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Written by Paul D. Race for and

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Apologies: Manufacturer's Decisions Have Forced Us to Remove this Topic

Management changes at Bradford Exchange have seriously diminished our ability to represent their (generally) fine Hawthorne Village products.

As a result of the 2008 recession, they largely dissolved the division that managed Hawthorne Village products, reassigning or laying off all of the fine managers and customer service people I was working with when I set up pages promoting their products.

In the meantime, they started featuring a handful of trains that were lower in quality than the Bachmann-manufacturered trains I used to feature on these pages.

To be honest, almost all of the Hawthorne Village towns and several of the trains are still the excellent quality that I felt safe recommending years ago. I just cannot personally stand behind every single product.

I have tried to go through my sites and remove all links and references to this page, but if you have come across it anyway, I apologize.

That said, if you are interested in a Hawthorne Village train, you will still likely be satisfied with the ones made by Bachmann, especially the On30 steam sets. They come in many colors, but they are always drawn by a 2-6-0 locomotive like the ones pulling the trains below.

One of Hawthorne Villages' On30 trains that were made by Bachmann.

One of Hawthorne Villages' On30 trains that were made by Bachmann.

For the rest, if you order the first "installment" (always a locomotive), look on the bottom to see if it was made by Bachmann. If it was, you're pretty safe. If it wasn't, you decide if you're satisfied with the quality.

As far as I know, the towns are the same quality as they ever were.

Again, my apologies for shutting this page down. If you have any questions, please use our contact page


Note: Family Garden TrainsTM, Garden Train StoreTM, and Big Christmas TrainsTM 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, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 by Paul D. Race. Reuse or republication without prior written permission is specifically forbidden.
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Visit related pages and affiliated sites:
- Trains and Hobbies -
Return to Family Garden Trains Home page
Return to Big Indoor Trains Home page
Garden Railroading Primer Articles: All about getting a Garden Railroad up and running well Big Indoor Trains Primer Articles: All about setting up and displaying indoor display trains and towns. 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
Visit Lionel Trains. Click to see Thomas Kinkaded-inspired Holiday Trains and Villages. Big Christmas Train Primer: Choosing and using model trains with holiday themes Free Large Scale Signs and Graphics: Bring your railroad to life with street signs, business signs, and railroad signs Click to see HO scale trains with your favorite team's colors.
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Visit the FamilyChristmasOnline site. Visit Howard Lamey's glitterhouse gallery, with free project plans, graphics, and instructions. Click to return to the Old Christmas Tree Lights Table of Contents Page Click to sign up for Maria Cudequest's craft and collectibles blog.
Click to visit Fred's Noel-Kat store.
Visit the largest and most complete cardboard Christmas 'Putz' house resource on the Internet.
- Family Activities and Crafts -
Click to see reviews of our favorite family-friendly Christmas movies. Free, Family-Friendly Christmas Stories Decorate your tree the old-fashioned way with these kid-friendly projects. Free plans and instructions for starting a hobby building vintage-style cardboard Christmas houses. Click to find free, family-friendly Christmas poems and - in some cases - their stories. Traditional Home-Made Ornaments
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Heartland-inspired music, history, and acoustic instrument tips.
Best-loved railroad songs and the stories behind them.
Learn important guitar chords quickly, to jump start your ability to play along on any song. With a few tools and an hour or two of work, you can make your guitar, banjo, or mandolin much more responsive.  Instruments with movable bridges can have better-than-new intonation as well. Resources for learning Folk Music and instruments quickly Check out our article on finding good used guitars.
Carols of many countries, including music, lyrics, and the story behind the songs. X and Y-generation Christians take Contemporary Christian music, including worship, for granted, but the first generation of Contemporary Christian musicians faced strong, and often bitter resistance. Different kinds of music call for different kinds of banjos.  Just trying to steer you in the right direction. New, used, or vintage - tips for whatever your needs and preferences. Wax recordings from the early 1900s, mostly collected by George Nelson.  Download them all for a 'period' album. Explains the various kinds of acoustic guitar and what to look for in each.
Look to Riverboat Music buyers' guide for descriptions of musical instruments by people who play musical instruments. Learn 5-string banjo at your own speed, with many examples and user-friendly explanations. Explains the various kinds of banjos and what each is good for. Learn more about our newsletter for roots-based and acoustic music. Folks with Bb or Eb instruments can contribute to worship services, but the WAY they do depends on the way the worship leader approaches the music. A page devoted to some of Paul's own music endeavors.