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On30 Display Trains

Written by Paul D. Race for and

    Click to sign up for the 'Trains-N-Towns<sup><small>TM</small></sup>' newsletter, with articles about display villages, indoor railroading, and much moreFor many people, nothing brings interest and nostalgia to a Christmas village like a moving train. Bachmann's O-scale trains that run on two rail (HO-gauge) track made the combination easy, fun, and affordable. In spite of the Christmas paint jobs, these are not toys; they are detailed, accurate models of real trains that once ran in real cities in North America. Even better, Bachmann chose to model trains and streetcars that look like they belong with most Christmas village structures such as those from Lemax and Dept. 56. The trains on this page mostly are decorated with Christmas colors. However, Bachmann also makes On30 trains in other color schemes that you would enjoy running all year 'round.

    Update for October, 2017 - I have deleted two Bachmann On30 Christmas-themed trains that were available at the beginning of the year, but are not available through most vendors today. That said, the 2-6-0 that was the heart of the earlier train sets is still at the heart of the sets on this page. I've had a couple, and I have to say, they're not for little kids, but they look great with Christmas villages.

    For those without enough room to put a circle of track around their Christmas villages, Bachman has made a streetcar set that has a reverse mechanism, so your Christmas trolley can go back and forth automatically. It comes and goes, but at the moment is still in stock. The Bachmann streetcars will run fine on a circle of regular HO track, too, so if you want something ittybitty around the tree or a table, this might be a good choice.

    Note about Availability and Pricing: Although I try to keep an eye on things and to recommend products that are reasonably available, the model train market does fluctuate, and any product on this page may change price or become unavailable without prior notice. In fact, I've inadvertently caused a "rush" on several products just by listing them on these pages (sometimes within a few weeks).

    For more detailed information about why model train products seem to come and go and why I have stopped listing prices in our "buyer's guides," please see my article "About Pricing and Availability."

    Note about Suppliers: While we try to help you get the products you want by recommending suppliers with a good record of customer service, all transactions between you and the supplier you chose to provide your trains or other purchases are governed by the published policies on the supplier's web site. So please print off any order confirmation screens and save copies of invoices, etc., so you can contact the appropriate supplier should any problems occur. (They almost never do, but you want to be on the safe side.)

    If you have any questions about any On30 train, collectible train, Large Scale train, or Christmas train, contact us and we'll try to help.

    In the meantime, Happy Holidays! - Paul Race, Big Christmas Trains.

    How To Help Our Site for Free: If you find our tips, explanations, and recommendations helpful when picking out a product, Please Bookmark This Page and come back through it when you're ready to order. It costs you nothing, but it helps us know what pages you find useful, and it helps our advertisers know who to support. And that, in turn, helps us provide more useful resources. Thank you!

Bachmann Norman Rockwell's American Christmas Ready To Run Electric Train Set Bachmann Norman Rockwell's American Christmas Ready To Run Electric Train Set - Bachmann On30 passenger trains were especially designed to look good with Christmas village buildings. (In fact, one version of this train, in black and dark red, was sold under the Dept. 56(tm) label.) That said, this train is also big enough to look good around your tree and great around your town. The set comes with a power supply and a loop of track. The engine is reliable, and the paint job and details are attractive.

Note for 2017: Although one version or another of this set has been available since the late 1990s, the Norman Rockwell version has been in high demand and may run out of stock well before this Christmas.

You may notice a similarity between this train and the Hawthorne Village Subscription Trains. That's because all the designers start with the same basic kit, which they prize for its overall quality and reliability.

Note: As of December 10, 2013, only a handful of these are in stock anywhere, so don't wait too long.

This is a poster Bachmann created to show how well their On30 passenger trains go with collectible village pieces. Click for a bigger picture.Note: In early 2007, I bought the predecessor to this train (North Pole Express) for a project. It was the first Bachmann On30 Christmas train I've owned for a while, and was very pleasantly surprised in a number of ways. This train had exceptionally sharp graphics, a flawless paint job, and other signs of close attention to detail. In other words, Bachmann's continuing commitment to quality improvement has made this a train that anyone would be pleased to own or display. Although the colors are different from the locomotive available this year, I've included a high-resolution photo of my train below so you can see the quality for yourself.

Click for a bigger-than-life closeup that will show you the details and quality of this locomotive.On the back of the box was a photo of the train running past some ceramic houses and other collectible pieces just to show how well it looks with them - Click on the image above to see a bigger photo.

For details, pricing, or availability, please click on the "check stock" button.




Bachmann Industries Yuletide Special Delivery Ready To Run Electric Holiday On30 Scale Train Set
Bachmann Industries Yuletide Special Delivery Ready To Run Electric Holiday On30 Scale Train Set -
This is a freight train made to match the passenger train above.

