Ken’s been in touch with his model trains europe edition:
“I was lucky enough to see the world at a young age, always loved Holland and the people were wonderful.
Most of the rails in Europe are new and is a major form of transportation throughout…
I started Amsterken 4 years ago, most of the structures have been kit-bashed to resemble buildings in Amsterdam….
My pride is centraal station witch started as 4 Kibri city hall building kits. Made a roof real shingles and tried to copy the details on the station….
Made all base from foam and covered it with body filler, before it dried i put a soft mold of bricks and when it hardened i pealled the mold off to reveal bricks like the ones in the canals…
I put blacklights behide back drop left a space so light could show through.
Painted walls blue and put some red lights for sun, also used paper which looks great with blk light . I run Roco track and trains all digital, Faller cars system, RC boats for the real water.
I have taken most of the layout down so i can put bladders in for real water, I built modules so its easy to take down, just in case I move.
Kids have the best time with the fast clock for in / out bound trains bus schedules and rc boats…
Till next time Amsterken out…. Thanks Alastair…
Ken”
A big thanks to Ken – a wonderful model train europe layout. A joy to see Godzilla in there too.
Ken also shared an excellent step-by-step on his backdrop too: Model railroad urban backdrop.
Lastly, the post wouldn’t be complete without a shameless plug for the silly discount bundle on the printable buildings.
That’s all for today folks.
Please do keep ’em coming.
And if today is the day you get started on your layout, the Beginner’s Guide is here.
Best
Al
PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.
PPS More HO scale train layouts here if that’s your thing.
nice buildings but most are unsuitable for us here in the uk.
can we have some uk design buildings? houses, indust. signal boxes etc?
Ken,
I lived in Amsterdam for 4 years! You have it down perfectly. I could almost imagine the rain!
Well done!
John
Hi Al and congratulations Ken.
I can not find words to describe it. Central Station building is amazing. The detail makes it like real.
Cheers
Ken, What a wonderful layout. Such a lot of hard work but well worth it in my eyes.
Brilliant layout Ken, the work gone in to this is amazing!
Amazing. The streetscapes, lighting, and interior shots all make one believe they’re looking at actual full scale photos. I especially liked the horizon lighing effect. Good luck with the bladder effect. Keep this audience informed.
Great layout, beautiful workmanship. Photography was very well done, too.
wow. someday Im gonna get out my old Lionel from 1950 and play with it again. It sure was fun.
Awesome layout. I’m considering starting a layout with my 8 yr old son. I can’t even imagine the work which would go into such a layout. Would love to se a short movie of this layout.
awesome the black light and other lighting is just awesome
Paul: someday never comes do it now you won’t regret it. I wish i had started mine 25-30 years ago.
I really enjoy the realism of the town and the buildings along with the landscapes.
Very nice detail, love Godzilla, my kind of humour, good job Ken!
The Amsterdam layout was very nice to see. Thank goodness that model RR builders are forgiving on items put on the layout being fairly close to scale. What with the Godzilla put there with good intentions, an not even close to scale according to the ship at dock behind it…..lol Just tell everyone that is the SON of Godzilla.
Your son’s layout is amazing to see he has such skill to put it together. He even shows it at train shows that is a cool thing at his age. One ? are all the buildings shown all from that downloadable website?? If not I could not tell the difference between them and the houses around them.
Can you describe Ken’s work in one word … Masterpiece!
W T G KEN!
regards,
xecellent work as shown by the pictures. Also excellent work as shown by the video. Why do people always want to “destroy” a masterpiece in model railroading, kinda reminds me od Jim O’Connell from Santee,Ca. who built my Z scale layout. Every time he was featured in Z Track magazine with picture of his layout he would tear it down and start again. I never had the “giddy up and do” to hardly build a first one much less rip her apart and do it again.
Ken, what a great job. The detail is so good, I cannot find the correct word for it.
The video is a good sales pitch.
Brings back memories of 10 years ago Winter, cold and the flight to the Philippines gets cancilled so we go in by train. The model you can almost smell the dodgy local cigerettes and the atmosphere in the Station. I couldent wait so dashed into the train expecting a modern toilet but was met by a hole down onto the rail!!!!
Later on a train in China I met two lovely ladies who had borded a train in Amsterdam and were going all the way to Ho Chi Min City, what a journey.
All the best
David.
Dear Ken
What a brilliant layout. I can see there is an incredible amount of research, effort and attention to detail that has gone into it. I know Amsterdam station well and you have captured it perfectly. A great piece of architecture and worthy of modelling. If you get a chance to post a video of your layout that would be fantastic.
Cheers
Cameron
amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Working on a coal company community, I need a model of the old company store build in late 40’s or early 50’s any ideas?
A VERY NICE LAYOUT. IT ALMOST LOOKS REAL IN SOME PLACES. GOOD WORK.
the lighting is just great, the detail in the buildings is so real.need to see more.
You’ve created a masterpiece! Most folks would take a shop vac and vacumn all the “trash” left after construction, but you’ve left some of it that really adds to the realism. Perfect! I’ll have to give you 5+Stars. Keep the film coming as it shows all of us what CAN be done with a few pieces of paper.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Ken — missed the original posting of your marvelous layout. Superior use of kitbashing skills, super detailing, weathering and lighting. Love the use of the bus/car system. Magnificent ambience too. What scale are you running? Just got to see your video – awesome! Can you post a picture or info re your track plan.
Arnie
Just one word AMAZING, I think your layout is the most lifelike I have ever come across, well done Ken.
Love Godzilla in the yards. Nice touch.
excellent
This is the most amazing layout I have ever seen!! Absolutely brilliant!
