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Accessories For Your Model Railway Layout
Posted On 2009-02-01 , 2:55 AM
Whilst thinking of adding accessories to your model train layout you will need to carefully consider the scale of your layout. As a quick guide the following scales are some of the most common - O Scale (1:48), S Scale (1:64), OO Scale (1:76), HO Scale (1:87), N Scale (1:160) and finally Z Scale (1:220).
As you can see from the paragraph above there are lots of different model railway scales and thus you have to make sure that when you are buying any accesories for your railway that you are buying the right ones. For example you may wish to change the name plate on your locomotive or add some decals to the engine then you need to make sure that you buy the right size plate or decal if you want the engine to look great. Some of these differences are quite obvious when it comes to items to go onto your train but are less so when it comes to tree systems and sometimes buildings. For example I have first hand experience of a retailer telling me that some of the Bachmann trees were not suitable for OO scale which was not strictly true as firstly using the dimensions on the back of the packet it specifically said that they were suitable and in any case if I was building a layout which had perspective then I may have needed some N scale trees to go at the back of the layout.
Some common accessories that you may wish to consider range from fishplates, track pins, buffers, uncoupling ramps, track supports, level crossings, fencing, lighting systems for stations and buildings and underlay for your track. And that doesn't really touch the sides as there are any number of scenery accessories and buildings that you can buy or build.
A simple accesory that can significantly add to the look of your layout is a tunnel portal. You often see tunnel systems with a brick facia going into the hillside and you can buy any number of different types of these to add realism to your model railway layout. Alternatively with brick patterns available to purchase or to download you can make your own bespoke tunnel portals.
When it comes to adding lights to the inside of your buildings then the bulbs or diodes that you use can be the same across a number of scales but if you are to have the lights on view such as a street lighting system or station lighting then you will need to make sure that the accessories are the right size for your layout.
If you are really into making the models yourself then you should consider the level of detail that you like to put into your models before deciding on your scale as it is likely that at the smaller scales a level of detail will need to be sacrificed because of the size.
To summarise therefore there are an abundance of accessories that are available for model railway enthusiasts and these are available in many different scales. Whilst there may be some crossover between scales this would tend to be very limited so it is important that when visiting your store that you know exactly what scale you are working to and/or what you are trying to achieve if you buy a product in a different scale.
One of the best places I have found for buying my accessories is at On Tracks as they cater for many different scales and have a huge range of products available online.
Stuart Smith is the author of many model railway articles and runs the model train websites - Model Trains Today and Best Model Train Help.
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Alternative Ballast For Your Model Train Layouts
Posted On 2009-01-01 , 1:40 PM
By Tim Donelly
If you want your model train layouts to be truly realistic, you need to spend extra effort and money on making the track work look realistic. Being the most visible element of your presentation, track work would inevitably require the most investment. Ballasts specifically manufactured for model train layouts are a bit expensive. But you have a very good alternative that works just as fine: masonry sand. Here's how to pick and use masonry sand for your track work:
1. Bring a strong magnet when with you when buying your sand. You don't want to buy the type with iron. Iron would make your rails look like soldered wires. You don't want that.
2. Pick the sand whose color you like. They come in different pigments and are made for building construction so they're sold in bulk for usually a lot less than the usual ballasts.
3. Use the sand as you would the ballast.
4. If you don't find the color you're looking for, buy any color and use it as the base ballast. You can then use the more expensive railroader ballast as final top coat.
Albert Williamson's The Complete Beginner's Guide to Model Trains has more practical advice and tips on materials and sources for an authentic model train layouts that shouldn't cost you much. Do check it out and find out more.
The great thing about getting into the railroading hobby is basically that there already hundreds, maybe even thousands of people who have been into it ahead of you. Other railroading enthusiasts are great sources of useful information that they themselves have uncovered along the way. Who would have thought masonry sand could work as well as the more expensive railroader ballast? Only an experienced model train enthusiast, of course!
Tim Donelly has three daughters, a huge collection of model train sets, and a wife. He loves all three - quite possibly in that order, too! Learn about model trains hobby and more when you visit his website ModelTrainFunOnline.Com today!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tim_Donelly
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Tips On Modelling Your Mountains
Posted On 2008-11-22 , 11:52 AM
Modelling Your Mountains
Here's one way that you can use to model your mountains.
 The first thing to do is to think about what you would like your mountain to look like. Well you can get loads of ideas from Google and other sites with regards to size and colour. These pictures can give you a prototype mountain from which you can model your own. From the example shown you get can get a good idea of the formation and the differing colours on the mountains.
Once you have an idea as to the sort of shapes that you are looking for and also the size required for the scale that you are working in then you can start to think about how to model it. One way is to find some stones or small rocks that are a similar shape to what you are looking for. You can then use these small rocks as mold for your model. You can do this by working some chicken wire over the rock and then adding some papier mache or plaster of paris sheets on top.
 After the plaster has dried then you can start to think about painting it. You will get an idea of the colours that you will need from your photo. You will probably need various greens, grey, black, white and some browns. You should consider what your predominate colour is and then use that as a base coat and then you can build up all of the other colours by taking into consideration the differing colours from your prototype pictures. Once you have finalised your painting then you can finish off your model by adding model grass,lichen and moss.
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Making A Backboard
Posted On 2008-06-16 , 4:15 PM
Starting To Make A Backboard
Recently we acquired a train set for my five year old son. He is quite keen to get the Hornby track mat and track set on on a proper board so I spent the weekend scouring for some board to attach the track mat to. Fortunately I managed to find some suitable board which is only two centimetres too short on the width for the track mat that was supplied with the set. As the track mat has a white border I am optimistic that we will be able to get a perfect fit by trimming off the excess.
Once we had found the board we took a visit to the local soft wood supplier and bought some 2 metre strips of 38mm x 50mm. Unfortunately I will need to go back and get some more as I miscalculated but once I have done that then we will start to look at building a frame to go on the backboard.
I am not really looking to do anything too complicated for this layout as it pretty much comes as is but once we have got this built then I will be able to get able assistance in designing and building the set to something more substantial.
Hopefully I can keep his imagination in check so that we can get some semblance of reality into his set. 
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