Well, I helped the 5-year old receiver of the plastic train set under our tree today by adding batteries, mounting trees, building tracks and such... So this train ran in "dinosaur forest" with dinosaurs also as passengers this afternoon... Next year, there might be a real starter set for him....

Santa was good to me as well 1) starter set 29825 2)loco 39010 3)some building kits from faller - vollmer. The problem is that the central station does not work. It lights up but I see no graphics or fonts. It controles the two loco`s but I see a blank screen . I will be sending it back today .[V][V][V]

Basil

No items specifically under the Christmas tree, but in December I received:
<ul><li>Märklin 37159 SŽD TE 3915 (ex BR52)</li><li>Märklin 37333 CFL Serie 3600</li><li>Märklin 42138 Donnerbüchsen wagons</li><li>Electrotren EL1635 & 1637 (Beer wagons: Carlsberg and Leffe - mmmmm...beer! )</li><li>plus a few Ricko Alfas, Lancias and Fiats</li></ul>
Actually, the best Christmas present happened at the Kelly Seniors' Christmas Eve chow-down/piss-up. I brought along my newly converted BR18.4 (33184 upgraded to 5 pole, with ESU LokSound and smoke) plus a pair of Rheingold wagons (4228) with the lights inside.
I set up a loop on the table outside -- on the veranda -- and showed my youngest niece (8yo). Just the look of the loco and wagons fired her up, and when I started the smoke and sound and lights, she was off!
She then spent a whole two hours driving the train, chasing it around the table, pretending a person was asleep on the tracks, pretending a reindeer (!) was on the tracks (it was Christmas Eve), and generally being totally submerged in playing trains.

I confess to being sucked in too -- I showed her how to use "turtle" mode for low speed control, and the whistle, so she could safely clear that pesky reindeer off the tracks, and how to properly re-rail the train after that same pesky reindeer pushed too hard on the wagons and derailed them! [:0]

Her mother (my sister) remarked that she had never (ever!) seen her daughter stick at the same activity for two hours (my niece has very mild Asperger's Syndrome). She only gave up to eat, and then to sleep. She's the sort of child who is more happy to pull a toy apart and rebuild it differently than just play with it. I reckon she'll make a fine engineer!

I remember a similar response when I set up my Hobbytrade MZ with sound -- complete attention! The steamer plus passenger wagons got a longer response, though.

Later, when the young-uns had gone to sleep my father, my brother-in-law, and I sat up around the table (with them smoking the ceremonial cigars) and we all played with my new SŽD TE 3915 and CFL 3600. We came to the conclusion that both of these (straight out of the box, no lubrication [:I][:(]) pulled better than the BR18.4 -- I think I need to clean the wheels on the BR18.4 and refit the traction tyres.

My father related how in about 1968 he travelled from Copenhagen to London by train, and had to wait at a station on the border of Germany and The Netherlands for a connection -- from Moscow! He said the Russian loco had the most enormous wheels he had ever seen -- I suppose for high-speed travel across the Russian and North European plains. My Dad doesn't know the exact loco type, but perhaps it was a ex-German BR52!

One small victory: I had (several weeks ago) suggested that I might get my niece a Märklin starter set (that new AUD200 set 29165 with the small steamer BR81 and loop). He was sceptical, and said "I still have my old train set with the rocket launcher and spy satellite -- that will do if she ever wants a train set". I assume it was some nameless toy brand, or (shudder ) Hornby. Anyway, I think he was truly impressed (and humbled) by the quality of the Märklin locos and wagons.

So, I'll keep working on my niece, and I expect to have a new "partner-in-crime" for my train hobby!

Good one for me also
39120 E10.3
0075-07 Frieght Car with VW bus
one old kit bashed German saw mill with water wheel, that I found at an antique shop. It was a rare find in my area. I replaced the original water wheel motor with one from a cpu fan and fixed up the grond covering.
http://darrintowers.com/Marklin/39120.jpg
Planning to go to the marklin dealer this weekend and see what he has.

It took Mr 9 two full days to decorate the Christmas tree using his new 46715 digital crane...


....pulled by the new 'Spieldosen' loco - to keep the Christmas colors ....


...which was purchased by Santa on Ebay as the analog Trix version,
converted just in time to the now-standard 3-rail mfx sound..[^]

No - it's from an Re460 donor loco - now happily living as a Trix Polmengo

I appreciate the kind words, Pierre. It's part of a photo diorama I put together as indoor lighting is so disagreeable to my digital camera. This is a shot of my Christmas gift to me---the courage to weather some of my steamers---posed on my other photo diorama. This one has led to several others being done. Freight cars, no sweat, diesels, not a problem...I just never could bring myself to weather steam.

Hi @ all,

set 3300 is not main project for a post x-mas gift anymore. Just got hold of a beautiful 3356 for less than 100,- Euro and my wife paid it.
So it's happy new years ending at least.

one more item. late x-mas/birthday
starter set 29625: 1999 anniversary set

Nothing train related under the tree for me this year (in fact there rarely is - there are no M dealers in our area, so people can't go and browse for stuff and pick out something).

However my red BR103 arrived the week before Christmas (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=017&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=270057534018&rd=1&rd=1), but I'm still waiting for the BR101 to arrive (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=010&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=200047261675&rd=1&rd=1)

Well done,Very good price!

My wife bought me the 37662 (Norwegian Nohab with snow ploughs) and I will buy for myself the Swedish 37414 along with the 43784 4-wagons train-set that gets along with it.
I try to resist also the temptation to buy the 39572 E103 in red colouring although I possess already the ROCO model, which is by the way very nice, but I still want to get my hands to a Maerklin E103 (other than the 39579 Insider).

Congratulations with the snow plough, Symeon.

I hope that you do not have to use it outdoors.

Ron aren't you afraid to use your trains on the carpet, some wool might stuck into your motor.

If you are referring to my christmas train, I am not too worried but I will open it up after running it to have a look and give a good clean if needed.
Nev

Svien, Will be some good Malts and maybe some old French Stuff, but then again most Australian wines are beter than the French variety.

Happy drinking.

Hello Nev, i was referring to Ron's big boy which was runing on his carpet layout, but now that you mentioned it i refer to yours as well , i remember when i was a boy, my trains having their motors filled with wool unable to move [xx(].

Nothing under the tree for me I think. I doubt there'll be a tree at all actually.

Of course, I gave myself an early christmas/birthday present some weeks ago, I bought a snowboard with bindings and boots.

Visiting my parents for christmas, but since we've never been much into the whole thing, I doubt there'll be anything going on this year.

Mike is referring to the $ 999,999.00 check I received from the US Treasury It ain't financing my MRR though, that's just evil rumours [}:)]

Here is my tree layout:

[image]http://www.sem-co.com/~rschaffr/trains/images/2007tree-2.jpg[/image]

[image]http://www.sem-co.com/~rschaffr/trains/images/2007tree.jpg[/image]

Well our Christmas Tree is finally complete.

These are my wifes trains. She had to have an LGB set for her Steiff Bears and then she had to have the Linoel giraffecar then the Reindeer car. Now we have the a new Linoel set to pull it..

Click on the picture to see the video


Merry Christmas

Darrin

Today in the ICE, coffee with




.

I know that theres a central station ;P

Very good, Thanks for sharing the pictures.

Luise is lucky, Pierre!

Do brownies grow in greenhouses, Nev?

Why are they brown, then?