Model Railway Construction

Before beginning construction work on a model railway it is essential to have a workable design. The plan needs to take into account the space, time, budget and personal skills available, as well as the type of railway to be modelled. Here, Cyril Freezer draws on more than 50 years experience in designing and building model railways to explain how each stage should be undertaken. Includes 150 specially-drawn track layout diagrams.

This informative book provides a step-by-step account of the construction, from scratch, of a model railway called Dovedale. The model is operated like a real modern railway and was built entirely by the author within a strict low budget, using, wherever possible, recycled materials. Moreover, Dovedale is based on a specific prototype that exists in Buxton in Derbyshire, where freight trains run into an interchange siding, the locomotive runs round the train and then departs to a different destination. Some model railways are operated somewhat chaotically and are characterized by frequent derailments and locomotives that stop arbitrarily. If you wish to move away from this kind of layout and construct a model railway that operates realistically and reflects more closely the way that railways actually work in the second decade of the 21st century, then this is the book for you. Whilst constantly emphasizing realistic operation, the book covers layout planning and construction, controllers, point motors, power supply, cables and connectors, ways of operating traffic flows, signalling, track droppers, control panels and wiring, control and interlocking, lighting, sequence and block bells, the use of closed circuit television, and much more. Superbly illustrated with 258 colour photographs and diagrams.

Model Railroader's managing editor David Popp tells the complete construction story of his N scale Naugatuck River Valley layout using techniques any model railroader can use! More than 30 short projects from building benchwork to realistic operation.

Layout building is perhaps the most exciting, rewarding and challenging aspect of creating a model railway. Making the right design decisions and choosing good construction techniques are vital to ensure success. This book takes you through basic baseboard construction, shelf layout themes and how to link multi-deck designs together, enabling you to make the most of a given space. With different concepts covered, from simple portable layouts to helix construction techniques, Nigel Burkin mixes the best of British layouts with those used routinely overseas and shows you how you too can achieve success and satisfaction in executing your layout design. Topics covered included: Designing for comfort; How to use space efficiently; Practical construction techniques from L-Girder to box frame baseboards; Sub track bed construction, track laying and wiring; Fine tuning the layout for smooth operations.

This invaluable book is essential reading for all railway modellers, whatever their level of expertise. The author provides an overall understanding of the purpose of making buildings for a model railway and covers their construction, their positioning and how to light them.Topics covered include railway and non-railway buildings, explaining how the latter can also enhance your trains; modelling attitudes, the use of scale, levels of detail and both regional vernacular and railway architecture; ready-made buildings and how you can adapt them to your own particular purposes; different materials available for building structures and ways of choosing, finding, measuring and recording suitable prototypes; step by step construction of a cardboard building kit to illustrate the use of basic modelling tools and to explain essential procedures and techniques; using and modifying 'out-of-the-box' model buildings. Also explores the subtleties of making model railway buildings from scratch without the use of a kit, or anything more than hand-tools and a few sheets of suitable material, giving guidance on the appropriate use of texture and colour, and shows how walls, doors, windows, roofs and chimneys can be created, painted, detailed and finished off. Discusses the many aspects of lighting, including external lighting, such as street and platform lights, and the internal lighting of buildings, the problems they pose and how they can be resolved. Lighting can create dramatic effects with reference, for example, to the installation of illuminated ground signals in N-gauge using the latest 'surface-mount' technology, and by producing brilliantly illuminated back-lit sunsets. Superbly illustrated with 622 colour photographs.

At some time during ownership a train set crosses an arbitrary threshold and becomes a model railway. The aspiring modeler then has the challenge of filling in all the gaps. Whether the line runs through the countryside, a village or town, some type of infrastructure is needed to represent the station, home, or factory. This can be a challenge to the modeler as there are a wide variety of offerings at differing price points and detail levels. This book progresses through planning and thought processes aiming to demonstrate pictorially several different build types. From the simple paper kit to mighty scratch-built edifices, each is broken down to show how the build is undertaken. This book also follows some of the rebuilding process undertaken by the Market Deeping Model Railway Club as layouts were repaired, enhanced, or replaced following their annual show being vandalized on the night before public opening in May 2019. As the news of this sad event broke, it went worldwide through the modeling community and public in general. The images of layouts broken to matchwood showed many years of skilled building and devoted operation which were lost. This gave the opportunity for experienced club members to build a mini movie set, construct a major London terminus and patch repair what could be saved from damaged originals. The photographic capture of these projects has been used within this book alongside the detailed work of other modelers, clubs, and societies.

Layout building is perhaps the most exciting, rewarding and challenging aspect of creating a model railway. Making the right design decisions and choosing good construction techniques are vital to ensure success. This book takes you through basic baseboard construction, shelf layout themes and how to link multi-deck designs together, enabling you to make the most of a given space. With different concepts covered, from simple portable layouts to helix construction techniques, Nigel Burkin mixes the best of British layouts with those used routinely overseas and shows you how you too can achieve success and satisfaction in executing your layout design.

Acquire more space for scenery and longer mainline runs with multiple decks. Tony Koester walks you through design options, lighting and wiring considerations, and the all-important construction process and techniques.

Determining where and how to store a model railway when it is not in use can be difficult, especially if space is severely limited; a folding railway layout can be the solution to this problem. The author has designed an ingenious folding wooden case that accommodates his truly remarkable N-gauge multi-track layout, and which is also suitable for an oval track layout in 00 gauge. In this fascinating book, the author describes all aspects of how to build the folding case and how to construct the layout within using lightweight materials such as rigid foam. Some of the most remarkable features of the layout are how to construct and install a working cable car, moving road vehicles, a revolving children's roundabout, and a helicopter with motorized rotor blades. There are over 300 excellent step-by-step diagrams and photographs. Brimming with practical advice and tips on how to build the folding case and how to construct the layout within and superbly illustrated with 315 colour photographs and step-by-step diagrams.

Moving from a train set out of a box to making your own model railway can seem a daunting proposition. Whether you go your own way, wish to follow a prototype tightly or have an inherited stock that you want to make the best of. This book covers the act of deciding on a design that will keep the interest alive. Executing it in a manner that is within your skills set, and finishing it to a quality you are satisfied by within a time and financial limit. Here learning from those who have had both successes and the occasional false start will assist you in execution of your project and maintaining its interest. The book aims to explain jargon and includes such subjects as project design and planning, alternative baseboard construction methods, track laying, basic electrics accompanied by a rich and varied imagery. The Market Deeping Model railway club rose to public notice in May 2019 following the sad overnight vandalism of their annual railway show. The breaking news story became a worldwide cause célèbre bringing a whirlwind of kind support from modelers and the general public. The rebuilding of the club's damaged layouts and new projects for replacements gave the rare opportunity of experienced modelers to photograph and document the build process and revisit the basics. The results are incorporated into this book making a positive and cathartic activity from a distinctly negative situation.