# Redford Theatre Christmas Trains 2019



## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

And so it begins...

Last night we took the first steps towards having a functional train and village display for our holiday shows through December and beyond at the historic Redford Theatre in Detroit. For those that don't know, the Redford Theatre is a 1928 neighborhood movie theater that has been just about fully restored by the all volunteer staff of the Motor City Theatre Organ Society who's owned it since the mid 1970's. They purchased the building to preserve its original Barton theater pipe organ in its original home, which is a very rare thing in the theater organ world. A Christmas train display has been a tradition that goes back to the late 1980's. I've been doing it for nearly 10 years now with O gauge trains, although the previous display was G gauge.

Here's our display in its setting in the theater from two years ago









Last night we put down our masonite panels over top of the 4x8 foot stage platforms we have ganged together to build on. Although we took steps last year to ensure a nice smooth surface across all of the platforms, there are a couple of bows that cause issues with track laying, so the masonite helps smooth that out a bit. We also are able to paint the masonite white to give a better backing for the snow material we lay down versus the black tops of the stage platforms.

It's not much, but it's a start. The next step will be figuring out the track plan and deciding if anything will change from last year in that area.


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## Spence (Oct 15, 2015)

Boy time does fly. It seems like only yesterday you were posting about 2018's layout. I've been following this post for a few years now.


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## towdog (Oct 2, 2015)

They say there is 6 less days this year between Thanksgiving and Christmas so I think everyone needs to get going on their Christmas layout plans even earlier.

Looking forward to seeing this year's layout. It has progressed nicely over the years.


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## cole226 (Feb 8, 2013)

I'm sure you'll knock em out again this year Jake. I'm with Spence, seems like we were just watching you build this for 2018.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Thanks guys. We say every year it feels like we just took the previous years layout down, but time sure does fly. I hate rushing into Christmas when we haven't even seen Halloween yet, but it's quite the undertaking to get everything done in time. It's nice to know we have gained a following as we build and operate the display as I enjoy sharing it.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

We finally made enough progress on the layout that I felt it was worth an update to this thread.

Last night (along with a couple others) we worked on getting the track plan roughed out and then installed the many LED light strings on the tabletops that illuminate the snow material from underneath. These lights really help make the details of the village and trains show up in the dim lighting of the theater auditorium. I may have gone a bit overboard with the lights this year by adding a couple more strings adding up to 270 more bulbs... but I think it'll look really good once the snow material is in place. That's our next step, and then final track wiring and installation after that.


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## Millstonemike (Aug 9, 2018)

And they call LA the City of Lights? "They" must not have seen this layout


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## seayakbill (Jan 16, 2016)

Fantastic, should look spectacular when completed.

Bill


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Millstonemike said:


> And they call LA the City of Lights? "They" must not have seen this layout


Thanks guys!

There will definitely be no shortage of lights in this town.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Last night the tracks and upper platforms were removed from the main platform and the snow material placed down over the light strings. The tracks were reinstalled and feeder wires run to the terminal blocks beneath the table. My Lionel TMCC 2-6-0 did the honors as the test locomotive and ran perfectly around all three main level tracks. Later this week we'll fasten the track down and install the last few pieces of the Christmas light strings where needed around the table edges. The upper level tracks and lights are left in place from year to year, so those just need to be hooked back up and will be ready to go.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

I finally got around to assembling a video to document last year's layout.


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## seayakbill (Jan 16, 2016)

neat video, thanks for sharing. You folks ever do a head count on visitors ?

Bill


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

seayakbill said:


> neat video, thanks for sharing. You folks ever do a head count on visitors ?
> 
> Bill


I don’t believe I’ve heard one the past year or two, but a few years ago we counted around 16,000 people having attended shows during the few months the trains were up


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## ogaugeguy (Feb 3, 2012)

santafe158 said:


> I finally got around to assembling a video to document last year's layout.


 I love what you folks have done there. Impressive and extremely well done. The use of lighting beneath the snow is especially striking and adds dramatic flair and interest. You've likewise assembled a nicely arranged and eclectic assortment of structures. Are they all ceramic, porcelin, and resin?
Btw, the trains run so smoothly, especially at slow speeds. Are they all command control locomotives? Semi-scrale traditional or scale size? Which manufacturer(s)? Whose track and what size curves?
BWhat you people do there is impressive and obviously a labor of love to put the amount of effort, labor, and time needed to create such a wondrous temporary seasonal layout. Hopefully all who see it appreciate the sacrifices in time, etc.you people make each year creating it. 
Btw, have you considered for next year making a time lapse video of it being built? It could be played in the theater's lobby before visitors actually see the display so they'd see and realize what was done in creating it for their enjoyment? (Might also inspire some to volunteer to either work on or "gift" contributions for future years displays. 
Such an informative video could be a project one of the Reford volunteers who isn't directly involved with the display's creation and assembling could do!


