Barry Melek Electric Train Sets

Building Benchwork

Tips For Model Railway Trains and Scenery

The most common reason people make the decision to build model railway trains and scenery is because of their childhood memories. So many of us our drawn to this hobby because of those wonderful past experiences, and that speaks volumes about the rise in popularity of model railroading.

If you're just beginning in this hobby, or even if you've been involved with it for awhile, being provided with a few good tips about how to get started, and enjoy model railroading to it's fullest certainly won't hurt.

You see, the things is, building model railway trains and scenery can be very challenging, and requires that you set aside a reasonable amount of time to do your due diligence. Not unlike any other new venture, being properly prepared will prevent you from spending money unnecessarily, and will help you avoid future disappointments as you proceed with this new venture.

Typically, when you start building model railways, you begin with selecting the model scale for your trains, and this is where the confusion begins for most inexperienced hobbyist. Therefore, the first order of the day, is to learn the difference between gauge and scale.

Scale: The comparable difference in size between the model and the real life prototype. This difference is represented in fraction form for the model. For example, an N scale model train is 1:160th the size of the actual train.

Gauge: This is simply the distance between the outer rails and nothing more.

After determining your choice in model scales, the next step is to decide which of those model scales, and there are several to choose from, that you would like to display in your layout.

Having chosen your model scale, the question to address next is where, and what to display them on. You can elect to purchase a pre-built benchwork, or actually build one yourself. This is a personal choice, and relates more to time available and skill set then anything else.

The next stage of building your model railroad involves the planning and designing of your track layout. This can be accomplished through doing careful research, or by purchasing software that will accomplish this task for you.

Now that you've designed your track layout, getting your trains to run efficiently and smoothly is the issue at hand, and to do this you'll have to bring yourself up to speed about the various electrical components and how they work. There are a variety of well written books on this subject, and your best source is to browse those that are available at Amazon.com.

At this point, you have the scale models trains you've selected, your benchwork, you've designed your track layout, and you have all of the electrical components that are necessary to run your trains. No model railroad is finally complete until it is complimented with scenery. This is where you have an opportunity to really impress your friends and family, and maybe even yourself with your artistic talents.

You can create all of your scenery from scratch, using any number of things that you can find around your home, or you can elect to visit your local hobby store and buy ready made scenery. Once again, this is a personal choice, and its possible that you may want to combine the two. Ultimately, your goal is to create the most awesome scenery that you can to surround those mighty little trains that you have running around that great track layout that you designed!

About the Author

Elliot Davenport is a model railroading enthusiast, who is dedicated to helping others learn about this amazing hobby. If you would like more information about building model railway trains and scenery you can discover more about this topic by visiting his website at: http://www.modeltraintipsandadvice.com

Basic Model Railroad Benchwork (Paperback) $27.92 The title may say ?basics,? but this book covers a full range of skills and materials. Beginners building a small table or shelf layout up to experienced modelers assembling the benchwork for a basement empire will find what they need in this comprehensive guide. New color photos and illustrations highlight liftout sections and swinging access gates.

Benchwork $133.9 No Synopsis Available

Basic Model Railroad Benchwork $13.4 No Synopsis Available

Benchwork: Instructor's Guide $15.55 No Synopsis Available

Building $9.49 Building

Atlas Model ATM14 Ho King-Size Railroad Plan Book $21.67 The text takes you step-by-step through building your layout from designing and constructing your benchwork to laying roadbed and track wiring and even adding some scenic touches. Photos diagrams and glossaries included.

Atlas Model ATM14 Ho KingSize Railroad Plan Book $26.83 The text takes you stepbystep through building your layout from designing and constructing your benchwork to laying roadbed and track wiring and even adding some scenic touches. Photos diagrams and glossaries included.

The Building $179.99 John Hassall The Building - Premium Giclee Print

Introduction to Model Railroading (Paperback) $32.02 The all-new material in Introduction to Model Railroading offers beginning modelers a wealth of information. It begins with choosing a place, era and scale to model. Veteran modeler Jeff Wilson also breaks down the basics of planning a layout and building supporting benchwork. The easy-to-follow instructions and abundance of photographs make this the perfect introduction to scale model railroading.

Building Humans $10.49 Building Humans

Building Blocks $6.49 Building Blocks

Building Ten $10.49 Building Ten

Building Democracy $24 Building Democracy

In Da Building $10 In Da Building - Shop Boyz

Philadelphia Building $19.99 Philadelphia Building - Premium Poster

Chrysler Building $19.99 Chrysler Building - Masterprint

Flatiron Building $19.99 Flatiron Building - Masterprint

Building a Dream $27.99 Building a Dream - Art Print

Crysler Building $29.99 Crysler Building - Art Print

Facade of a Building $24.99 Facade of a Building - Photographic Print

Office Building $24.99 Office Building - Photographic Print

Windows on a Building $24.99 Windows on a Building - Photographic Print