Model Railroading in Small Spaces, Second Edition (Model Railroader’s How-To Guides)
If you have a limited space for your layout, here s the answer! This completely revised edition of Model Railroading in Small Spaces provides a variety of creative approaches for building compact layouts. It covers how to build seven different layouts encompassing portable, shelf, coffee table, and fold-up styles. Three of the layouts are new, plus the book includes a new chapter on advanced techniques. N and HO scale railroads are modeled, as is one O scale shelf layout.
List Price: $ 21.95
Price: $ 12.99
Tags: Edition, Guides, HowTo, Model, Railroader's, Railroading, Second, Small, Spaces
Build a Model Train Layout Step by Step.
I found this video series on Youtube which describes step-by-step how to build a simple but attractive 4×8 model train layout. The series is aimed very much at beginners and uses a lot of prefab and plastic kit parts. This series covers all of the basic skills that you would need to know in order to really get started in the model train hobby.
Videos like this are even excellent for older modelers who, like myself, might be getting back into the hobby after many years away as the techniques used in the model train hobby change with the development of new and better techniques.
It also helps model train enthusiasts get over the hump of indecision that comes from just starting a project–trying to decide what to build first and how to build it. Often, we go confronted with so many choices, it’s hard to just pick up the tools and start working. Picking a bite-sized project can help knock some of the rust off the modeling techniques and get us back into working in the hobby rather than just planning.
Though I might prefer to do something much more ornate than this for a permanent layout, and spend a great deal more time on the detailing and weathering of the layout to make it look more realistic, it did occur to me that the simpler approach would be great for a smaller project. For example, parents can spend time with their children introducing them to hobbies and crafts in a quick and relatively inexpensive build for the Christmas holidays. You could very easily create the traditional holiday model train layout under the tree with the techniques shown in this video series and still have something that will give everyone a great deal of pleasure long after the holidays have passed.
I will be adding new videos from this series every few days, so keep checking back here for new installments of how to Build a Model Railroad step by step. This video series will help you share in the excitement that makes the model train hobby the world’s greatest hobby.
Although I am a big fan of HO scale model trains, I have to admit that there is lots of creative potential available to N scale model trains as you can see in the above video. The East Valley Lines N Scale Model Railroad is a stunning diesel-era layout created by the East Valley Lines N Scale Model Railway Club at Travel Town in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, CA.
N scale model trains, because of their small size, really open up the doors to all kinds of scenic possibilities. You can create a massive, complex model train layout that really showcases the scenery in a very small footprint. Towering mountains, deep canyons, and tall timber all come within your reach, even in a very small room and you have a wide canvas to work with when you’re dealing with these tiny model trains.
Now, remember that there isn’t a lot of price differential between HO scale and N scale model trains, so your model railroad is likely to cost almost as much in N scale as it would in the larger HO scale. That having been said, track plans are able to fit in half the space which makes accommodating the model train layouts a much easier task, and there is the possibility to model larger industries and yards that would simply be impossible in HO scale. Also, the smaller scale gives the opportunity to create layouts with scenery that really dwarfs the model trains, allowing you to give a better illusion of realism.
If I had not already committed to HO scale for my Whiskey Gap model railroad project, then after seeing this video I would be very sorely tempted to try the smaller scale. Nevertheless, there’s always the possibility that I may come back to N scale for another model project.
Enjoy this video, and look for more articles on Beginner Model Trains soon.
Video Rating: 4 / 5
Tags: East Valley Model Railroad Club, model trains, N Scale