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

ogaugeguy said:


> I love what you folks have done there. Impressive and extremely well done. The use of lighting beneath the snow is especially striking and adds dramatic flair and interest. You've likewise assembled a nicely arranged and eclectic assortment of structures. Are they all ceramic, porcelin, and resin?
> Btw, the trains run so smoothly, especially at slow speeds. Are they all command control locomotives? Semi-scrale traditional or scale size? Which manufacturer(s)? Whose track and what size curves?
> BWhat you people do there is impressive and obviously a labor of love to put the amount of effort, labor, and time needed to create such a wondrous temporary seasonal layout. Hopefully all who see it appreciate the sacrifices in time, etc.you people make each year creating it.
> Btw, have you considered for next year making a time lapse video of it being built? It could be played in the theater's lobby before visitors actually see the display so they'd see and realize what was done in creating it for their enjoyment? (Might also inspire some to volunteer to either work on or "gift" contributions for future years displays.
> Such an informative video could be a project one of the Reford volunteers who isn't directly involved with the display's creation and assembling could do!


Thanks for your kind comments!

The lights were a necessity after the first year or two. I've incorporated lights beneath the snow in some way for awhile, but never to the extent I do now. It was apparent that the building exteriors, figurines and other details weren't visible easily without some sort of external lighting. I've gradually added more light strings over the past few years.

Buildings are mostly ceramic Christmas village style buildings, however there are a few other types including a couple of custom wood kits that were created for me by Andre Garcia of River Leaf Models. 

The normal trains that operate when I'm not around are fairly simple engines. Usually a Williams diesel, a Lionel Polar Express set, a K-Line Porter, an MTH 4-4-0 with a bridge rectifier instead of a reverse unit and an MTH trolley. We do operate command control stuff on occasion when we're present to operate and supervise it. Otherwise it's all conventional so it can just be powered up and everything runs on its own.

Track is all Lionel Fastrack. We have a loop with O-72 curves, one with O-60, two O-36 loops and one O-48. 

Based on conversations I've had with our patrons, I'm pretty sure most of them definitely appreciate all we do each year. Many come just to see the display and often point out things we did differently from the year before.  I have thought of doing a time lapse construction video, but I haven't taken the time to do it so far. The main issue is myself and the guys working on the project are probably the only volunteers that would be able to assemble such a thing, and it's difficult to fit other things into the schedule in addition to layout construction. Perhaps one day.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

A bit of shameless self promotion...

I arrived home from work this afternoon to find an advanced copy of the January issue of Classic Toy Trains magazine. Within this issue is a very nice six page article about the 2018 edition of our Redford Theatre display by Roger Carp. It's a great feeling knowing we've gone from the very plain 8x12 layout I did my first year doing the display to having a jam packed 8x20 display seen by thousands of people every year published in one of the large toy train magazines. Hope you guys enjoy it if you happen to read it.


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## cole226 (Feb 8, 2013)

*Congratulations*.

Great to see your work recognized.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

That is great Jake, nice to be recognized for all your effort.:thumbsup:

Whats new this year?

The trolley, does it just go around or does it make stops?


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## Millstonemike (Aug 9, 2018)

Early in the video, without the decor, the trains seem like HO. There's no visual reference to size the layout. But in the segment of last years completed layout, the people and scenery give the trains that "O-scale" look.

And in that segment, I love all the "gentlemen engineers" craning to see more ...


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Millstonemike said:


> Early in the video, without the decor, the trains seem like HO. There's no visual reference to size the layout. But in the segment of last years completed layout, the people and scenery give the trains that "O-scale" look.
> 
> And in that segment, I love all the "gentlemen engineers" craning to see more ...


The track is 3 rail.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Big Ed said:


> That is great Jake, nice to be recognized for all your effort.:thumbsup:
> 
> Whats new this year?
> 
> The trolley, does it just go around or does it make stops?


Thanks guys!

