# Redford Theatre Christmas Layout- 2014 Edition



## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Work is underway in the construction of the 2014 edition of the annual Christmas layout at the historic Redford Theatre in Detroit MI. This will be my fourth year constructing the layout (with much help from friends and family) and we have managed to expand the layout from 8'x16' to 8'x20' as well as convert all track to fastrack.

For those that haven't read my posts about this display in previous years, the Redford Theatre was built in 1928 and is currently owned by the Motor City Theater Organ Society, who's all volunteer staff maintains the theater as well as its original Barton theater pipe organ. Classic movies are shown every other weekend to provide funding for the maintenance and continual restoration of the building.



Information about the theater can be found at redfordtheatre.com

Trains at the theater are a longtime tradition. Several volunteers used to construct a G scale display in the orchestra pit, but uncontrollable circumstances prevented them from doing so for several years. A local boy scout troop filled in with their HO scale modular layout for a couple years before I took on the task of building a large O gauge layout. My first layout was 8'x12' which has gradually expanded thanks to the help of fellow volunteers and friends who have started loaning track and other items to fill the space. Forum member Mark Bee has been a tremendous help the past couple years with the construction and operation of the layout. This year he loaned a good amount of fastrack so that we can run bigger equipment more reliably when we have the desire to do so.

Here are some pictures taken up to this point in construction. The deadline for completion is November 21st, which will be the first evening showing of "A Christmas Story" for the year.








Several new upgrades are in the works as well to improve the reliability of the layout.

All new wire and terminal blocks were purchased to help resolve some power issues that have plagued the layout in previous years.



I also recently purchased a ZW-C transformer off the forum at a great price which will replace two CW-80's I have been using for track power. The ZW came with two 180 Watt power bricks and I also have a third on hand which will give me about 540 Watts of power to divide between the 4 loops of track, and then two more CW-80's will supply accessory and lighting power to the layout. My Legacy base is also installed on the control panel with a power cut-off switch so that the layout can be operated conventionally from the theater lighting booth when I'm not available to operate trains.



Our next work session will be on Wednesday. The goal is to get the tracks wired so that we can operate trains. We will then move on to placing and lighting over 30 ceramic Christmas village buildings on the display as well as all the associated accessories.

Until the final unveiling, the layout gets covered between work sessions.



I will post updates as we work towards completion


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## oldsarge218 (May 23, 2011)

A lot of work, for a very worth while cause! Great job.
God Bless
Bob


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

oldsarge218 said:


> A lot of work, for a very worth while cause! Great job.
> God Bless
> Bob


Thank you sir!


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## Magic (Jan 28, 2014)

What a beautiful theater. :smilie_daumenpos:

Great job, waiting for the completed layout. :thumbsup::thumbsup: 
Good cause as well, hope all goes well.

Magic


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## icolectto (Nov 28, 2012)

Great donation of time and effort. What a way to serve your community ! ! ! !


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Thanks guys. A friend and I spent about 10 hours at the theater yesterday wiring the four tracks, plus a fifth for a trolley loop. We finally got all 5 tracks operating at around 11:45 last night before calling it quits. At this point, it's just a matter of finishing up the snow scenery, lighting and setting out buildings and figures.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

As of today, the layout is relatively complete minus the figures, trees and other small details that would just get knocked over when we put the cover over the layout. All buildings and lighting components are installed and ready to go. The trains are operating beautifully. We ran my Lionel JLC GG1, a vision line challenger and 6 lighted passenger cars on the main loop with absolutely no issues. A major success in my book.

There are still a couple of modifications and small tasks to complete with the scenery, but other than that the crew and myself are quite pleased with the outcome.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

I also started a crowdfunding page online to hopefully raise some funds to maintain and improve the layout in the future. My main goal at the moment is to get a few dedicated trains to keep at the theater for the display so I can give my own collection a rest as well as purchase some additional track sections.
If any of you would like to donate or share this page, it would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.gofundme.com/redfordtrains


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Very cool, love the tunnels. I hope you planned access if you have an accident in the tunnels.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Thanks John. The tunnels are still a work in progress, but yes there's access. I ran snow down the back side of that platform along the edge of the main table and only secured it at the top so it can simply be lifted up for access. Plus I have long arms and can reach in through the portals if necessary. Track cleaning was also a concern here as three months of weekend operations really requires regular cleaning of the tracks.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Just remember, your long arms may not be around when there's a problem.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Looking good, I like the lights you added too. :smilie_daumenpos:

On your new terminal blocks, why didn't you use some spade connectors?








Some of the wires don't really looked wrapped on right?


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Looks like fun! A great Christmas tradition. Good luck with the layout, and the theater!

TJ


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Thanks guys.

Ed, the spade connectors would have been nice, but funds are tight for me and I didn't feel they were necessary (at least for this year). In the future I may pick some up though


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

I haven't had the time to take any final progress photos, but this weekend was the layout's public unveiling for our showing of "A Christmas Story". I believe a little over 2500 people saw the layout over the weekend. During Saturday night's showing it was standing room only in the space between the orchestra pit and the first row of seats with people waiting to see the trains. They were also lined halfway up each of the four auditorium aisles to see them. Needless to say, myself and the guys that helped build the layout were quite pleased with the turnout. Many people told us they come specifically to see the trains each year.


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## daveh219 (Sep 16, 2012)

Well done, Jake, to you and all of the others. Our club has a 4x8 Polar Express that we have scheduled for the next two week ends at various "kids" events. ALWAYS a fun time...


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Nice job, looks great!


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Thanks guys.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

I was browsing through the forum tonight and realized I never posted the video I made awhile back of the finished layout. It's nearing the end of its operating weekends as it will most likely remain set up for a few shows in January. Thankfully my planning seemed to prevent a lot of unwanted issues I've experienced in the past and it's been enjoyed by several thousand people over the past month. This past weekend we had almost 2000 people between the 3 showings of "A White Christmas" we did over two days.

Enjoy


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## icolectto (Nov 28, 2012)

Looks Great ! I am sure it has given a lot of pleasure to both young and old. Merry Christmas.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Nice job, I like the lights under the snow, that looked very cool!


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## morland (Sep 25, 2012)

Very nicely done! The lights under the snow made for a good effect. Also good job on the filming of the video.

-Trever


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## Rusty (Jun 23, 2011)

I like the Christmas layout. It's neat looking layout.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

SantaFe,

Well worth the price of admission and the bucket of popcorn! Nice work ... again. Thanks for sharing!

TJ


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Thanks guys. I can thank a friend of mine that put in an equal amount of working the display for shooting the video.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

:appl: Nice job. :smilie_daumenpos:

You got a little dip on the outside line, I like the look of the passenger cars riding over it.

All looks great. :smokin::thumbsup:


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## Dano (Aug 26, 2012)

Very nice. I am sure it was well received. Merry Christmas!


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