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Buildings on your layout

Buildings are an important part of any model railroad. They help to zero in on the time period that you are trying to recreate, while providing a history of how the community developed.

Walk through the old part of town. Instead of looking at the store windows, look at the roof lines of the buildings across the street. Most people never see the fancy facades and ornate architecture that grace the front of these older buildings. These same details can add interest to your railway.

Thanks to companies like D.P.M. (Design Preservation Models) and the Walther’s Cornerstone series, much of the flavor of older towns can be recreated.

Another detail that can be added to the buildings is faded signs and movie posters. These indicate past owners or activities that occurred in the town. Other signs add interest too. Blair Line has a lovely line of wooden billboards that can be placed on a vacant lot or on the roof of a low building.

Buildings also give a sense of scale to the railway. They range from signal shanties hiding by the railway tracks to massive factories that dwarf the trains. You may comment that you don’t have room for massive buildings. Do not worry just create the impression. By using only part of the building.

A building flat one or two inches thick made with only one face of the building can create the same impression. Better yet cut the building on the diagonal and use only two sides of it. After all that’s the most you see at anytime anyway. For maximum results use the leftover sides of the building kit to lengthen one wall into a very, very big factory.

Using these techniques, and some simple weathering and lighting techniques which we will write about in the future, you can create a highly realistic background for your model railway empire.

Further information and ideas on these concepts can be obtained from the staff at Credit Valley Railway Company Ltd. See you Soon.