Ed, I haven't really changed much yet this year. I altered the track plan slightly to extend the O-60 loop out a bit further as well as the "dog bone" style loop in the middle. This will hopefully open a touch more real estate for buildings. I do have an MTH Detroit PCC streetcar that I'll likely include to replace the trolley. It just goes in the loop for simplicity, no stops. The arrangement of the buildings will definitely be somewhat different to keep things fresh.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

16,000, that is a lot of folks. Maybe more this year as the word gets around?

Put a tip jar out?
Would pay for new items.

It is nice to be somewhat different from the year before,to hold interest.

I was going to say that you need a Santa Claus train, but I see you have him with a gondola candy car behind him? I looked quickly. 
Maybe add a few more Christmas cars on that one, unless they are and I can't see them. I looked quickly as I got to hit the sack soon.
I will look better tomorrow.

I don't know about fast track but isn't there something to make the trolley stop for a min then take off? Automatically?

A monorail would be nice to add. 

Looks great Jake, I will give you 3 thumbs up.:smilie_daumenpos::thumbsup::smilie_daumenpos:


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Big Ed said:


> 16,000, that is a lot of folks. Maybe more this year as the word gets around?
> 
> Put a tip jar out?
> Would pay for new items.
> ...



Thank you sir!

Yes, 16,000 is a lot of people for sure. We tend to leave the layout up for quite awhile beyond the holidays. It never seems to lose its attraction as there's always a crowd in front of it. We've left it up as late as March one year (I believe the year we had 16,000 through the building?) because the Mayor's staff requested they be there for his state of the city address that was held there. Unfortunately they ended up having to cover them up temporarily as the bright white snow material was causing lighting issues for the TV cameras.

The flat car with Santa is the main Christmas car on that train. Usually he's trailed by an ore car that I put a "Toys for Tots" banner on and filled with miniature Christmas presents. There's also a Polar Express set that runs regularly, so the theme is definitely out there.

I believe there are electronic circuits I could add to make the trolley stop and go, but I've never really looked into it. I occasionally run regular trains on the same track in its place to switch things up during the season, so I've never looked beyond the regular transformer that powers that loop. Perhaps a future addition!

As far as a tip jar goes, we've got many around the theater that go towards theater renovations/restoration. We try not to draw money away from that, but have been fortunate to have many money making opportunities to put towards layout upgrades. We've had several large donations of trains and village buildings from a local museum as well as interested patrons/hobbyists. Our layout was also featured in a Christmas Facebook ad that Chevrolet filmed there. We received a very nice donation for our time on that as well which has gone towards quite a few upgrades to our track and motive power collection. Any money we've made from activities associated with the layout goes right back into it, or at least into a bank account associated with the theater that is set aside for use in the future as needed.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Last night we did most of the work on outfitting our new control/power cabinet. I bought an unfinished kitchen cabinet from Lowes, a couple of stick on LED under cabinet lights and went from there. When it's finished there will be the two CW-80's and the ZW-C will have four 180 watt bricks connected to it. The track is also secured to the main platform. We're hoping to get some test runs in on Sunday before we start unpacking the village items.


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## Spence (Oct 15, 2015)

The cabinet looks good. Real neat wiring. :thumbsup:


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## Millstonemike (Aug 9, 2018)

Beware heat.

Heat is the leading cause of electronic shutdown, failure and shortened life span.

Several trains and the extensive LED lighting requires a fair amount of power. And even the modern, efficient, power supplies & transformers generate heat delivering that power.

A closed cabinet door creates to small boxes trapping that heat, especially over long periods of time.

Be aware. May be nothing, may be a real operational issue ...

Some time ago, an expert in telecom heat management was an engineering colleague. I picked up a few tips from him - if their needed. And he had a vast Lionel train collection. Karma's a [email protected]


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## Enon49 (Mar 21, 2018)

*lights*

love the lights under the train track

beautiful

Mrtoad


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Thanks guys.

Mike, you definitely make a fair point with your concern about heat. Prior to this cabinet I used a different cheap one that I purchased a couple years ago. I didn't notice any heat buildup issues in that one with the doors closed, but we'll definitely keep an eye on things. It certainly wouldn't be difficult to wire in a small exhaust fan or two to help eliminate any heat that builds up.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

We finally buckled down and got the village installed and the lamp posts/lighted billboards wired in over the past couple days and nights. Overall I'm very happy with how the layout is turning out so far. I think it'll end up blowing last year's layout out of the water in some respects. I still have to go back today and try to get all the figures, lighted trees and unlighted trees installed before wrapping up some final wire management tasks and finish details. For once it should be pretty much finished by the first movie on Friday. I do have another 8 lamp posts on order to add at a later time when they arrive, but the majority of the layout will be finished.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Lookin' good, no doubt about that! Next we need to see a video.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Lookin' good, no doubt about that! Next we need to see a video.


