Simple layouts for stunning scenery?

Posted by on 2:11 pm 2 comments

I got these pictures sent in from John, after my post about simple layouts beging the best.

In a nutshell, your model railroad should look like scenery with a railroad in it – not a railroad with some scenery shoved in.

This point is demonsrated by the John – a picture tells a thousand words as they so – particularly with railroads.

My Favourite scenery tip

Posted by on 12:02 pm 1 comment

There’s always stuff around the house you can use for scenery. Stuff you woudln’t think of – but with a little imagination…

Ground coffee (after drying) makes good ballast (or add it to your cat litter to make it darker) and tea mixed with herbs makes great ground cover.

Or, believe it or not, just regular dirt (scooped up from outside) sprinkled down on to wet glue works a treat.

I mostly model in HO so it ‘fits’ – but you can pretty much do these three in any scale size.

It looks great a saves a fortune on your railroad layout.

 

Scenery tips that save money

Posted by on 7:12 pm No comments

A loved this email:

“Just had a real win – I priced some commercial ‘leaves’ for DIY scale trees – A$17.95 – Tooooo much. At the supermarket that afternoon I found dried parsley leaves in a packet for $A1.50. A quick spray with spray adhesive to some scale garden supplied tree armatures – dip it in the flakes, spray and dip again and bingo a beaut tree.

Papapeter”

Therer are a million and one ways to save money with railroading (which can be a very expensive hobby). Just to give you a quick example, have a look at my post about ballasting. Would you believe it’s cat litter?

Well it is.

 

Scenery mistake? Be creative with your layout…

Posted by on 7:06 pm No comments

I got this email in from Brian. It’s smart thinking!

“I finally purchased a turnout for my town spur. When I went to install it, I only then realized the switch itself would fall in the middle of a grade crossing. I had to dig a hole in the asphalt to fit in the turnout. As I was deciding how to correct the problem, I discovered a ‘road work crew’ my wife had purchased. I proceeded to install a permanant road work site.

Brian”

More layouts for your railroad

Posted by on 6:58 pm 5 comments

In one of my earlier posts I said I was a fan of simple layouts for good reason.

In fact, even my more complicated layouts are pretty simple. Here are some more I’ve used to good effect, even if they are a little less simple.