Model Trains Around the Christmas Tree - Buy a Set or DIY?

[@NicksCollectableCreations]

I love your christmas train . You need to do a car for Hobo Shoestring.

[@DanielCortopassi]

That could be interesting. I'll have to check out some of his videos. Merry Christmas and thanks for watching!

[@davidl.miller8168]

Dan, I hope you and the family have a very Merry Christmas and I look forward to your models and reviews in the new year

[@DanielCortopassi]

Merry Christmas to you, too, and thanks for watching!

[@VestedUTuber]

One thing I'd recommend considering for an around-the-tree setup is the scale. If you have a full stand-up tree of any kind, you already have space for O and G so there's no reason to use HO or N in that case, and both G and O will stand up to potential accidents involving careless steps. N is really good if you have one of those small tabletop trees as it fits in small spaces well. Honestly, in this particular case I'd say going with HO is a mistake - it's too big for a tabletop tree setup but too small to really be run on a floor without risking serious damage to your equipment.

[@DanielCortopassi]

We did the smaller tree on the table this year because we have some more things in the room than we did before. We've tried HO on the floor in years past and it wasn't great, especially because we have tile that's not quite flat. O or G would probably be more tolerant of that. I have a lot of N, and we considered that, but decided on HO for the table top setup. Thanks for the ideas and for watching!

[@devernepersonal3636]

Merry Christmas.

[@DanielCortopassi]

Merry Christmas to you, too, and thanks for watching!

[@rickmoustier1723]

Merry Christmas!

[@DanielCortopassi]

Merry Christmas to you, too, and thanks for watching!

[@donaldkormos5529]

Wishing a Very Merry Christmas to both of you !!!

[@DanielCortopassi]

Merry Christmas and thanks for watching!

[@potatocat5764]

For my tree, I do an elevated double track in n scale using a mix of the v12 and v13 track sets from Kato

[@DanielCortopassi]

That sounds cool. N is a great size for a holiday layout. Merry Christmas and thanks for watching!

[@sc50otc]

This was fun and informative. I haven't seen the BLI tankers - they're cool. I model HO but bought the Lionel Christmas Lights Express set to go around the tree this year. We have enough space to make a broader oval than the set comes with, so we added a few pieces of track and a couple MTH lighted cars. It's fun. Hope you and your family have a great Christmas and Happy New Year.

[@DanielCortopassi]

The Lionel set around the tree sounds cool. We're glad you're having fun with it. We're glad you liked the video, too. Merry Christmas and thanks for watching!

[@mikedowell8978]

Merry Christmas to Daniel Nichole🐂☃️🍹🎁

[@DanielCortopassi]

Merry Christmas to you, too! Thanks for watching!

[@paulkirkmanMYTRAINS]

Awesome collection of good cars for the tree area !!!! Merry Christmas !!!! 🎅

[@DanielCortopassi]

We're glad you liked the video. Merry Christmas and thanks for watching!

[@markhayes6407]

Merry Christmas Dan . The holiday spirit wouldn't be there without a train around the tree. I like your design and all the figures ice skating it looks like. The F7 Santa Fe warbonnet would of been my choice. It looks great.

[@DanielCortopassi]

Merry Christmas! The scenery around the layout wasn't quite set done yet when I took shots for this video. We've done some more with the decorating and should have another video out soon. We're glad you like it so far. Thanks for watching!

[@traindad77]

Any new or used LGB set is great for the tree.

[@DanielCortopassi]

Yes, that would be great, too. I know some of the G scale equipment can handle pretty sharp curves. My large scale stuff needs a little larger radius, but we're going to use it outside. Thanks for watching!

[@agwbcfjc2]

A fine and informative video, Dan. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Holidays to you and yours!

[@DanielCortopassi]

We're glad you enjoyed the video. Merry Christmas and thanks for watching!

[@Steamer96]

I think it would be neat if Kadee made their Christmas cars more realistic. Such as decorating the cars with a fictional North Pole roadname with their years as the road number and clever slogans.

[@DanielCortopassi]

That could.be fun. I would like something like that. I was only able to find the two Kadee boxcars, though I assume they must have done others in years past. Merry Christmas and thanks for watching!

[@historyboy08]

I bought a Lionel train set for the tree. I didn’t do a DIY as it was going to be far more expensive than buying a ready to run set.

[@DanielCortopassi]

That sounds cool. We were kind of tempted by the Lionel Hogwarts set, but didn't get one for this year. I think it would be a little too big for our room. I hope.you enjoy your trains! Merry Christmas and thanks for watching!

[@jimmyseaver3647]

Though HO works, O-scale tends to be seen as the more "charming" one to go with. Unfortunately, Lionel's sets tends to be a little more pricey for most people, even if they just buy the basic one and none of the offered expansions. There's a reason why I've seen a lot of people walk away with early postwar-era Lionel at the train shows I've attended this season.

[@DanielCortopassi]

We looked at the Lionel Hogwarts set, but it was a little expensive and I don't think it would have fit in the place where we needed it to go. O is definitely more expensive in general than HO or N, but it would be cool around the tree if you have the room. Merry Christmas and thanks for watching!

[@riogrande5761]

So what's with that single stripe D&RGW F unit off to the side. I spy a Rio Grande Zephyr F9A! That looks like the F9 from the first run around 15 or so years ago. I had that ABB set but when Athearn Genesis offered the more detailed F9A a few years ago, I sold my early run D&RGW F9A and bought the newer run which has Tsunami 2 sound. Merry Christmas to you.

[@DanielCortopassi]

Good eye. That's my Genesis model of 5771, which I got used years ago so it's probably from the first run like you suggested. It's another one I haven't got around to putting DCC in yet. We were using it, but it has some electrical issue and stalls frequently. I suspect one of the wires between the trucks and light board is broken inside. I'll have to fix it when I get around to putting a decoder in it. Anyway, we're glad you liked the video. Merry Christmas and thanks for watching!

[@riogrande5761]

@@DanielCortopassi I recall reading that some of the early Genesis F units had issue, mainly related to the axle grooves being too tight or shallow, but what you describe makes the most sense. The early release F9A I had I did test run a few times around my last layout and it seemed to run fine. But when Athearn finally offered the version with the mid-late 60's modernized details such as the nose MU receptacle, toe creepway, and top of nose grab irons which wrapped around the side, I decided to buy that one. WIth so little regular hobby time, anything that can take extra projects off my plate is a help. The only minor issue is the eyebrow grabs over the windshield were installed too high - same as on the modernized F7 set they offered some years back. Cheers and Merry Christmas.

[@DanielCortopassi]

I hadn't heard of the issues you described, but maybe that has something to do with it, too. The Santa Fe unit I'm using is about the same vintage. I'm not sure how old because I got that one used too, but both it and the Rio Grande unit have the blue and yellow boxes. The Santa Fe unit is working more reliably at the moment. I actually did a quick service on the Rio Grande unit, getting rid of the plastic clips and soldering the wires between the trucks and the light board, but it didn't fix the problem. One of the wires has a kink in it which is why I suspect it may be broken. I hear you about having too little hobby time. I've been trying to shed some projects myself this year.

[@traindad77]

MTH HO steamers designed for 18" radius.

[@DanielCortopassi]

That sounds perfect for a small layout. I do have other smaller HO steam engines but they're all projects right now. Thanks for watching!

[@duanewhite3275]

Merry Christmas !

[@DanielCortopassi]

Merry Christmas to you, too, and thanks for watching!