Thanks! A video is definitely on the to do list. I haven't done much train running yet other than verifying that all the tracks functioned properly. Hopefully I'll be able to get around to that later today, if not by this weekend before and during the first showing.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Still no video (perhaps after this weekend), but we added in the huge collection of figurines, trees and other details to the layout. I always forget what a huge task that alone is, but we did it. The layout is just about ready for tomorrow evening's unveiling. We still have a big mess to clean up in the background and I have a few loose ends to tie up on the layout, but it's pretty much there as it sits.


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## Magic (Jan 28, 2014)

Jake it just keeps getting better and better.
Looking super nice, congrats on a job well done by you and your team.

Magic


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Magic said:


> Jake it just keeps getting better and better.
> Looking super nice, congrats on a job well done by you and your team.
> 
> Magic


Thank you! We enjoy trying to improve it every year. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve yet for this year as long as everything I have on order shows up in the next week or two.


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## towdog (Oct 2, 2015)

Could you list out the new things for this year? I can't keep track. It seems like the water area is new along with the arch bridge behind it? Could you also describe again that lighted panel you made. That's in ice rink, right? It would also be nice to take a picture with the lights on to really see everything to appreciate the full scope of the work you have put into it. I want to see all of the details.

I also don't remember you guys running scale trains before. And I don't remember the city blocks on the platform with the street lights. This is way beyond what it used to be. Great job.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

towdog said:


> Could you list out the new things for this year? I can't keep track. It seems like the water area is new along with the arch bridge behind it? Could you also describe again that lighted panel you made. That's in ice rink, right? It would also be nice to take a picture with the lights on to really see everything to appreciate the full scope of the work you have put into it. I want to see all of the details.
> 
> I also don't remember you guys running scale trains before. And I don't remember the city blocks on the platform with the street lights. This is way beyond what it used to be. Great job.



I suppose there's nothing terribly new... yet  I apologize for the novel that follows this...

In general everything is rearranged a bit from years past. We received another donation of buildings from the gentleman who gave us about a dozen or more in the past couple of years which really helped the village grow. I've never really cared for my "downtown" areas seeming to be just straight lines of buildings. This year I decided to break them up a bit and do multiple rows as if there were city blocks instead of one big open space. I extended the inner two loops of track a little further out towards the end of the table which gave me some more open "land" in the center to build a slightly less restricted downtown with a couple rows of buildings and streetlights. None of the structures or lights are new necessarily, but I was able to rework them a bit for something different. I do have another six lamp posts on order to add later. I like the nice contrasting glow they give to the brighter LED's beneath the snow.

The water is sort of new, or at least planned a little better. I've had a couple of boats for awhile now and never really had a suitable place to put them. I had the materials from the display that was put up for years about 13 years ago and finally decided to incorporate it a little better. I had a small area of water in a different location last year, but it looked like an afterthought and I never really cared for it. This year I gave my dad the reins to build that section although I had the general plan in mind from the beginning of construction. He did very nicely with it.

I'm not sure what the arch bridge is that you mentioned? Last year we cut masonite panels with arched openings to resemble tunnel openings through a stone wall to cover the underside of the upper platforms. Obviously they're very simple things and you have to use your imagination a bit, but it looked a bit more finished than simply draping the snow material down the side as I had in years past. 

The ice skating rink is a wooden frame painted gray with the top edge grooved to allow a piece of translucent white plexiglass to fit in. The bottom of the frame is also grooved with a piece of masonite inserted. Around the perimeter of the inside of the box (essentially a shadowbox at this point) is glued a strip of the color changing LED tape which is controlled by a small remote control box. Other than that it's just my Christmas village static figurines sitting on top along with a large fountain of some sort that I acquired from a collection I bought. I'm sure with the space inside the box you could set up a mechanism with magnets to move the figures around, but I didn't want to get that fancy. Maybe someday.

