The Holiday Season is upon us, and I’d like to add some items to your holiday gift-giving list.

First on the list are a couple of interesting books. The Walthers Model Railroad Reference Book comes in several scales, and I have in hand the 2006 editions of the HO book and the N & Z book. I like to call them the “Idea Books” because I thumb through them and get ideas. Not only will you find many of the top dollar locomotives, you’ll also find the two-buck brass detail parts, off-beat shanty kit, or bags of scale cinders to allow that top dollar loco to run in a realistic setting. It may be hard to know exactly what to purchase for that model railroader, but each Idea Book is a true gift, since everything in those pages may be ordered from the local hobby store or directly from Walthers.

Go to www.walthers.com to get purchasing details.

Want a “knock-their-socks-off” book gift for someone? Try gifting them a copy of Hundman Publishing’s just-off-the-press Locomotive Cyclopedia, Volume II. This seventy dollar 14 by 11 inch hardbound and dust jacketed delight features no less than 21 foldout pages, spreading to 27 by 11 inches. The 271 pages offer intimate photos and drawings of 4 appliances used on steam locos, 48 steam locomotives, and a quartet of famous electric locomotives. It is the follow-on to the 1998 Volume I treasure. Someone would be very thrilled to receive this!

Drop by www.hundman.com to see more.

In my prowls around the internet, I found that last year’s runaway movie success, The Polar Express, featuring an animated Tom Hanks, is going to be made available this year on DVD. The debut date is set for November 22, 2005, so by the time you read this, it should be in stores. If you are giving this to a household where actual children live (as opposed to old guys like me who merely behave that way), you should also consider gifting the Chris Van Allsberg book with the movie. Now that’s a gift!

I found both at www.amazon.com

Other gifts of DVDs also offer themselves. Green Frog produces a set with five DVDs in a single, specially designed box that is about twice as thick as a single DVD case. Their Modeling & Beyond video cuts the retail price of nearly $130 down to just under $50 and provides a very tightly packed 276 minutes of modeling in a single package.

Visit www.greenfrog.com for more information.

Stocking stuffers? Your local hobby shop is just teaming with them! A package of hobby brushes, a new X-Acto knife, or a fresh bottle of CA glue would do nicely. A set of paints, some scenic supplies, or a small kit would work, too. Some hobby shops offer gift certificates as well.

One more gift you should consider gifting is Model Railroad News. The magazine in your hand, like last month’s, is 72 pages, the most we’ve ever done. That adds up to 11,088 square inches of pure model railroad fun each month. To get that many square inches in a standard-sized 8.5 x 11 inch magazine, you’d have to go out to 119 pages. Talk about labor saving devices — that’s about 40 percent less page flipping! Our price is pretty labor saving, too. Each month that our magazine appears in some lucky person’s mailbox, they’ll be reminded again that you really do care.