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Buildings & Structures
Module 22
Buildings & Structures
At some stage in the proceedings, and no time is better than the present, we need to address the subject of railway structures on your garden layout. You will certainly need to consider this aspect during the layout planning stage as you need to allow sufficient space to accommodate whatever buildings and features you eventually decide to incorporate on your railway. This aspect is sometimes overlooked if you are lucky enough to have a large garden in the belief that there will be sufficient space when needed. In the event that may be true but not necessarily in the location you have in mind!
All prototype railways exist to fulfil a purpose whether it is the transportation of people, livestock, minerals, or whatever. Of course, if your primary interest is in actually just running trains on your railway you can pay minimum attention to this side of things but there is no doubt that a few structures can help to create a more convincing scene depending on the theme you have chosen, and the degree of realism you are seeking to achieve.
As the esteemed railroad modeller Jack Verducci observed “it can be argued that structures are one of the most important features of a garden railroad. They give a railway purpose and make it come alive. Structures can also set the mood, location, and time period of your railway. Even if you run trains frequently, you still look at the buildings more often than the trains. After all, a train doesn’t (normally) run continuously, but the buildings are always in sight.”
Most modellers tend to keep it simple and incorporate a minimal number of station buildings, signal boxes, goods, and locomotive sheds. After all, there is a limit to the amount of time you can devote to this aspect of the hobby when you are eager to get the trains running.
Alternatively, especially those blessed with model making skills, you may well want to put these to use early in the process. Each to his own, only be careful to avoid adopting an “empire building” approach from the outset by building complete villages, small towns and even larger conurbations or you will never get the pleasure of operating the actual trains.
The latter can create a huge maintenance burden over time if you are constructing your layout by yourself and is best avoided unless you can rely on a willing band of fellow enthusiasts to help (with both the time and ample funds).
On the other hand if you have a large amount of space, unlimited cash and an army of professional helpers why not build your own railway theme park ?
For examples of this approach we need look no further than some of the more spectacular public railway layouts around the world including :
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The LGB Model Railroad at the German Pavilion in Walt Disney World, Epcot, USA (1995)
Not as ambitious as some installations perhaps, but this popular G Scale (1.225 Scale layout dates back to 1995 and is to be found at the German Pavilion where it continues to attract interest from children and adults alike.
These videos give you some idea of how it looks in more recent times.
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The stunningly detailed Miniature Wonderland in Hamburg, Germany - The largest model railway in the world. I know it is indoors and in HO scale but shows what can be achieved:
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the Swissminiatur Open Air Museum located in Melide, Switzerland on the shores of Lake Lugano.
Less well known is the Swissminiatur Open Air Museum in Melide, Switzerland. Opened in 1959 this park captures the essence of Switzerland with faithful reproductions of 128 models of Switzerland’s most famous buildings, monuments and means of transport in the unusual 1:25 scale railway network featuring 3,560 meters of track and up to 18 trains running at any one time. There are also funicular railways and cableways that travel up and down the mountains, boats moving through through the lakes, cars speeding along the motorway and even planes getting ready to take off from Zurich-Kloten airport.
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Bekonscot Model Village in the UK 1929
and much closer to home the Bekonscot Model Village in the UK which has also been in operation since 1929 which apparently makes it the oldest model village in the world.
Railway Infrastructure
In order to create more operational interest, you will need to give particular thought to bridges, stations, trestles and tunnels not to mention sidings, engine sheds, coaling stations, ash pits, and the associated railway infrastructure to be found in close proximity wherever they happen to be located.. There are all sorts of things to consider – not least the minimum clearances (vertical and horizontal) necessary to allow your locomotives and rolling stock to safely negotiate these obstacles.
Assuming that you are interested in creating at least the illusion of a real railway you also have to consider the elements. Garden structures are far removed from those used on indoor railways and need to be able to withstand the harsh treatment meted out by the prevailing weather conditions whether it be fierce sun and temperatures, frost, strong winds or heavy downpours of rain. In other words your buildings need to be fully “weather resistant”.