Today, in advance of our showing of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation in a couple weeks, I ordered the Department 56 Griswold house (obnoxious lights and all) along with several of the accessories. It should be a hit during that weekend.

I'll see what I can do about some brighter photos in the next week or two. The ones I posted are taken in the normal show house lighting which isn't terribly bright.

As for the trains, we tend to only run "the good stuff" when we're planning on attending shows to run trains. My buddy and I don't have permanent layouts at home, so this is sort of our short term permanent layout that we can run our trains on. We were both there for this evening's show, so we had some nicer trains out. Generally it's Lionel's starter Polar Express set, a Williams diesel on a train of O-27 freight cars and a couple other lower end sets. We leave clearances on everything and have larger diameter curves to run bigger stuff for fun when we want to.

I do have some slightly better pictures and videos that I took this evening, but I have to get up early for work tomorrow so I'll get them uploaded at a later date.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Can you take a few pictures without the lights lit?
Just with the theaters lights on?

It is kind of hard to see it all with just all the lights on the table and layout buildings on.

Thanks


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## Millstonemike (Aug 9, 2018)

Big Ed said:


> Can you take a few pictures without the lights lit?
> Just with the theaters lights on?
> 
> It is kind of hard to see it all with just all the lights on the table and layout buildings on.
> ...


A little post picture processing ...


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

I'll see what I can do. I believe I'm going to go over there tomorrow to do some work on the layout, so perhaps I can figure something out. I'm limited with the quality since all I currently have to work with is my older iPhone camera. My dad will likely take some better pictures with his professional camera at some point.


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## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

santafe158 said:


> And so it begins...
> 
> Last night we took the first steps towards having a functional train and village display for our holiday shows through December and beyond at the historic Redford Theatre in Detroit. For those that don't know, the Redford Theatre is a 1928 neighborhood movie theater that has been just about fully restored by the all volunteer staff of the Motor City Theatre Organ Society who's owned it since the mid 1970's. They purchased the building to preserve its original Barton theater pipe organ in its original home, which is a very rare thing in the theater organ world. A Christmas train display has been a tradition that goes back to the late 1980's. I've been doing it for nearly 10 years now with O gauge trains, although the previous display was G gauge.
> 
> ...


I just got my January 2020 issue of Classic Toy Trains and what to my wondering eyes should appear but an excellent article and pictures of the Redford Theatre and your Christmas layout! Plus a photograph of the two fellas that spearheaded the building of it, Jacob Malbouef and Mark Baum. Great job by all in building that great looking seasonal train layout for the public. Seems to me there was a similar article on this exhibit a year or two back. Wish I could see all you have done up close but not possible. 
Incidentally, I have been to the Greenfield Village and rode one of the trains on the grounds. Another great job of keeping those old trains alive.

Kenny


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Jake the trainman is becoming more famous then the Rod Steward layout. :thumbsup:

Video preview of CCT's January issue. Jake's masterpiece is previewed.

https://ctt.trains.com/videos/issue...ary-2020-issue-of-classic-toy-trains-magazine


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## towdog (Oct 2, 2015)

Besides taking the photographs with lights on, I'd also like to suggest, having a period of time before the show with the lights on the layout itself. Maybe have it get darker as you get closer to the show. And perhaps it already is lighter than the pictures lead us to believe. I just know that for me, part of my enjoyment of seeing a layout is appreciating all of the details, which gets lost when all of the lights are off. I think a good compromise is having a blue light shine down on the layout. This gives you light, but also gives the appearance of daylight, as well as invokes a lot of feelings that the Polar Express movie gave. Or just sporadic spot lights from light poles on the layout itself highlighting various pieces.

Anyway, just suggestions from someone who has never seen it in person. I just see so many Youtube videos of Christmas layouts done in the complete dark and it just all blends together. I can't notice that this building is a library, that figure is chopping wood, oh look at that wagon over there, etc.

Looking forward to the rest of your pictures and videos these next few weeks!


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

AFGP9 said:


> I just got my January 2020 issue of Classic Toy Trains and what to my wondering eyes should appear but an excellent article and pictures of the Redford Theatre and your Christmas layout! Plus a photograph of the two fellas that spearheaded the building of it, Jacob Malbouef and Mark Baum. Great job by all in building that great looking seasonal train layout for the public. Seems to me there was a similar article on this exhibit a year or two back. Wish I could see all you have done up close but not possible.
> Incidentally, I have been to the Greenfield Village and rode one of the trains on the grounds. Another great job of keeping those old trains alive.
> 
> Kenny



Thanks Kenny, glad you enjoyed the article about last year's layout. Roger Carp did a great job with it and we're very excited to have it finally published.

