Holiday Season & Trains

[Bernard]

I was just wondering if any of the members are planning on doing anything Train-related during this Holiday Season? Photos welcome. (Trains around the tree, Train shows, kids playing w/trains, etc.)

[to2leo]

Cats chasing or eating trains...  

 

Everysince the Polar Express, I usually put a steam train set in mine.  But I might use Unitram this year instead!

[CaptOblivious]

We have our holiday layout, Shogatsu, plus my wife has a cheapo Walthers HO set we used to have circling the tree, but is now a static display with her Christmas village. In years past, she's gotten really elaborate making a winter layout under the tree, but with a toddler, we decided not to this year.

 

Hopefully I will have good video to post from when Acadia, my daughter, opens her new Pla-Rail set on Christmas morning!

[Mudkip Orange]

I have a train setup in lieu of a tree.

[grumbeast]

Well my little Miranda has fallen in love with Thomas, so I'm buiding a train table for her, and we do have a few pieces (!!!!) for presents.

While I am something of a purist when it comes to Thomas, we couldn't resist getting Hero of the Rails for her and she loves it.  Mind you she's taken to calling Mum, Emily, and me Hero, master of the railroad!  (not that I mind :) !)  So it looks like Christmas will involve a lot of playing with Thomas, and hopefully a little time for Dad to play with his trains

 

Graham

[nik_n_dad]

Trains Around Tree:  Yes, probably will put up later this week

 

Train Shows:  That was 2 weeks ago

 

Kid Playing With Trains:  Almost daily

 

Building New Layout:    Started this last weekend

 

Christmas Trains on Dining Room Table:  Probably 4 different ones

 

Trips to Huge Local Train Store:  Weekly

[ToniBabelony]

I'm having a somewhat unplanned train-related Christmas... As my gf and I still have courses on the 23th, we are obliged to travel home to my parent's the 24th. Of course all seats on the ICE are booked, so we have to take the local connection which takes five hours instead of the three hours with the direct ICE train. Not a very relaxing trip as we have to change four times at Cologne, Mönchen-Gladbach, Venlo and Eindhoven. Maybe we even decide to go the 23th and arrive very very late in the evening, but that is optional... Maybe I'll treat myself on an order from HW or something like that...

[Mossberg]

I have made a small (German) layout with a winter and christmas theme. It is already standing in our livingroom :-).

 

But after the holiday season I will replace it with my small Japanese adventure.

 

Happy Christmas everyone.

 

/Magnus M

[serenityFan]

Last 2 years I have my OO Flying Scots going around the christmas tree... however since this year my wife and I are going on a europe trip around christmas and new year, we won't be setting up our tree.

 

And there will be trains, we've got eurostar tickets...  :grin

[Nozomi]

Well this year is my first holiday season as a Japan rail enthusiast so I had to do something special. I booked a flight to London to able to ride the Hitatchi Class 395 on the UK's first and only highspeed track from London St. Pancras down to the Kent coast. The Class 395 is based on the 400 series shinkansen and the Hitatchi A-Train family. So I consider it to be the first european shinkansen. Congratulations to the British that they had the nerve to order trains from japan. I can't imagine that any other european country has the guts to do it. It's a about time that european railway operators punish manufacturers like Alstom and Bombardier for their lack of quality and reliability.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_395

 

http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/10/hitachi-preferred-for-ctrl-domestic-trains.html

[jappomania]

Well this year is my first holiday season as a Japan rail enthusiast so I had to do something special. I booked a flight to London to able to ride the Hitatchi Class 395 on the UK's first and only highspeed track from London St. Pancras down to the Kent coast. The Class 395 is based on the 400 series shinkansen and the Hitatchi A-Train family. So I consider it to be the first european shinkansen. Congratulations to the British that they had the nerve to order trains from japan. I can't imagine that any other european country has the guts to do it. It's a about time that european railway operators punish manufacturers like Alstom and Bombardier for their lack of quality and reliability.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_395

 

http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/10/hitachi-preferred-for-ctrl-domestic-trains.html

 

Hi!

I'm not 100% sure (because I don't find the old Japanese magazine with this news) but I know it's based on E3 Shinkansen (asyncronous traction), the old 400 is the last Shinkansen with DC motors....(maybe this time wikipedia failed..)

I hope the next high speed train in Italy is a Shikansen (a 700 base train is under evaluation for the future...)

ciao

Massimo

[Mudkip Orange]

(a 700 base train is under evaluation for the future...)

 

Oh SNAP.

 

we have to take the local connection which takes five hours instead of the three hours with the direct ICE train. Not a very relaxing trip as we have to change four times at Cologne, Mönchen-Gladbach, Venlo and Eindhoven.

 

Once upon a time I tried to go from Olympia, Washington to Vancouver, BC using nothing but local buses. I had to use Greyhound for one short leg (Mt Vernon to Bellingham, $9) but otherwise it worked and is cheap. There are no transit buses that cross the Canadian border, but you can take a Whatcom (US) transit bus to the edge, walk across, and then get on a BC Transit bus on the other side.