Note the emphasis on “resistant” rather than “weather-proof” as even the buildings we live in deteriorate over time and require occasional maintenance and so it is with structures placed outdoors. If you layout is relatively small you might well consider removable structures which are relocated to a safe location after every running session.
However, this expedient tends to pall after a while and Murphy's Law "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong" dictates that one day you will forget to “tidy things away” and that will be the night of fierce gales and hailstones which will leave your precious, unfastened buildings distributed over wide vicinity very much the worse for wear, if not unrepairable.
So structures for outdoor use need to be strong, weather-resistant, and highly durable so cardboard is definitely out!
Note the emphasis on “resistant” rather than “weather-proof” as even the buildings we live in deteriorate over time and require occasional maintenance and so it is with structures placed outdoors. If you layout is relatively small you might well consider removable structures which are relocated to a safe location after every running session.
However, this expedient tends to pall after a while and Murphy's Law "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong" dictates that one day you will forget to “tidy things away” and that will be the night of fierce gales and hailstones which will leave your precious, unfastened buildings distributed over wide vicinity very much the worse for wear, if not unrepairable.
So structures for outdoor use need to be strong, weather-resistant, and highly durable so cardboard is definitely out!
The choice of materials available to the railway modeller is fairly broad and getting wider with new technological developments taking place all the time. In the ‘old days’ modellers were largely dependent on concrete, aluminium or wood (hardwood or preserved softwood) but scientists are constantly coming up with all manner of new materials to help us in this task.
Remember, however, that nothing is truly permanent or last forever. Whilst it is true that most large-scale locomotives, rolling stock and even plastic buildings are constructed of plastic that will withstand harmful ultra-violet rays and are impervious to water they still fade in the sun and require regular maintenance.
In this module, we shall examine which materials are most suitable; how to go about preparing these for extended exposure outside, what choices you have and the applicable pros and cons.
I will also identify useful sources of material on the internet based on the experience of others who have been there before and done it with some success.
So, where to start?
You can approach this subject from several angles, so I have tried to bring these strands together under three general topic headings, viz:
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Ready-Made Structures (Kits & Readymade)
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Plastic
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Wooden
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Concrete
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Metal
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Kits
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Custom Built Projects
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Scratch building
Ready-Made Structures & Kits
When it comes to large-scale garden railways the choice of “ready-made off the shelf” may be tempting in order to make an impact and save time but is not as wide as one might expect. This is not to say that you will find it that difficult to source a particular building or structure compatible with your trains but let us just say that you are unlikely to be faced with a massive amount of choice! There is also a significant expense involved in acquiring ready made structures (not lest in shipping costs if you are a long way from your stockist) and even kits, which we will come to later in this segment, can make a big dent in your budget. It is not unusual for even the latter to cost hundreds of pounds.
Manufacturers are primarily interested in making profits and are unlikely to risk substantial investment in tooling or production facilities unless the potential market is there. In the case of large-scale the market is relatively small compared to that for smaller scales and to some extent, carries a greater degree of risk.
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Plastic Buildings (Kits & Ready Made)
When it comes to large-scale garden railway structures, two international, German-owned manufacturers occupy a dominant market position – namely POLA and PIKO. Being German they have both invested heavily is satisfying their home market producing kits (for ease of distribution) and some built-up models reflecting railway and building architectural styles and practices likely to be found in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc. although both offer an expanding range of structures appropriate to the USA as they seek to expand their position overseas.
Prior to closure Aristo-craft also supplied a range of buildings during their existence, and you are still likely to find examples occasionally coming up for auction.
Whether these Continentally or North American inspired designs appeal is largely dependent on your choice of railway. The good news is that if you model LGB, Marklin, Bachmann, MTH, USA Trains, etc. you will not find it unduly difficult to obtain buildings compatible with your choice of locomotives and rolling stock.
On the other hand, if you model British railway practise you will probably need to look closer to home unless you are a dab hand at modification work. Fortunately, numerous small UK based suppliers (and they tend to be run by devoted and altruistic enthusiasts) will endeavour to meet your specific needs, especially if you intend to adopt 1:32 scale (see later in this module).