We haven't had an article prior to this one, but we were in one of the front pages of an MTH catalog a year or two ago for being one of the runners up in their "Blue Comet Award" which was great as well. Our layout was also featured in a Christmas 2017 Facebook ad that Chevrolet produced. They purchased a number of flatcars and mounted die cast models of their various products and also placed them throughout the layout for filming.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Big Ed said:


> Jake the trainman is becoming more famous then the Rod Steward layout. :thumbsup:
> 
> Video preview of CCT's January issue. Jake's masterpiece is previewed.
> 
> https://ctt.trains.com/videos/issue...ary-2020-issue-of-classic-toy-trains-magazine


I'm not sure about that... but we were very honored to have been contacted by Roger Carp at Classic Toy Trains last year about doing an article on the layout. We sent him the information and photos taken by my dad and he produced a very nice article. We're happy to see it out there.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

towdog said:


> Besides taking the photographs with lights on, I'd also like to suggest, having a period of time before the show with the lights on the layout itself. Maybe have it get darker as you get closer to the show. And perhaps it already is lighter than the pictures lead us to believe. I just know that for me, part of my enjoyment of seeing a layout is appreciating all of the details, which gets lost when all of the lights are off. I think a good compromise is having a blue light shine down on the layout. This gives you light, but also gives the appearance of daylight, as well as invokes a lot of feelings that the Polar Express movie gave. Or just sporadic spot lights from light poles on the layout itself highlighting various pieces.
> 
> Anyway, just suggestions from someone who has never seen it in person. I just see so many Youtube videos of Christmas layouts done in the complete dark and it just all blends together. I can't notice that this building is a library, that figure is chopping wood, oh look at that wagon over there, etc.
> 
> Looking forward to the rest of your pictures and videos these next few weeks!


Thanks for your constructive criticism. I've definitely been considering every point.

As far as the lighting goes, we're pretty well stuck with what we have. The theater is an atmospheric theater, meaning it is designed to make you feel like you're sitting outside under a night sky (twinkling stars and clouds included), so by nature it is a pretty dark room. Any spotlights we put on the layout would have to come from the rail on the front of the balcony or from the stage behind. The trouble with that, is the lighting from behind doesn't evenly illuminate everything causing shadows and then the people viewing the layout would cast shadows as well from the lights shining behind them. Portions of this year's layout are definitely dimmer than I'd hoped for, but most of the detail is visible much better than the pictures show.

I think I got some better photos and a few videos today. I'll assemble them when I have time and post them on YouTube and then share it here.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Video/Photos


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Excellent Jake. :smilie_daumenpos:

I don't need pictures anymore the video took care of that.
The 5 min video took me over 10 with pausing it to take everything in. 
Nicely shot, slow like and up close to take it all in. :thumbsup:
You can't see the details from looking at the earlier pictures.

Sorry if you already mentioned this but, are all those buildings and things yours?


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## Millstonemike (Aug 9, 2018)

Emmy ... Oscar? :smilie_daumenpos:


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Millstonemike said:


> Emmy ... Oscar? :smilie_daumenpos:


Mike I meant to add this but forgot.
Thanks for lightening the pictures up, but this is what I was talking about.
Now one can see all the details close up.
Things like the old tires piled up against the building, the harbor boats, the dog and the dog house, the guy working on the car with the toolbox next to him, etc etc.

Even though you lightened the pictures up you can't see all that.
In the video you can pause it and take it all in.:thumbsup:

I wish I was closer I would surly make a visit to Jake's place.:smokin:


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Another outstanding build, you crammed a lot of detail into the display this year.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Thanks guys! I'm glad the video helped show off the layout a little better than the photos. 

We definitely crammed a lot in and if anything it may be a little too busy...  but I'm happy with the results overall


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## machinist (Dec 2, 2015)

Great job! There's never enough lights


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## Millstonemike (Aug 9, 2018)

santafe158 said:


> ... We definitely crammed a lot in and if anything it may be a little too busy...  but I'm happy with the results overall


Well it looks great to us. A highlight of the season on MTF. And congratulations on the CTT expo.

On a different note, I have a thought that may help in the future.

