More scenery

In my latest few trips to the garage I've been working some more on various aspects of the scenery. The roads have now been painted in (though still waiting for appropriate white lines), Backwoods Station now has a curvy extension on the end (still needs covering), I've created a custom backscene, I've used matches to …

LocoSound – sound effects for DC model railways

LocoSound is now available for mobile devices (no installation required) to provide sound effects for DC model railways. We all know there are plenty of options for adding realistic sound to a DCC layout, but for those of us using traditional analogue DC technology our options have typically been slim to nonexistent. That's where LocoSound …

Covering a Hornby goods shed

Last night I transformed an old Hornby goods shed into something new. It was a pretty standard building in the Hornby range, with its recognisable shape and brick texture, and I decided that needed changing. I don't want my railway to look the same as anyone else's. So I designed and printed off some new …

Planning out the station

Having done some experimentation on an old piece of track, and with the help of a friend, I have taught myself to solder again. It's taken a few evenings, but I now have the entire layout wired up with cab control. Now I can move on to planning the layout of the station. But before …

Two words that changed everything

Yesterday I was idly reading the latest posts on the Model Railway Forum, as you do, and found myself on a post about a wiring diagram for a DC layout. Nothing too extraordinary there. Until someone commented the following: I see nothing wrong with that as a starting layout. As you expand , then cab …

Base coat of brown

Here are a few photos of the latest progress on my railway layout. I've given the entire layout a base coat of brown acrylic paint, and then added a layer of green on top in a few places. It's still a little thin, so especially on the areas that are covered in newspaper you can …

Sticking with GWR

After much dithering, I've taken the plunge and started glueing my styrofoam base together. There's no going back now! I've also decided on a GWR colour scheme for the layout, and have started repainting some scenery in readiness. I've spent quite some time refining the styrofoam boards, adjusting them a millimetre at a time to …

Scenery paint test

Today I started testing out some paint for my model railway scenery. I bought a little pack of acrylic paints off eBay last week - not nearly enough to cover the entire layout, but enough to test out a few colours on an offcut. Bottommost on the picture opposite is green, applied pretty much neat …

Landscape refining and engine oiling

Another successful evening in my garage saw a host of subtle improvements to my styrofoam landscape, smoother running from my Smokey Joe 0-4-0 thanks to some sewing machine oil, and a slightly longer siding to accommodate a two-carriage DMU. I have to say, the blue is starting to get to me. It really needs painting. …

Landscaping with styrofoam boards

I want a hilly landscape for my model railway, sculpted from polystyrene foam (styrofoam). I went for a super-cheap solution - under-floor heating insulation! There are many forum posts and YouTube videos recommending various approaches to creating rolling landscapes for model railways. Most of them still rely on the track itself being directly attached to …