Quilt Patchwork Patterns

Model Railroad City

Wow, what a design!  I like how the track breaks from the grove and goes into that tunnel.  Cool miniature run down barn you got in the corner.  It feels like you could still add something though?  Right here in this big zone that is a miniature bit bland, you could put a model railroad metropolis.  Here are some reasons why it would really improve your track design:

A toy railroad city is interesting in itself: 

First of all, a tiny toy railroad city is just great to have for its own merits.  When you look at a train circuit design and you see a miniature city in it, your gaze is naturally pulled to look up and down its streets.  We love to look on the little people going about their days in their tiny make believe world.  For some young watchers the toy railroad city will command as much attention as the trains themselves. 

A toy railroad city provides impressive contrast for the locomotives: 

Another wonderful thing about having buildings and other objects a watcher is used to seeing in the real world is that it gives you a sense of scale in relation to your locomotives.  It’s also wonderful to have the locomotive disappear between buildings and pause at a fully developed locomotive station. The made up world of the toy locomotive just seems that much more full and rich.

A toy railroad metropolis provides period specific detail:  

Another wonderful thing about a toy railroad city is that it really let’s you develop the period specific detail for your toy locomotive.  So if you have a train that is specific to the late 19^th century you can have your city be a Southwestern boomtown, having telegraph lines, cowboys, 49’ers and bars.  It really let’s you create a wonderful tiny fictional setting for your train.  But this can also be a form of stealth learning for your young ones.  This is yet another wonderful way of developing the realism of your toy locomotive world.

Got a budding Rembrandt in the family? You’ve found the part of the toy train hobby that will they can really get with: 

If you have some members of the household that aren’t that into model trains but that enjoy drawing and painting, this is the ideal opportunity to recruit them.  All those miniature artistic touches that bring a model locomotive world together and that drive your mathematical mind crazy, your tiny Rembrandt will find a joy.  Just watch in wonder as their precise little brush strokes bring out details you couldn’t even envision but that now seem so obvious train design you will definitely want to leave an area for a model railroad town.  Just think of all the possibilities!

Here is more information on Model Railroad Track Plans. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Model Trains.

HO Model Railroad City

There’s much more to model railroading than operating the model trains, isn’t there?  The locomotives are what draw us in in the beginning but as we begin to imagine a world for our track plans to travel through, we discover that this world is just as interesting. The historical period, the topographical scenery, the weathering and coloring are all just as fascinating and painstaking as the trains for many of us hobby railroaders. Model railroading is equal parts an art as it is a craft, it demands skill in coloring just as much as building.  Try these suggestions:

Get going by choosing a specific historical period for your city that matches the locomotives you will be using:

We model train hobbyists are usually pretty good readers and there is nothing more irritating to us than seeing a 1950’s era American automobile on the cobblestone streets of European city near a typical 19^th century train station.  This type of a hodge-podge lay out where the accessories are decided in a apparently willy nilly manner can really destroy our suspension of disbelief. There are endless possibilities for you to choose between when it comes to time period and topography.  So if you are trying to realize an authentic European feel to your little model train city then construct buildings and figures that are accurate to this motif.

Begin by planning the larger buildings and marking out the streets:  

In a perfect world your roads will crisscross your town and some will go back to and segment the railroad tracks. Then you can decide the tiny landscape features, people and vehicles.

Consider including nature into you metropolitan area:

Towns are not exclusively sidewalks and buildings, they have trees and pools and animals as well.  You might desire to consider having some type of a river leading into your town.  Some of the ideal layouts I’ve seen include a central reservoir area in a town with a canal that winds out and under the line of train tracks. Let your creativity be your guide.

Be sure to detail and weather your village:

One of the central things that really make a village come alive are little details like stop signs, sidewalks, pot holes, cracks and other forms of weathering.  This all has to do with the sort of town you are constructing but there are many chances for including more intense grades of complexity to your plan. Your efforts will be well rewarded in the end.

Even if individuals in your family are not interested in toy locomotives you may find stronger involvement when it comes to creating your model railroad city. Most adults retain the childhood love of coloring and shading. Even the most hard edged adult can get lost in the act of gluing and painting.  If you have a particularly artistic member of the household, this could be the ideal chance to seek them and ignite their interest in model training.  There is also the added benefit that the kids of the household might inadvertently pick up a little bit of history.  The main benefit however is the time spent together building something that requires creativity and cooperation.

Here is more information on Model Train Track. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Model Trains.