Building Model Trains and Scenery



After the initial novelty of setting up your model railway trains and investigating the locomotives and their top speeds (before becoming derailed) you will want to consider how you can have a more permanent layout for your train by building some scenery.

 

The benchwork underpins your railroad, just as the foundations do for a house. You have the option of buying an already made benchmark or alternatively building one for yourself. The advantage of buying one is that the kit is predrilled and precut enabling you to get up and running with your scenery building that much quicker. Of course they will also be much sturdier than an old piece of timber balanced on a pile of books! Also, with a kit, it enables you to be much more portable with your scenery, should you wish, at a later date, to travel to train shows. However, one disadvantage of buying your benchwork is that it is likely to be more expensive than building your own.

 

As well as being cheaper, building your own benchmark for your model railway train layout will provide you with the perfect opportunity to achieve the dream scenery layout you have in your minds eye. It may be a little more complicated and take some time but the end result will be well worth it. The first step is to create a design for your layout. Here’s a few questions to ask yourself to get started:

 

  • How large do you want the benchmark to be?
  • How much space do you have available in the room you wish to keep the train layout?
  • Will you be adding to the layout in the future?
  • What shape would you like to have?
    • Rectangular
    • Square
    • Circular
    • Oval

 

Once you have the answers to these questions next ensure you have a platform which is strong and sturdy and able to hold a lot of weight. Typically a good platform can be made from a thick piece of plywood between 3/8 inch and ½ inch thick. This can be placed onto a table top with the legs cut down to the height you require. If you want the benchwork to be portable then ensure the plywood is cut into several pieces before assembling.

 

Once your benchmark is in place you can begin building the model railway train scenery. For a good look, do remember to keep perspective and scale in mind as you build. The aim is to make the layout look larger than it is. Think of it as different levels of scenery. Place larger trees in the foreground and smaller trees in the background and in distant places, such as on mountain tops. Also for consistency, ensure that the scenery reflects the theme you have chosen. So if you are running a mountain model railway train ensure a mountain theme complete with mountains, alpine buildings, rivers, glaciers and the mountain meadows.

 

There are many different features you can incorporate into your scenery where only your imagination and artistic ability are the limit. Consider landscapes including tunnels, fields, meadows, bridges, aqueducts and roads. Towns and villages will obviously need houses and buildings. You should also include finer detail to your scenery such as fences, signs, pylons, bushes, flowers, animals and people. As a real challenge to your artistic ability, it can also be interesting to add bodies of water to your scenery such as rivers, streams and ponds.

 

What a wonderful way to show off your creative ability to your friends and family by creating dramatic and realistic train landscapes. So now you are inspired, get to work and start creating that scenery.