IIRC, you previously had some 3-dimensional facades on the second level's riser walls. And, IIRC, last year you opted instead for vertical walls to gain some scenery space. And you ran the "snow" down the walls. Looked great.

You could "paint" scenes on those panels; if there's the artistically gifted in your group. Me, I'm not. So I find photos, cut and paste them and then print a "wallpaper" to glue to the panels. You could portray portals around the tunnel openings, ivied brick walls, store fronts, backdrops for the existing scenery, flora, fauna, whatever. Additional scenery w/o additional space. And it doesn't add any more items or effort in the construction (maybe a little more care during transport/storage). Printed, pasted in place, and a coat or two of rattle can clear. 

In a way, it kinda' simplifies the assembly by not adding to it.

Just a thought.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Thanks for the suggestions. I've definitely been planning nice tunnel portals since we went that route last year, but unfortunately I've not had the time to do the work up to now. At some point in the future I still hope to add something a bit nicer. I hadn't thought of the other details though, I'll have to consider that.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Jake, I have not bought any trains magazines in a while. One of my Christmas presents was a years of Classic Toy Trains.

I just got the January 2020 and what do I see first is your table and story.
And more history on the Redford theatre then I knew.

Spell check is flagging theatre to theater? 

Nice article, proud of you Jake and buddy. 
You did a good thing. :smilie_daumenpos:
Is your friend a member here?

One thing I noticed is the pictures look like a painting instead of a photo. 
Did someone paint some pictures or is that a trick in photography?

Well done Jake. :thumbsup:


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Big Ed said:


> Jake, I have not bought any trains magazines in a while. One of my Christmas presents was a years of Classic Toy Trains.
> 
> I just got the January 2020 and what do I see first is your table and story.
> And more history on the Redford theatre then I knew.
> ...


Glad you enjoyed the article Ed. I believe my buddy is a member on another forum, but isn't terribly active there either.

The photos are just photos, although I believe my dad did some post-processing of them to get the lighting to look OK. He had a tough time working with the LED's under the snow as they caused some weird problems with the camera. In the end they turned out pretty nicely though.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

I figured it's time to make a post in regards to this year's Redford Theatre Christmas display, or the lack thereof. As many know, I have been constructing an increasingly elaborate Christmas train and village display at the Redford Theatre in Detroit, MI for about the past 10 years. This past weekend, our theater hosted its first movie inside the building since we shut down in March due to Covid with a full house at our current reduced capacity. We had a couple of reasonably successful outdoor shows in our parking lot to keep some cash coming in before then. During our discussions about the reopening of the building, I began pondering the feasibility of this years display and decided that it's going to be the first year I've had a "break" from doing the layout since I took over the task way back in 2011. Between difficulty staffing the theater's normal volunteer positions, the ability to route patrons through for viewing a layout with social distancing, and also the fact that I'm moving to a new apartment during the time that I'd normally be building the layout while also working full time, it just seemed like a good year to take a breath and prepare for next years display.

All that said, depending on how my move goes, this will likely be the first year that I'll have a somewhat more elaborate home layout for the holidays since much of my village and train collections are usually in service on the theater display between December and the end of February.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Smart move, I doubt you'd get near the viewership you normally get. Of course, you also can't show off your neat 4-4-0 brass engines either.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Smart move, I doubt you'd get near the viewership you normally get. Of course, you also can't show off your neat 4-4-0 brass engines either.


Right now we're limited to 300 people out of our normal 1500ish seats (about 20% capacity). For the first time since the 1960s when single screen theaters went out of style in favor of smaller theaters within the big multiplexes, it's almost to our advantage to have a big auditorium with a single screen.

As far as our Christmas shows, we'll definitely be seeing some lower numbers but at least we'll be open. I don't think my 4-4-0s will be leaving my house for a public show anytime soon. I'm scared enough to touch them myself when they arrive 😁


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## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

A big disappointment to everybody but probably a smart move for everybody. 

Kenny


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## Millstonemike (Aug 9, 2018)

AFGP9 said:


> A big disappointment to everybody but probably a smart move for everybody.
> 
> Kenny


+1. Since I joined I always enjoyed the many pics from the Redford layout.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Thanks guys. I’m glad our display is so well received by our patrons and everyone who sees it on the forums. It makes the effort that much more enjoyable. I’m looking forward to better times ahead.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

santafe158 said:


> I’m looking forward to better times ahead.


Aren't we all!


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