The Basics of Model Train Layouts for Villages

Series Summary

Model train enthusiasts are rarely satisfied with just a train line. They have to build a world around it, recreating landscapes, towns, parking lots, even road hazards to make their layouts as realistic as possible. Their hobby soon grows to include model cars, home construction, precision painting of miniature figures. And of course you have to have a landscape to put all of these things on. The end result can be truly amazing with multiple train lines running through whole towns recreated in basements and garages across the country.

In this series of free hobby videos, you will learn how to create accurate layouts of model train villages by comparing them with vintage photos. Our expert demonstrates creative ways to use balsa wood and cardboard boxes to construct buildings and includes tips on how to use computer programs such as Photoshop to create realistic building fronts. Our expert will show you how to build hills and landscapes out of wire mesh and paper mache. Learn how to use different scale buildings to create the illusion of perspective. That town on the hillside looks far away, but its just smaller. This series also discusses how to add life to your carefully with scale model cars and people. Create your own world!

Video Transcript

"On behalf of Expert Village my name is Bob Lanning and I’m here to tell you how we’re making model villages. I’m going to show you how we built this diorama to represent all the villages that were here in the mining days in the valley and how we came to make all these buildings. This village right here up in the mesa is Parkdale Arizona, which was one of the original planned communities in Arizona. This is representing about the 1950’s and you can see the main downtown area. It’s pretty accurate, to the real village, which you can see today and then you can see all the track and stuff that was there to support all the people living in this area. And there was about thirteen miles of track in this particular smelter area and of course to represent that in this scale, we’d need about sixty square feet, so we kind of compressed it and you can see the little railroad depot down here, where the uh, the oil was transported out to the main line of the Santa F. All of this was built in about 1915. This was a very rich ore find but it was called the United Verde mine and uh, copper was really a by-product. They made more money on gold and silver, and the copper was all profit. The gentleman that built this was Senator Carp from Montana and he became very rich, had his private railroad car, and a little mansion right here in the cotton wood area."