With the CMRS layout tours being held in winter this year, RHJ Rail has prepared a special event featuring its Christmas Holiday Train. This much-anticipated train began its annual run in early December and toured the layout over the course of the next three weeks, making a special return trip just in time for the layout tours.

A recent major addition was the stage car above. It was constructed based on an Athearn 50-foot double door box car. A folding door was installed on one side and interior lighting and figures were added. The electronics consist of a Digitrax DH123 decoder controlling LED flood, coloured spot, and external flashing lights. The decoder is powered from the electrical pick-up on the locomotive via an electrical line running through the cars.

Not coincidentally, this design fits nicely with RHJ Rail's Automated Operations Control Centre (AOCC), allowing the entire train and stage car lighting to be controlled by Digital Command Control (DCC) and computer.

In operation, the train automatically traverses the layout, stopping at various locations, and the AOCC plays appropriate seasonal music at different locations depending where the train is at any given time. Other trains may be run manually or automatically at the same time.

Using DCC and JMRI (a computer interface), the layout has many special effects including automatic train control, lighting, sound, animation and an historical park with rides and music. Rail fans might even get a glimpse of The Canadian in its classic form complete with a couple of kit-bashed tourist sleepers in the consist.

And, yes, there is an app to run trains from your iPhone!

Other significant advances on the layout over the past year are recorded here. The new staging and storage area continues to be very useful.

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