A locomotive brand new right out of the box will often not really seem like a real train.  They just seem too spick and span.  Even the most well kept real world train just doesn’t really look like a brand new toy locomotive for long.  I know that often when I look at a beginner’s model train layout, I will often look at the trains rattling through what is meant to be a dusty southwestern town or an old stone quarry and think, those locomotives look awful clean for locomotives that are meant to be fully operational in an environment like this.  So your locomotives should get tarnished and discolored just as real world trains do but they won’t by themselves.  So you have to detail them yourself. Here’s how:

Start by putting together a model locomotive weathering toolbox:

You will be helped out by having a group of tools to apply your detailing.  Paintbrushes, small sponges and a square of cloth are a good start.  Those are the absolute fundamentals.

Step Two—Crafts Materials:  

Ask yourself, “What look do I want for my locomotive?”  Sometimes it’s easy achieving the effect you want.  Other times you have to really work at it.  The web often has materials like decals that can really help you.  Sometimes you just have to experiment until you get the impression you want. You can find a host of articles on line on how to use these different materials for the goal that you want.  Look for articles specifically on weathering in crafts magazines.  In the end, you will just have to feel around for the effect you are looking for.

Find inspiration for your toy locomotive weathering in historical pictures:  

A good thing to do is to watch out for pictures of actual trains from a period and place that has to do with the one that you have created.  Photos from such sites will help you picture your locomotive “in your mind’s eye”.  It helps to ask specific questions like what shade does navy blue become when exposed to Northwestern fog year and year?  What effect does the hot air have on a paint coating of a locomotive that goes through desert conditions day after day? Etc.

The natural world gets weathered too: 

We train lovers often get hyper-focused on our trains to the exclusion of the rest of our layout.  But our locomotives are only as impressive as the worlds they travel through.  The figures and objects in the world too should be appropriately weathered.  The desert sun will fade the paint on buildings and cars just as much as locomotives.  That sort of eye for detail is one of the things that so captures our imagination in model training.

Weathering takes a creative touch.  For this reason it is a wonderful opportunity for drafting members of the family that may not have been into the mechanical/technical aspects of model training but that loves painting and other sorts of crafts.  Someone with a real eye for colors and details can really bring such a design to life.  If your daughter can distinguish between 15 types of pink for her lipstick, she can certainly choose and apply the right weathering to a freight car.  If your son likes to make up cartoon characters to draw on his notebooks he can help highlight the figures in your fictional world.  Draft them to help you.  Aren’t these the sorts of memories you have from when you were young?

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

Technorati Tags: model railroad track plans, model train arts and crafts, model train weathering, weathering model trains

We love O model railroads and locomotives, there’s just no denying it? You can pick up the trains and really take a gander at them.  They’re not little trains; no one is going to carry one in his pocket.  You also can really make out the detail.  This is not one of those small little locomotives you need to go get your microscope for.  Don’t worry mom, your baby is not going to choke on any of the parts of this train.  Why do O trains just seem to come at us from some place deep in ourselves?  Here’s why:

Nostalgia: 

Baby boomers grew up with these trains and had their impressions ensconced into their minds even before they developed a notion of their own identities.  They’re the model trains from the holiday displays you remember as a boy.  They’re the o toy railroad that you wished you would wake up to on Christmas morning.  And they’re also likely to be the toy locomotives that you didn’t get because they were too expensive.  Because of this they are also the trains that remained forever in the realm of the wished for. Now that you have become a hobbyist again, they are the trains that are most likely to scratch that long festering itch.

Lionel:  

It was Lionel (now Lionel LLC) that popularized these trains.  Lionel is probably the representative model train making company in the United States.  They have survived more ups and downs than any other train maker and had more face lifts than Elizabeth Taylor’s had husbands. The reason why you associate toy trains with holiday is because of an advertising campaign invented by Lionel in the 1930’s.  It was these strategies that made them the kings of the model training world in the first half of the 1900’s.  It was mainly because Lionel started to corner themselves at the higher tier of the market that the prestigious train maker opened themselves up to usurpers.  By the Vietnam era when model training was at an all time low in terms of American participation, Lionel’s cheaper, littler sized fellow train makers drove it out of business. Now produced in China like most toy locomotive manufacturers, Lionel is ready to make a comeback.  The Lionel brand still retains a certain allure that other long standing train makers like Bachmann don’t.

