train sets. (These also work with many Christmas Villages.)

• For Christmas Villages, consider On30 train sets, which for all intents and purposes were invented to look good with Christmas villages. Two main kinds are available this year:
  • Bachmann On30 Christmas trains come in sets with Christmas colors, and everything you need in one box.

  • Hawthorne Village train collections are sold a piece at a time in collections inspired by popular painters (like Thomas Kinkade(r)), movies, brand names (like Coca Cola(r)), even television specials (like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer(r)).

Links to Big Christmas Train Articles

Here are links to articles you will find useful when you are choosing and using a Big Christmas Train.

• Sizes and Scales of Big Christmas Trains - Contains more details about the relative sizes of the Big Christmas Trains listed above.

• Choosing Christmas Trains and Villages - Describes more options for picking out or making Christmas villages, as well as for choosing trains for your towns. This article answers questions like "How Big are Christmas Villages and the Trains that Go With Them?" "Where do Christmas Towns Come From?" "Where do Christmas Trains Come From?" and "What if You Don't Have Room for a 38" Track Circle?"

• Scales and Gauges - They're not the Same - A detailed description of the difference between scales like O and HO and gauges like O gauge, On30, HO gauge, HOn36, and so on. From Big Indoor Trains™

• A Brief History of Christmas Villages - Includes brief descriptions of many options and resources that are still available today. From Family Christmas Online™.

• What Do Trains Have to Do With Christmas? - Explains why may folks are more likely to think about trains around the holidays. Also relates how and why, for nearly sixty years, electric trains were the centerpiece of many families' indoor Christmas decorating. From Family Christmas Online™.

• Department 56(r) Village Trains - A review of porcelain train sculptures and real electric trains that have been sold under the name Dept. 56. From Big Indoor Trains™

• Sizes and Scales of Big Indoor Trains - Which trains are best for an indoor O scale railroad? How much room do these trains take up anyway? From Big Indoor Trains™

• Which (Garden Train) Scale Should I Model? - Scale and gauge issues for "Large Scale" trains - the kind that run on 45mm/1.775" track outdoors - are much more complicated than they are for indoor trains. For that reason, our Family Garden Trains™ site has a whole article dedicated just to that subject. If you are planning to get into Large Scale trains, and you want some straight answers to complicated questions, check it out.

• Planning a (Garden Railroad) Christmas Open House - A record of what we went through to get our garden railroad ready for a Christmas-themed open house in 2008 (From Family Garden Trains™):
  • To see Part 1, click here.
  • To see Part 2, click here.
  • To see Part 3, click here.
  • To see Part 4, click here.
  • To see Part 5, click here.

Links to Christmas Train and Town Projects

In addition, you can help by sending us project tips, article ideas, and photos of your railroads and villages. We want this site to be as useful as possible to as many people as it can be. As the hobbies we serve grow, we all benefit.

"Tribute to Tinplate" Articles Here's a series of projects that pay "Tribute to Tinplate," based on the tinplated-steel trains and towns of a century ago. Free downloadable commercial-grade graphics and instructions will help you inexpensively add an authentic vintage look to any indoor railroad. Most projects have multiple pre-scaled plans and graphics, so you can easily add a vintage look to ANY railroad or holiday village. We have more on the drawing board, so be sure and check back.
What is a Glitterhouse? - Collecting and building authentic, vintage-style pasteboard houses. Includes many free downloadable plans, photos, and detailed instructions. We also provide instructions for making scenic accessories designed to go with any Christmas village.
Combining Trains and Towns - Why combining collectible village pieces and model trains is a growing and rewarding hobby.
Portable (Foam-Based) Indoor Displays - Using a foam-based portable scenic foundation to display your trains and towns to their best advantage.
Easy Indoor Lakes and Rivers - How to get the effect of waterfalls, rivers, lakes, and streams on both temporary and permanent indoor railroads and display villages.
Free Scenery Set Pieces - Add a vertical dimension to your holiday village for little or no investment. The technique can easily be adapted to all seasons.
Easy Homemade Trees - How to make realistic and inexpensive trees using (mostly) natural materials.
Winter Trees from Floral Picks- A quick and inexpensive way to add interesting textures to your late-autumn or winter railroad or village