I can’t believe how realistic the trackside pics look. Difficult to believe it’s not the real thing. Everything looks “used” and “old”. Brilliant. Best I’ve ever seen.
Fantastic layout, was in Amsterdam in Sept. and could really relate to the scenes on your layout. Would really like to see more of the overall layout as well.
A video of Amsterken PLEASE!!!!!!
Wow. The Amsterdam layout is just spectacular, not just the scale and detail of it but also the artistic effect, including the great lighting.
Layout looks really great. I spent a lot of time in The Netherlands and Amsterdam in particular in the early 80’s. The layout brings back fond memories and looks just as I remembered beng there.
Really enjoyed your pics Ken. Great detail and life like.
Super video of the “old town”. Love the weathered streets.
Jim AZ
Nice, thanks for sharing and have fun.
One minor error and that is make sure that the wires to and from the various buildings and poles have some slight droop to them as real ones do actually because they do have some actual weight that would cause that to happen. They should not be made taught as you have them. Otherwise a nice model set up to see.
For the guy looking for a coal town company store, look no farther than the Cass Scenic Railroad in Cass West Virginia.
Seth Lampe
Chi-Town Union Station
Nice layout Ken.
Cary B
This layout is nothing short of stunning. The details and the amount of work you put into it are unbelievable. Truly a world class museum quality effort. I feel extremely lucky to have been able to experience this! Congratulations! My mind is reeling that this is not a real city!!!!!
Ken’s layout reminds me of our visit to Maduradam which is a large model city in Holland complete with model airports and ports. Good job Ken!
Absolutely Fantastic Ken! The Cruse Ship is excellent. Please send more photos in the near future!!!!
Conductor Dave, Dayton, Ohio.
Ken the most beautiful layout I have ever seen. You should be very proud. By the way I was born in Holland and moved to the USA in 1960. Again Ken you should be very proud – in my opinion the very best. Leo, Langley OK
Love the lighting on the second image!
Regards
Dirty Dave
Wow – so that’s where Godzilla’s been hangin’ out lately… Holland!
Great job. I spent four years in Holland after college playing baseball. Love it there. My wife is Dutch and we have spent the past 35 years visiting at least once a year. I love there rail system. You can get anywhere in the country by train. My N scale fleet has 8 Dutch locomotives including a custom made IRM which I see in one of your pictures. Thanks for sharing.
RE 11:36 AM .It’s a model of Amsterdam,why would he want UK structures on it? I think it’s fabulous but some have to complain about anything.I live in the US but don’t complain that I don’t see a NYC loco on his layout.Terrific work,love it all
Looks true despite a later period than when I was in Amsterdam for a week in 1974. Very nice work!
Missing the bicycles!
It is rare to see a train layout which displays a place so well I can recognize it by what I see in “toy” form. Well done! About 2 years ago my wife and I had a 4th floor room in a hotel about 2 blocks from Amsterdam’s main station. From the room’s window I could watch trains of all kinds come and go from that station you modeled.. It was exciting to see the variety of trains from local commuters to the dark red streamlined Thalys and the blue and yellow Eurostar high speed trains leaving the station. The incoming trains could be seen approaching from about a quarter mile (or half a kilometer) away and it was fun to guess which of a dozen or so lines in the yard would be chosen as it got closer. Thank you, Ken, for sharing your excellent work, and thank you, Alastair, for organizing it all for the readers.
Awesome layout, Awesome scenery, I like the design on the central station. Very well done!!!
I thought Rodan killed Godzilla or was that the other way around?
The Critic.
Thanks for the vid. of the print out buildings. I have been mixing them into my layout and they look very nice. This is real model building. Takes time and effort. If you put any “pike” under a microscope, you will see imperfection. Take any modern train ride thru middle America and it gets seedy in spots. Love the print outs. Need more pics of low budget displays. We work hard with what we can afford and appreciate the finer , upscale designs.
Having spent sometime in Amsterdam you nailed it. Thank you and well done.
Great layout
Ken,
Great layout. Did you use a travel agency cruise ship model for the Amsterdam Lines ship at harbour?
Will King Kong make a future appearance?
Looks so real . Near seen better.
Hi Alistair
How about some U K buildings to printout.
Brilliant job on Amsterdam, love it.
I am doing a German layout and great to see some European cities and towns.
So sick of drab UK railways or US western desert set ups, no offence meant to anyone as each to their own and lots of work in each layout.
Keep up the good work.
aaahhh godzilla run! ha ha. i liked that touch. very nice building aging. i might put something like this in mine when i put mine back together.
One of the finest scenic RRs I’ve ever seen!
Jeff
Just Amazing!!
awesome
i saw godzilla but no attack, whats up. but a really nice layout anyway.
With respect, Brad, I don’t think Dave was criticising a lack of British buildings on Ken’s amazing layout, which is a gem which I can identify with after two short visits to the Netherlands. I think, rather, that he is just commenting that so many of the downloadable buildings available on this great site (and they are brilliant) seem to have an American slant, which doesn’t necessarily translate to other countries. I have often felt the same here in Aotearoa New Zealand where our antipodean architecture is often uniquely ours. Kia Ora, as we say – Cheers.
Like many other modelers that have commented on your layout I too can not find proper words to describe its brilliance. Fantastic detail and most excellent back drop .
The lighting is superb , not over bright. It must have taken quite some time to create such a wonderful layout . Certainly not your first rodeo . Dare I ask how much you’ve invested , it seems to holds barred to me .
Thank you for sharing your work , very inspiring and just delightful to see .
Great video……love the music….out of the ordinary, suits the layout well.
Amazing layout!