Weathering and detailing are a breeze with O scale trains:  

Even though O gauge requires a lot more room than HO or N, its size also adds a great host of positives.  O scale model railroads are not as large as the German g scale that appeals to out-doorsy enthusiasts.  Real world trains are 48 times bigger than O gauge model locomotives.  It is a locomotive that is easy to pigment, decal and weather.  You don’t require incredibly fine motor skills so even the least coordinated of young people or most palsied of old folks can work with these locomotives.  Trust me, even when I’ve had one too many lattés and my mits are shaking like leaves in a storm I still have no problems with these locomotives.  Also, because of its dimensions, you can really take in the little aspects of these trains.  The O gauge human miniatures have discernable faces and the locomotives can be detailed to the point of making individual sleeper windows look open or closed. O gauges reputation is well deserved.

Hobbyists appreciate O gauge because of its full tradition:  

Mostly because of Lionel’s long history in American model training O scale is one of the favorite collector’s items.  Vintage Lionel locomotives of bygone eras consistently fetch good prices on e-bay and many toy locomotive enthusiasts like to collect Lionel locomotives from different decades so that they can have a sort of living history of the evolution of toy locomotives. 

But O scale is also a wonder in itself. It does take up more room than other smaller kinds of trains, but this drawback seems well worth it for most of us.  Lionel, because of its wonderful brand identification, is unlikely to fall to its debt troubles.  Even if all Lionel died, it is likely that someone would design a train of this scale.  Just ask the rocker Neal Young who loved O gauge locomotives so much that he was at one point part owner in Lionel and is still kept on an advisor to the company!

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

Technorati Tags: Lionel, Lionel trains, model train scale, O Model Railroad, o scale, O scale model railroad, o scale model trains

Hey, we’ve really spent lots of time meditating on the models and the gauges of our little model train setup haven’t we? Appears you’ve already thought a bit about your terrain.  You know what we haven’t thought much about yet though?  We left out the access roads and streets that lead to our miniature berg and that section our track at times.  Right now your paths and trails have little detail and don’t really look like real roads at all.  You know what; here are some things we could do to make them more cool and captivating:

Build model railroad roads like we would build them in real life:

Make roads like in the actual world. Begin with the foundation.  Then use molding plaster to shape a dome over this surface.  The border of the road should be lower than the middle since roads are built to direct rain towards the edges.  A cool tip:  Here’s a real cool effect that I saw recently. This model railroad setup was going for a rural feel so when it made a road that crossed down into the model little prairie house it made it a dirt road.  To get this effect the hobbyist used actual sand. What an effect!

Railroad roads can be detailed too:

Weathering and detailing are indispensable to avid model train hobbyists. Like the paths we traverse in real life, model train roads should be equally beaten up.  You will find that the effect really adds whole new dimensions of realism to your model railway train world.

Pre-fab toy railroad roads:

Even though we train hobbyists really love the result that we get when we design anything on our model locomotive railroad layouts, sometimes it is better to just purchase pre-fabricated roads and streets.  A fast google search on “toy railroad roads and streets” will turn up several good leads.  Walthers Cornerstone is a great little company for HO scale.  They make lots of fantastic structures but I especially like the roads.  I personally also like their brick streets. They are really, really neat.  Walthers also makes several real cool accessories. Check out their line of steel products that they bundle under the title of  “Ashland Iron and Steel”.  If you’re into HO gauge Walthers Cornerstone is good place to go to get your accessories.

The borders of the road are just as important:

Your average sidewalk has pedestrians, stray cats, fire hydrants and street signs and so should yours. The childlike joy of such details is unquestionable! There is a form of awe that we get from looking at the uncannily shrunken that is every bit as powerful as what we get from the Grand Canyon.  Also, if you have a family member that is into the arts but not generally into the whole mechanical or historical aspect of the model railway trains experience, this may be the perfect opportunity to recruit them in the family fun.

Suggestion: Check this product out. Cool little working lamps that really light up lend a lot to a set up. Think of your train set up as a night scene and change the whole nature of your lay out. Soooo cooool!

Model railroad roads are just one of the many parts of the model train world that you can choose to focus your artistic gifts on.  Natural scenery also can really foreground a landscape.  A uneven surface, for example, is far more interesting than a flat one.  Oaks and redwoods and streams and mountain faces all really add to the uncanny feeling that you are looking at a shrunken world. A vintage phone booth, a sheriff’s station, a telegraph line—such historical detail helps paint the picture of the world we are creating.

