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Written by Paul D. Race for Family Garden Trains(tm)
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You've probably figured out that most of the collectible trains and holiday villages listed on the Big Christmas Trains pages are made by Hawthorne Village. They are of exceptional quality, and they are excellent values compared to other world-class collectibles. But they are also available only by subscription.
Every year about November 15, I start getting franting e-mails from people who really want some collectible village or train and want to know how to get one all at once. Unfortunately, they can't, unless they are "fortunate" enough to find a set from "scalpers" who want to charge double or worse. But there are other quality trains you can buy all at once, as well as buildings you can order "a la carte." This page lists holiday village structures and accessories that you can get this week (unless it's December 20 or later, in which you need to check the individual vendor's shipping policies).
Note: If you have your eye on some collectible train or village, go ahead and get a subscription started - experience tells me that some of the trains and villages in this catalog will not be available at any price by next spring. (If I knew which ones for sure I'd tell you, but I don't.) In other words, if you want a particular set, such as the new Bedford Falls or Mayberry RFD sets, consider getting your subscription for that set in now, too.
A few lines down are links to Large Scale and Lionel(R) trains you can get quickly, too. But for this page, I've put together a list of trains and other products that are especially meant to go with your Holiday Village. All of the products on this page are all of very high quality, and will give you a a nice community and a train to run around it by Christmas. And when your subscription train(s) and village(s) start arriving, they will all look great together. I've also tried to format this page so that most of it prints properly on most printers. So if you see anything you especially like, add this page to your "favorites" (there's a button to do that near the top of the page if you don't know how), then print this "page" (actually about 14 pages), circle the products you like and leave it laying it an obvious place, hint, hint. :-)
Note about Suppliers: While we try to help you get the products you want by recommending suppliers with a good record of customer service, all transactions between you and the supplier you chose to provide your trains or other purchases are governed by the published policies on the supplier's web site. So please print off any order confirmation screens and save copies of invoices, etc., so you can contact the appropriate supplier should any problems occur. (They almost never do, but you want to be on the safe side.)
Now here's a list of trains and accessories that don't come by subscription.
As always, if you have any questions about any of the trains or villages on this site, contact us as soon as you can - we're starting to get backed up on our e-mails, too.
Hope you have a TERRIFIC holiday season! - Paul
Bachmann On30 TrainsThe Bachmann On30 trains shown below are good around Christmas trees, but they are great on model railroads and holiday villages. These trains are all completely compatible with the Hawthorne Village trains shown above. In fact, Bachmann provides service for the Hawthorne Village trains as well as their own. But unlike the collectible trains, you get a Bachmann train all at the same time, which means you'll have the whole set in time for Christmas unless you wait too long.
Many people who are attracted to the collectible trains buy Bachmann On30 trains for the kids to run, or to leave around the Christmas tree. Others who started with On30 trains see a collectible train they like and add it to their railroad or holiday village, so deciding which kind of train to buy first isn't entirely an "either-or" decision.
On the other hand, if you want your train to "look like" a Christmas train, the Bachmann On30 Christmas Trains shown a little further down the page may be more to your liking.
To see a bigger photo of any train below, simply click on the photo you want to see "blown up." As always please contact
us early in the season with any questions about any train, village, or accessory on this site.
Bachmann On30 Spectrum Ohio River & Western Passenger Train Set Bachmann's On30 model of this Ohio River & Western Railway captures the spirit of hundreds of "short-line" railroads that served regions between 1850 and 1940. This set includes a 2-6-0 steam locomotive with operating headlight, coal tender, three lighted passenger cars, 56 inch x 38 inch oval of nickel silver E-Z Track with 12 pieces of curved track, 3 pieces of straight track, and 1 plug-in terminal rerailer, E-Z Mate couplers on all cars, Spectrum power pack, and helpful video with assembly instructions.
Click on a button for more details or to make a purchase.
