Model railroad layouts plans

The comments on Barry’s model train rocks (Barry’s rock formations) came in thick and fast – so I asked Barry if he’d be kind enough to share with us how he does them:

“Al,

I’ve been trying to get this tutorial done so I can send it to you to hopefully explain how I do my rock formations that apparently look quite real.

1) Build the supporting structure that will eventually be covered.

2) Stuff with crumpled up newspaper to achieve the formation desired.

3) Cover with plastercloth or plaster soaked cheese cloth.

4) As the they are drying use your fingers to shape the effect desired.

5) Create rocks from rubber plaster molds and apply suitable castings to the face of the plaster formation with a hot melt glue gun and then fill in around it with plaster-of-paris.

6) Then paint with acrylic latex paints from a crafts store. I prefer the lighter colors to make the layout look brighter. I use a tan for the entire base coat, then a burnt umber for the highlights with an occasional darker brown for a deep crevice or crack. It takes some practice but it’s not difficult to get a good realistic result.

7) I sprinkle my various colors of grass(comes in plastic containers from the hobby store).

8) Finally glue clump foliage on for shrubs, drill appropriate holes for telephone poles and trees you can see the final results.

Here is my layout trackplan per request of many reader’s requests. Hope this helps them. I have made this layout extremely uncomplicated with mechanical turnouts as my Grandson is only (6) years old. Thanks to all the readers for their wonderful comments once again and thank you for publishing it. I like to help any fellow modeler in any way I can because this is a great hobby.

(Press play on the last one to see the video).

Regards,

Barry”

A big thanks to Barry for sharing his model train rocks!

It reminds me of Dan’s post, which you is also really good when it comes to making rocks, cliffs and roads:

HO scale roads.

And there’s this on of Dan’s too:

Model railroad rocks.

Ned’s is really worth a look out too, it’s a great step-by-step: Realistic rock models for model railroad.

And for some more gems, just read the comments below!

That’s all for this time folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

Don’t forget there’s more tips and ‘how-to’ stuff here.

Best

Al

PS If HO scale is your thing, there are lots of HO scale train layouts here.

Need buildings for your layout? Have a look at the store.

They are great fun to make and great value too.

Gavin kindly got back in touch after all the comments on my previous post:

“Dear Alastair,

Just to answer a few of the points made by people who saw my previous photographs. It is always interesting to hear other people’s views on one’s work good or bad.

The layout is accommodated in a hot which I designed and built and erected at the bottom of the garden. It is fully winterised with 2 inches thick of insulation and the offcuts were saved and used to make the scenery even so it was -9°C last winter inside.

The hut is 12′ x 10′ and the layout about 11` x 9′. It was built at a height from the floor of 4’8″ ie. at a eye level.

As you can see in some of the new pictures here it is built more as a diorama using hardboard for the valances on the top and the bottom which were then painted matt black.

The layout measures 2 ft. from back to front and 1ft  high, a ratio recommended for this kind of presentation.

All four corners have a large radius and hardboard has been used for mounting the back scenes I printed out on the computer using wallpaper backing paper.

This gives a muted effect on the pictures and thus more of a feeling of depth. Another way of showing depth in the scenery is to use N gauge people or animals on the distant hills where appropriate.

The canal and river are just the varnish poured from the tin and done in Blair’s letting it then more varnish added as required in between small amounts of grassy flock was added between some of the layers to simulate weeds under the water, it was brushed lightly to give the impression of the direction of flow of the water, let dry then more varnish added as required.

The whole layout is illuminated by fluorescent tubes hidden behind the upper pelmets and these are of different light valuables, for instance Sowerby Bridge was always a gloomy industrial town so that is the lighting effect I have tried to replicate. On the contrary the countryside is much brighter.

For those of you who live in this area of West Yorkshire you will recognise the steep hillsides of Hebden Bridge with the one up one down houses and the canal is the Huddersfield narrow canal at tunnel end near Marsden outside Huddersfield where the canal goes into a long tunnel alongside the railway beneath the Pennine hills.

Another scene you might recognise is that behind the row of houses and shops is the village of East Morton and the town of Keighley beyond with the Brontë moors and hills behind.

Finally I would be glad to hear if anyone knows how you can produce backdrops says 6 feet long by 1 foot high of pictures all joined together on the computer and printed out as I would like to improve my own and do them a bit more professionally if possible.

Gavin”

Gavin’s work is superb – hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I do enjoy reading about the tips and tricks you all use to bring your layouts to life.

Even after all these years I’m still amazed at what people use for their scenery.

Take insulation foam for exmample – lots of people use it for mountains.

But for tunnels? And stone walls? Take a look at how Tommy created these masterpieces:

HO scale tunnel.

That’s all for this time 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 More HO scale train layouts here if that’s your thing.

Need buildings for your layout? Have a look at the store.

They are great fun to make and great value too.

This came in from Martin.

I had to publish it – just superb scenery.

“Hi Al,

I was very interested in your recent article about the West Yorkshire layout modelled around Sowerby Bridge in the grimy 50’s. I spent my childhood in that area, skipping school in the afternoon’s to visit the loco shed (depot) and a few years on sleeping in the rail station waiting room because I had missed the last bus home at night. (Happy memories).

Regarding my waterfall & stream model, it was my first attempt at modelling a water feature and I was very pleased how it turned out.

I found however that the scenic realistic water which I paid £10 for, shrunk as it dried and I needed to apply more to fill the pools both in the stream and the pond at the base of the waterfall. The nice opaque colour of the waterfall in the photo also disappeared as it dried. I has to apply some more ‘water effects’ mixed with white paint onto the fall to try make it effective. I think that I added too much white to the mixture which I need not to do in my next water model. But in the end my 1st attempt looked super and the buyer remarked “how realistic “ the model was.

I list my models on EBay UK where I seem to be getting a good response, which is where I purchase most of my model bits & pieces.

I have booked a trade stall at a Model Rail show in November and am hoping my new venture will be a success.

I love your emails and wish that I had the space to build a large layout similar to the ones that you have featured in your articles. Yorkshire houses were built a little on the small size compared to US houses!

Best wishes

Martin”

I love Martins work. For the rest of us, of course, there’s always my favourite resource…