(11) Trains have been part of the family and Christmas for decades. In this display, Christmas Mountain overlooks Christmas Valley, which is home to Christmas Valley Village. Tying the Mountain, Valley and Village together is the LF Limited Railroad. The inner track is home to the Moose Boy Freight Runner. Notice the freight cars? One each of the last three Christmases. the outer track is home of the Polar Express. Listen closely and you can hear the Conductor. Train not running? Ring the bell next to the really large door surrounded by red lights. Something good might happen.
The base, walls and roof of the display box are all modular. They breakdown and are stored in a space 10 foot by 2 foot. The structure was designed by Dad. We worked steadily for over a month building the core structure. Though, truth be told, Dad constructed most of the base on his own. I merely assisted in final details and hardware application. The dealer who sold us the plastic for the walls thought we were crazy when we explained what we were building. The structure is engineered for a single individual to assemble, but takes two individuals over 8 hours to complete each season. The Village display takes additional time.
Sadly, the track had to be upgraded this year. The previous track had been left over from the layout Dad has been playing with since his youth. Several pieces of the track had predated World War II. Unfortunately, time finally caught us and the track had to be replaced. The Moose Boy Freight Runner is my oldest son’s. It was his Christmas present from Grandpa almost 20 years ago.
“Christmas Mountain” breaks down into four pieces and is made of cardboard boxes, styrofoam, plaster cloth and powdered plaster. The cliff details are made with plaster set in rubber molds. The mountain is in its second round of construction and modification. In total, roughly 60 hours have gone into creating “Christmas Mountain.”
“Christmas Valley Village” has been procured by my wife and mother in law through clearance sales, thrift stores and estate sales. Only two pieces joined the Village from other sources. I gifted myself the Hobo Camp a few years back. The platform rail station was Dad’s from his childhood. My youngest children are invaluable in setting the Village.
Christmas Light Display 