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

Technorati Tags: model railroad accessories, model railroad roads, model railroads, model railway trains

Model Train Scenery is the most important of designing a train set. Any avid collector will tell you that it is not so much trains that they find interesting so much as the many different kinds of settings in which you can place it. Hobbyists and general enthusiasts agree that the real joy of model train collecting is indeed creating the immersive environment that surrounds it. This highly detailed task allows you to not only observe and recreate the world around you in painstaking detail, but pushes the limits of your imagination as well. While some find it fun to measure and scale down the familiar aspects of their personal environment, others enjoy this pastime because they can relive different eras in history or visit faraway lands that perhaps they have only read about in books.

No matter what your vision is, there are many retailers available, both in your neighborhood and online who can help bring it to life.

One thing that you should consider when you design your model landscape is the overall scope you would like to include. Human eyes cannot really take in more than one scene at any given time, so if you want to include more than one setting, you should be sure to separate them with a nice stretch of track that will allow your brain to identify what is coming.

This means that you will not only need enough pieces to establish your multiple settings, but other minor accessories to fit in between the scenes. This could be trees to follow a long stretch between two rural areas or a small patch of mountainside that connects a small country ranch with a nearby town.

These can be very simple things, like a lake with some deer, or a glen of trees near a modest hillside. If you do this properly, everything will flow together smoothly and you will not be overwhelmed by an overabundance of intrusive detail.

You should also try to include different levels of elevation in your model train scenery, both topographically and urbanely. In your cities, you need buildings of different heights, much like in real life. Along your countryside you should form hills, valleys, and mesas perhaps with hidden groves or orchards.

These different levels help your eye to appreciate the perspective of relative space and the overall scale degree to which you have constructed your model. There are even designers who put smaller buildings behind larger ones to create an illusion of distance. The more realistic it seems, the more you and your friends and family will appreciate your hard work.

Technorati Tags: g scale trains, model railroading, model train, model train scenery, model trains, n gauge trains, o gauge trains

You have a diminuative Thomas lover in your family and you want to get him or her a gift they’ll really like?  He’s already got a million little trains that he sets up every day and pushes around their flimsy wooden tracks.  He’s got those cool Thomas books and he can eerily mimic George Carlin and Alec Baldwin on the DVDs?  You’re left with Thomas the Tank Engine shampoo or a Thomas backpack but that’s not going to cut it?  You want something a little more enjoyable for the little guy?  So let’s move this little guy into the next level of Thomas train obsession.  Get the kid a Bachmann Thomas the Tank Engine model train beginner set.

What’s so great about Bachmann’s Thomas the Tank Engine starter set?

Four words: Thomas the Tank Engine! 

If the kid is into Thomas the Tank Engine already he’ll just go coo coo over this beginner set.  The starter sets are great for both boys and girls, since they usually include Claribel as well.  But the real thrill for Thomas lovers is watching as Thomas makes his way around the track by himself.  Bachmann really gets it correct, even including the moving eyes that imitate what the little ones are used to on the TV program.

One more word: Bachmann! 

Bachmann is one of the best brands for amateurs just starting in on the model locomotive hobby.  You get everything you need to get going within minutes all bundled in one reasonably priced package.  It includes the locomotives and digital controllers so you can run them easily.  The starter sets also give you enough track to get you started right out of the box and enough options so that you can get exactly what you want.  You couldn’t ask for anything more in a beginner kit. The whole thing can be up in running within minutes of having it out of package.

Still not convinced about Bachmann, Mr. Paranoid?

Bachmann is actually the industry leader when it comes to HO scale starter kits.  Bachmann has remained at the top of the model locomotive world since the 1950’s by undercutting the price of higher end train makers like Lionel while still preserving quality.

The other cool thing about a gift like this is that it’s a gift that your nephew and his dad can grow on.  Model train operating is really a great hobby and once the kid starts to outgrow his Thomas locomotive phase and leaves the island of Sodor behind, he might come to appreciate the more realistic trains that Bachmann and other model train companies have to offer.  There are great learning opportunities for kids who get involved with the model train hobby.  It is great for developing a kid’s geometrical skills, his engineering skills and his imagination.  Model train making and operating is a great hobby in general for growing the mind.  It is also a great bonding experience for parent and child.  Many model locomotive enthusiasts have fond memories of working on model trains with their own moms and dads way back in the day.  In short, it’s the perfect gift!  

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

Technorati Tags: Bachmann Model Trains, Bachmann Thomas Train, Thomas the Tank Engine, Thomas the Tank Engine Model Trains, Thomas train