Building Model Railway Trains and Scenery

Part of the fun of model railroads is being able to build the scenery around them. Once you have gotten tired of setting up the train set around the Christmas tree and putting it away after Christmas every year, you might be ready to build yourself something more permanent.

The benchwork is the foundation of your railroad. Train hobbyists have the option of buying an already made benchwork or building one for themselves. Buying a benchwork kit has several advantages. Benchwork kits are precut and predrilled. Plus they are sturdier then a piece of plywood on two sawhorses. Also, with a kit, you can take it apart to move it to a different location in the house or to bring it to shows.
Of course building your own benchwork is more complicated and takes more time but, you have the opportunity to achieve your perfect vision for your trains. The first thing you will have to do is to create a design for your layout. You’ll have to figure out how large you want your benchwork to be. Consider if you will be adding on to it later on down the road. How much room in your house do you have to place a train layout? What shape are you planning for the top or your benchwork? It can be square, rectangle, oval, or circular. Typically the legs of the table are 28 inches but they can be altered to meet your designs specifications. The most important thing in benchworking is making sure that your benchwork is solid and can withstand a certain amount of weight. A good platform is a 3/8 inch or ½ inch thick piece of plywood. If you would like your benchwork to remain portable, you can cut the plywood into several pieces before you assemble your benchwork.

Keep perspective in mind when you are building the actual model railroad scenery. The goal is to make your layout appear larger than it is. You can try using different levels of scenery to help with this. Placing larger trees in the foreground and smaller trees in the background or on the tops of mountains helps with this illusion as well. Your scenery should also reflect the theme your have chosen for your landscape. For instance, if you are running a logging train on your line, it should be running through a rugged mountainous area filled with a ton of trees. You can also place a sawmill or lumberyard close by.
Other aspects that you can have in your landscape are tunnels, grassy meadows, fields, rock formations, roads, and bridges. You can also incorporate towns or villages filled with houses and buildings. Plus, you should also add fine detail to your scenery. Fine detail includes signs, telephone poles, fences, underbrush, bushes, flowers, hedges, people, and animals. A really nice touch is including bodies of water like ponds, rivers, streams or even waterfalls.

After all, isn’t one of the reasons we get into model trains is to be able to show off our artistic talent by building dramatic and lifelike landscapes? So get to work and amaze your friends with your amazing talent.

A Century of Legendary Lionel Trains

A Century of Lionel
A spectacular, two-hour tribute to a special toy that has thrilled five generations. See all the classics the State Set, Blue comet, Hudsons, F3s, GG-1s, Daylights, accessories and much more. Remember the little man who threw milk cans out of the milk car? He's included. So are log loaders, coal loaders, operating dump cars, cranes, bridges, the steam whistle, sleek diesels and steamers puffing smoke. No other toy has provided so much enjoyment to so many for so long.

Narrated by broadcasting-legend Tom Snyder (an avid toy train collector), and created by award-winning producers Tom McComas and Joseph Stachler, these officially licensed, action-packed videos trace the history of this American legend, and show all the trains and accessories that have generated so many memories. Things change but the basic appeal of a toy train is as irresistible today as it was in 1990. Lionel, it would seem, is forever.

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Model Train Scales

When you get into model railroading, you quickly learn about model train scales. Every model train that is produced has a scale letter associated with it, such as: HO, O and so forth. The scale lets you know how true to life it is and more importantly, the physical size of the train itself. The scale refers to the size in comparison with the real thing. For example, 1:220 means the real version of the model train is 220 times larger. If you are a newcomer to model trains, the amount of space will be the first factor in determining which scale to go with. For the hardcore model railroader, mixing scales is a great joy when space permits. Let's take a look at some of the model train scales and minimum space requirements.

Z Scale trains are 1:220, which means they are very small. I call these "cute" trains and they are perfect for those with an extremely limited space. As with any scale, you can expand the layout as large as you want to go.

Next up is the N Scale, which is 1:160. N scale trains are semi-popular and are great if you want your focus to be on your layout and not the train itself. They are small as well, so you can fit these trains into minimal space.

HO Scale trains are 1:87 and the most popular scale of model train with model railroaders. They offer a good level of detail and allow you to fit a nice size track into an average size space. I like HO scale trains because they blend in great with any type scenery and you get a good balance as a result.

The O Scales, my favorite, are 1:48 and very popular as well. Lionel has been making great O scale trains for many decades. These trains are larger and require a good amount of space for a proper layout. It is possible to setup a small oval track in about a 5-foot by 5-foot area. Although the track will seem small because of the train's size, it is better than nothing. If your layout is smaller, the O scale train will dominate the view.
There are a couple other scales, such as S and G, but these are the main ones I choose to discuss in this article. Only you can decide which scale is right for you. Some, with limited space, prefer the O scale model trains, even though they dominate the layout, because of their detail and size. O scale trains are "meatier" and are really great for pacifying the children.

All trains have a variance in quality so one scale is not necessarily more expensive than another. Although, I have found O scale model life to be a little bit pricier. You really can't go wrong with model railroading. It is highly rewarding and wholesome. In the end, you might find yourself collecting model trains across the entire scale spectrum. Get out there and ride the rails!

