How to create a believable large-scale scene

A caboose passes the station on a garden railway.

Structures are the easiest way to bring a scene to life. As with anything on the railroad, scale is the primary concern. You’ll want to find structures that match the scale of your trains. That’s not always as easy as just looking on the box. Even in commercial kits where a scale is designated, architectural […]

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6 simple scenery tips for toy train layouts

Man building model railroad layout working with pink extruded foam board.

Classic Toy Trains recommends these six tried-and-true tips for simple scenery that goes beyond sparse displays of “trees” or a random tunnel and will improve nearly any toy train layout. 1. Start with foam framework A 4 x 8-foot sheet of 2- or 3-inch-thick pink or blue extruded foam insulation board is much lighter than […]

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Five inexpensive garden railroad tools

Grouping of old toothbrushes

Here are five tools for a garden railroad you can make or obtain cheaply. 1. Make a ballast broom If you do a lot of reballasting (or ballasting) on your railway, take an old 4-inch paint brush and attach the handle with screws to an extension pole about 3 feet long. This becomes a mini-broom […]

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Make quick-and-easy junked cars for toy train layouts

Junkyard with painted aluminum foil auto shells.

Toy train layout operators foiled by the lack of inexpensive details can you aluminum foil as the raw materials for unlimited “junked cars.” Best of all, the project won’t strain your how-to skills and will add detail to your layout. You’ll need heavy-duty foil, gloss black paint, your choice of flat colors, a hobby knife, […]

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It’s My Railroad with Steve Brown: Waterworks, Ep. 21

Steve Brown holding up a bottle of Woodland Scenics Water Effects

What’s a port without the water? A drydock at best! So after months of work around and about his N scale (1:160) layout, host Steve Brown finally gets his feet wet in the Port Smith scene. Follow along to see what went right, what went wrong, and how he fixed it all the “Regular Guy” […]

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It’s My Railroad with Steve Brown: Waterworks, Ep. 21

Steve Brown holding up a bottle of Woodland Scenics Water Effects

What’s a port without the water? A drydock at best! So after months of work around and about his N scale (1:160) layout, host Steve Brown finally gets his feet wet in the Port Smith scene. Follow along to see what went right, what went wrong, and how he fixed it all the “Regular Guy” […]

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The Hills Line with James McNab: More Scenery Secrets, Episode 8

James McNab making trees for his HO scale model railroad

Host James McNab shares how he combined sticks and leaves, and applies water effects to help add an authentic appearance to his HO scale Hills Line layout. These and other scenery construction considerations and insights will help lead you to incredibly realistic results! […]

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