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POLA
POLA is a trading brand identity solely devoted to G Scale model railway structures and now owned by FALLER who have a long-established tradition of toy manufacture from 1946 and now focus on making a comprehensive range of scenery, plastic model kits and other accessories for model railways and railroads.
The company have an enviable reputation for sturdy, highly detailed building kits although some of the larger models ( such as the Pola 1:22.5 scale Schonweiler Station Building Kit No.330901) can take some time and patience to assemble as shown in the accompanying video. The kits can also be very heavy and thus, expensive to ship so take advantage of some of the larger scale model railway shows to collect in person (always contact the seller first as they also tend to leave the heavier boxes in the shop!)
To view products currently available please use the link button immediately below:
There are far too many kits available (both current and archived) to include here other than a representative sample in a slider gallery which you can view at your leisure. Just click on the arrows:
PIKO
Another German company with a major presence in the large-scale sector of the model railway scene is PIKO, who not content with producing an ever-expanding range of G Scale trains have also ventured into the plastic building kit arena.
Like Pola, production facilities are based in Germany where they can keep a constant eye on product design and quality. The kits are made primarily of an extremely tough, UV- and weather-resistant polycarbonate plastic material, with ultra fade-resistant colour moulded in for durability outdoors. Many parts also come lightly weathered for a more realistic look.
They can all be assembled using a suitable plastic adhesive (most kits include a small tube of cement) and they highly recommend the use of PIKO’s own Piko-Fix plastic cement #55701 for fusing the parts together.
Kit variations also include the simplified Qwik-Kit range that are designed to be put together in as little as 5 minutes. These are useful if funds are limited, or you intend to modify the structures.
More recently it has been possible to purchase ready “Built-Up” Buildings for those in a hurry – especially for creating seasonal snow scenes at Christmas.
There are several examples in this section and just to wet the appetite please view selected products in the kit range in this gallery clicking the image and then the directional arrows :
TIP
It is also recommended that you run a bead of resin-based solvent around the insides of all joins for a stronger bond.
Some of the PIKO ready-assembled buildings are included in this gallery:
Click the button links below to visit PIKO's European or USA websites respectively and see the full range of buildings and accessories currently available:
VOLLMER
Part of the German family Viessman Group this firm is probably less well known to UK modellers without previous experience of smaller scales. Whilst the Vollmer catalogue spans 270 pages relatively few items featured are G Scale and those that are appeared to have been discontinued with the exception of some wall texture sheets. Not quite sure of the company’s future aspirations in this scale.
MODELTOWN
As one might expect kits from the foregoing three suppliers very much reflect buildings with a Continental or USA influence which may not be suitable for a UK based layout even with some modification. Fortunately, several smaller operations in the UK cater for those of you who prefer to model British outline practice.
The range is usually nowhere as large, but the results better reflect the styles of bygone years and can be customised to suit SM32 or G gauge operations.
Typical of these smaller companies is Modeltown based in Spilsby, Peterborough, UK.
The majority of their Kits and Models are cast from "Polyurethane Resin" up to 10mm thick where possible to allow for easy fixing.
The main sections of the structures come in white cast resin complete with windows and doors cast in, making life easier for the builder, the roof sections are produced in grey, and they provide you with the ridge tiles and Perspex (for the windows) where necessary. The building can be assembled using conventional "Superglue" or a "Two part Epoxy". These items can be supplied with the kits along with a whole selection of additional detailing parts and figures suitable for 16mm or G Scale.
Please note that the buildings do not come painted but a choice of Revell paints are also available to order on their website.
At the moment there is a choice of houses, shops, and public buildings such as a church, chapel, and the essential public house. As far as industrial properties go there are several versions of a two-storey warehouse and a watermill. Best of all are the lineside structures featuring station buildings, signal boxes, coaling stage, diesel refuelling tank, a coal yard, working crane, tunnel portals, water tower and even a splendid buffer stop.