The Quick Start Guide to Model Trains

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Toy Model Trains

As Thomas the Train enlightened every boy’s fantasy and graced the thoughts of those who have been awed by those fantastic machines, trains offer a powerful addiction to many. Small boys watch the talking trains from their living rooms and do not understand what it is that makes them so wonderful. But as boys grow into men they realize what it is that captured them when they were boys and stayed with them into their adulthood; control over a powerful machine.

What is it that drives men to play with “toys”? It might be that they are enthralled by the thought of controlling something so powerful even though it is 1/87 of its size. Maybe it is the puzzle of how trains work; the electricity running through the lines to make it run. Perhaps it is because trains are so organized; only able to run on its track. Or maybe it is the memories of seeing the train whistling around the Christmas tree every year that makes us want to relive it through our “toy” trains. But the word toy is not accurate any longer when talking about model trains. These toys have grown up into machines and are ready to play with the big boys.

Toy trains are usually the plastic ones that you find on sale while you are Christmas shopping. They are low quality and priced as a great way to introduce kids to the hobby. When boys grow up they are called men. And when toy trains grow up, they are called locomotives. Locomotives are made to last. They are higher quality and many lack the “push it slightly to get it to move” feature like lower quality trains have. Their wheels are made to make greater contact with the track in order to get a better connection to the electricity which will help to get it going. They are the things that make model railroaders smile. Plus, locomotives have stronger engines. A stronger engine means greater pulling power. A quality locomotive is also made out of metal rather then plastic like toy trains. The weight of the train has a large effect on how well it works. The heavier the train, the better it will make contact with the track and therefore, a better running train.

And if electricity wasn’t good enough, the wonderful makers of the model train industry offer steam engines for the little boys inside grown men. Of course there are a lot of different quality trains on the market that offer steam but, there is nothing better then enjoying these trains with lifelike steam filling their scenery.
Very few boys get to grow up to be able to actually drive a train. I’m sure that a lot of train drivers look at the work they do as a job rather then a little boy’s life long dream. But, we don’t have to all grow up to be train drivers to fulfill our dreams. We can indulge ourselves in the hobby that so many of us love; model trains.

Toy Model Trains For Kids Or Men?

Image via WikipediaAs I write this I find myself 55 years of age so that puts me in a unique group of people who actually watched black and white TV! I remember my childhood years as a boy, toys were simple and the best toys modeled trains, trucks, cars, boats and guns. We didn't have things like Thomas the Train but we did have toy model trains. We even had a Lionel scale model electric train which fascinated me. Something about these toys that attract boys and men like magnets, could it be an overwhelming desire to control these big monsters?

If those manufacturers of toy model trains ever figured out exactly what drives boys and men to want to play with scale model trains, I imagine they could become very wealthy! The ability to create lifelike reproductions of toy model trains just has to have something to do with the natural attraction, the more real a locomotive looks and works, the more attractive it seems. Maybe we just gaze in wonder at these scale model trains as smoke pours out of the smoke stack, the headlight shines on the track and electricity pours through the tracks with the magical hot smelling transformer. I remember those smells from the old Lionel train locomotive, the smell of the smoke pellets , the heaviness of the locomotive and that combination of hot transformer and Christmas tree needles. Although at the time, to me, it was a toy model train when in reality it wasn't a toy at all but a complex model train that would be worth a nice pile of cash today!

Kids started playing with little toy trains long before I did and often were made of wood with wooden wheels, some were small and some big toy trains were large enough to sit on. Today life like model trains are made of plastic for little children to push around and make train noises. But boys grow up and so do their trains, maybe that youthful imagination is somehow restored when grown men look at model train layouts, detailed engines and all the model train accessories one can absorb. As toy trains evolve into scale modeled electric trains everything gets harder and stronger. Train engines weight more, track is more realistic and heavier. The locomotives have very strong engines capable of pulling many cares and a good quality scale model locomotive should be made of metal and heavy enough to get good contact with the track.

Some of the earliest working models of scaled train locomotives were actually powered by steam engines, this was before electricity was available and definitely for big boys, I mean men! You can still see these engines and trains operate and if you ever get a chance to see the steam locomotive in action it will be the most lifelike experience you'll ever have when watching a model train. The real steam filling the layout and the sound of the wheels draws one back in time.

I can't imagine that many men have their childhood dreams fulfilled and are train engineers in real life and I'm sure their job loses it's wonder at some point. However, I've heard that these same train engineers will at some point in their life began to start their scale modeling train hobby again. The ones that do have some real first hand knowledge for creating an awesome track layout with realistic mode train scenery. I guess you could say they are going back to their roots!
Free e-book for model train enthusiast, http://www.GuideForModelTrains.com, sign-up for a free 11-part "Secrets to Successful Model Railroading" email course. Learn everything you need to know about setting up ultra cool Toy Model Trains layout that will bring joy to the life of yourself and your family for years to come! Learn more about LGB and HO trains, layouts and parts at the above links. Do you know the one thing every locomotive must have to attain full power? If not, the free class will tell you that and much more!

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