Note for 2017: Although one version or another of this set has been available since the late 1990s, Bachmann hasn't released many sets this year, and this set is also in high demand. Be sure to order early.

For details, pricing, or availability, please click on the "check stock" button.


About Extra Track - The train sets above come with an oval of track that is about 38" x 56", although if you order a subscription train, you don't receive all of the track and power supply right away. To get a jump start on your railroad, or to make your railroad a little larger, you may easily add additional track.
  • The Bachmann EZ Track #44501 is an exact replacement for the curves that come with the train sets.

  • Bachmann #44411 matches the straight pieces.


Click to visit Family Christmas Online(tm)













































Bachmann On30 Christmas Village Street Car Set (United Traction) Bachmann Automated On30 Christmas Village Streetcar Set - Bachmann's On30 Street Car set is our best-selling solution for Christmas villages that aren't big enough for a loop of track. The weathered "car barn" hides a reversing mechanism, so your trolley can deliver passengers from one end of your village (or your fireplace mantle) to the other automatically.

Bachmann's popular On30 Closed Christmas streetcar. Click for bigger picture.In spite of the Christmas paint job, the Bachmann streetcars are models of real streetcars that graced US towns and villages a century ago. Because of the great detail, they look great with every popular Christmas village set.

In years past, this set has been almost unavailable. Right now they're back in the stores, so that's good news. Click on the Check Stock button to learn more or to order.

If you already have HO trains and track, you might consider the HO New Orleans Brill Trolley. It's technically too small for a Christmas village, but it sure is cute. Click on the photo to see this on Amazon.

Note: To extend a "back-and-forth" railroad, you will need to use special track. (Regular HO track, even the EZ track that comes with the trains below, won't work, because of the extra wiring necessary to run the reversing mechanism.)

  • For straight pieces, use Bachmann #44548 track.

  • For curves, use Bachmann # 44549.

If you have questions about this, please contact me and I'll try to help you out.

Note: These sets have been bestsellers every year that we've been able to get them. This year we are using a supplier we don't usually use because all of our regular suppliers are out of stock and not likely to get any in between now and Christmas. In other words, if you are remotely interested in this set, don't wait too long to decide; the supply is definitely limited.


Winter Crossing Gate And Block HO Scale Train Accessory Animated Crossing Gate - The $29.95 Hawthorne Village crossing gate adds charming action as the arms go up and down each time the train passes. This package includes four "block" signals that you may set around your mainline to give a little more detail, as well. This product is available from Collectibles Today. For more details, pricing, or availability, please click on the button.

On30 Model Trains - Bachmann also makes On30 trains that aren't painted just for Christmas. Everything on the On30 Model Trains page will look great with the Christmas Villages and Christmas trains in the rest of the catalog, of course. But many of these pieces are so charming and well made that you'll have serious trouble trying to put them back in the box on January second. Click on the image at the left for more information.


O Scale Accessories Note: The O-Scale Accessories page includes many relatively inexpensive details such as bridges, fencing, and stations, that will bring life to any O-Scale or O-Gauge railroad. Click on the button to the right for more information.


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Return to Big Indoor Trains Home page Return to Family Garden Trains Home page Big Indoor Trains Primer Articles: All about setting up and displaying indoor display trains and towns. Garden Railroading Primer Articles: All about getting a Garden Railroad up and running well Garden Train Store: Index to train, track, and other products for Garden RailroadingBig Christmas Trains: Directory of Large Scale and O Scale trains with holiday themes
On30 and O Gauge trains to go with indoor display villages and railroads


Note: Family Garden TrainsTM, Garden Train StoreTM, Big Christmas TrainsTM, BIG Indoor TrainsTM, BIG Train StoreTM, and Trains and TownsTM are trademarks of Breakthrough Communications (www.btcomm.com). All information, data, text, and illustrations on this web site are Copyright (c) 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 by Paul D. Race. Reuse or republication without prior written permission is specifically forbidden.
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Just for Christmas - Collectible Decorations and Gifts - Visit any of the links below
to see quality collectible Christmas gifts and decorations that have been popular with our
readers. Many are designed by Thomas Kinkade and other world-class artists and designers.

Click to see collectible table-top trees, including animated ceramic trees from Thomas Kinkade(r) and other world-class designers. Click to see collectible Christmas wreaths designed by world-known artists. Click to see classic nativity sets, including collections from world-known designers. Click to see collectible Christmas ornaments by world-known designers. Click to see Christmas collectibles with railroad themes - designs by Thomas Kinkade(r).