If the gift happens to be a train, that’s all the better. Such is the case with the Christmas train I created for my club layout to operate throughout the holiday season.
While a variety of special holiday sets are readily available from toy train manufacturers, I didn’t want to spend too much money on items that would only be used seasonally. Additionally, I also wanted a train with unique charm. After thumbing through various toy train catalogs, I was finally inspired to create my own Santa Claus Special.
Poring over the details of the Large scale Lionel no. 81029 Holiday Special, an O gauge Lionel no. 28660 North Pole Dockside switcher, and a no. 36529 work caboose got me thinking about similar, little-used items I already had on hand. In the photos that follow, you’ll see how I was able to rescue those items from the Island of Misfit Toys and then convert them into a special train well suited for Santa.
When sorting through the items in my storage area, I came across a humble Lionel no. 8905 dockside switcher from the late 1970s.
After using a razor saw and hobby knife to cut out the doorways of the cab, I then removed the ornamental bell, whistle, and headlamp. Next, I separated the chassis and sprayed the body with red paint that’s suitable for use on plastics. Once the body color dried, I used a brush to paint the coal load black. I also trimmed some of the boiler piping and the stack stripe with green paint before re-assembling the locomotive mechanism.
For the crew of my switcher, I used the Santa and Mrs. Claus figures removed from a well-used Lionel no. 18403 handcar. After going under the hobby knife for weight loss and elbow surgery, the Clauses fit perfectly into the doorways.
To give the locomotive a more seasonal appearance, I added a few miniature decorations to the front and sides. Lastly, using a computer and printer, I fabricated a couple of “Merry Christmas” signs to cover the “8905” cab number.
What kind of loads does the Santa Claus Special carry? Why presents, of course! Returning to my collection of stored trains, I found a Lionel MPC-era O27 gondola that I could fill with goodies.
The first step was to spray paint the car red. I knew that I couldn’t just drop the load of goodies into the car, so my wife graciously fashioned two red cloth bags, complete with drawstrings. To fill these bags, my wife and I bought several packages of miniature ornaments at a local home-decorating store. In addition to the wrapped presents, I also inserted a candy cane, teddy bear, and snare drum ornament into the bags and then secured them using clear-drying craft glue.
Since Santa is taking a break from flying his reindeer-guided sleigh to drive the locomotive, I figured the Santa Claus Special needed suitable accommodations for the reindeer and sleigh.
I found two Lionel MPC-era O27 flatcars to carry each load and sprayed both of them with red paint. I constructed the reindeer corral using strips of balsa and wood glue. After painting the fence green and allowing it to dry thoroughly, I then cemented it to the deck of the car. On the second flatcar, I cemented a storage box from a Lionel no. 12838 crate load set.
While it was easy to find the ornaments and seasonal decorations in stores, I was challenged to locate an appropriately scaled sleigh and set of reindeer. Eventually, I acquired plastic reindeer and a chromed sleigh through online auctions. I painted the sides of the sleigh red and green, and then tied it to the flatcar using the same ribbon used to make the drawstring for the red cloth bags. To finish the two cars, I cemented the reindeer to the deck using craft glue.
A respectable Santa Claus Special should have a caboose bringing up the rear end of the train. Rather than select something commonly seen on an O gauge layout, I decided to use an LGB no. 80999 Gnomy caboose to make a unique bobber-style caboose.
After cutting the wheels off the LGB caboose, I mounted the body on top of a postwar Lionel no. 479-1 basic truck with coupler. Finally, by removing the railing from the back of the caboose, I was able to fit a frosty, snowman ornament to the rear platform. The caboose just wouldn’t be complete without a memorable vision for the kids to see as the Santa Claus Special passes by.
Great ideas for acute trian.