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Bachmann On30 Spectrum Colorado and Southern Passenger Train Set Green and gold is the color scheme of this handsome Colorado & Southern train set. The Colorado & Southern comes complete with: a lighted 2-6-0 steam locomotive and tender, three lighted passenger cars, 56 inch x 38 inch oval of nickel-silver E-Z Track, magnetically-operated E-Z Mate knuckle couplers on all cars, under-track magnet, Spectrum power pack, and helpful video with assembly instructions. Click on a button for more details or to make a purchase. |
Bachmann On30 Spectrum Denver and Rio Grande Western Passenger Train Set This set includes all the features of the two sets above, but it comes in one of the West's favorite color schemee - Bumblebee Yellow. I'm told that this color was actually adopted in the early 1900s, when the "Wild West" had tamed down a little, but the wilderness through which the D&RGW passed was still breathtaking. This color is retained today on tourist trains that travel where these historic colors once "ruled the west." Click on a button for more details or to make a purchase. |
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 Bachmann's On30 model captures the spirit of thousands of "peddler freights" that served local industries all over North America between 1850 and 1960. This set includes a 2-6-0 steam locomotive with operating headlight, coal tender, three freight cars, caboose, 56 inch x 38 inch oval of nickel silver E-Z Track with 12 pieces of curved track, 3 pieces of straight track, and 1 plug-in terminal rerailer, E-Z Mate couplers on all cars, Spectrum power pack, and helpful DVD format video with assembly instructions. Click on the button below to check stock. Click on a button for more details or to make a purchase. |
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Note: The Bachmann On30 streetcars and streetcar sets were huge sellers in 2005. In 2006, all of my "recommended suppliers" ran out of them completely, and I asked TrainDiscounts to go on a quest to find me some more. They found some, but I don't know how long their supply will last. Please don't wait too long to order.
For more information or to place your order, click on a "check stock" button."
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| A Christmas Version of this set is also offered; it is also in extremely short supply. | 
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Note:To extend a "back-and-forth" railroad, you will need to use special track. (Regular HO track, even the EZ track that comes with the trains above, won't work, because of the extra wiring necessary to run the reversing mechanism.) For straight pieces, use Bachmann #44548 track. For curves, use Bachmann # 44549. If you have questions about this, please contact me and I'll try to help you out. |
Bachmann On30 Christmas Trains
About Extra Track - Except for the back-and-forth trolley sets, all of the train sets on this page come with an oval of track, generally about 38" x 56". To get a jump start on your railroad, or to make your railroad a little larger, you may easily add additional track. The Bachmann EZ Track #44501 is an exact replacement for the curves that come with the train sets. #44411 matches the straight pieces.
Collectible Holiday Village Structures A La CarteI'm so used to Hawthorne Village taking all of the "guesswork" out of collecting by offering subscription series, I often neglect the many great pieces that are available individually from world-class holiday village collectible manufacturers. Here is a carefully chosen list of collectible holiday village structures that you can order today and get in a few days while you're waiting on the rest of your Hawthorne Village set to arrive.Hawthorne Village StructuresDepartment 56 Collectible Christmas In the City(r) StructuresDepartment 56 Original Show Village(r) Structures
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Department 56 North Pole Series Letters To Santa Sorting Station Gift Set Village Department 56(R) Santa Village Building Keeps Santa's Mail Going! Limited-edition Collectible Santa Christmas Decoration! - So how does Santa handle the millions of letters he gets each year? They're processed at Santa's very own Letters To Santa Sorting Station, of course! You'll love all the clever details in this animated Department 56(R) Santa village building gift set, from the reindeer flying around the ornate roof, to the Flying Deer Wanted banner, to all the festive decorations and sacks full of holiday mail!A delightful part of the Department 56 North Pole Series(TM), this collectible Santa Christmas decoration is handcrafted of high-quality ceramic, and uses a new cordless lighting technology that gives you wonderful flexibility in creating your cherished Christmas village display. Plus, it comes with a Sorting Santa's Letters accessory and two tinsel trees! Don't delay, things are bound to get busy at the Sorting Station very soon, and production is limited to 2006! Order now! |
 
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Note: Family Garden Trains(tm), Garden Train Store(tm) and Big Christmas Trains(tm) are trademarks of Breakthrough Communications (www.btcomm.com). All information, data, text, and illustrations on this web site are
Copyright (c) 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 by Paul D. Race.
Reuse or republication without prior written permission is specifically
forbidden.
For more information, please contact us
Christmas Street Car - The Bachmann On30 Christmas Street Car is also available separately. It will run on any HO or On30 track, so many folks buy it to give to the model railroader in their family. Unlike some toy wooden streetcars you see in Christmas displays, these models derive their charm from accuracy, detail, and excellent (if not entirely realistic) paint jobs. 
Bachmann North Pole Express - This Bachmann Christmas set was especially designed to look good with Christmas village buildings. (In fact, one version of this train, in black and dark red, was sold under the Dept. 56(tm) label - We've just found a few at a collectible site; the link for that is below.) That said, this train is also big enough to look great around your tree. The set comes with a power supply and a loop of track. The engine is reliable, and the paint job and details are attractive. 
Bachmann Jingle Bell Express - In late 2004, Bachmann also introduced a charming and reliable On30 Christmas Freight set, called the Jingle Bell Express. For details, pricing, or availability, please click on a "check stock" button.