How to set up landscape and water features for model railway trains

If you are starting to get involved with model railway trains then you need to know about building landscapes and water features. These are two of the essential elements in any great looking model railway layout. Even a great track layout will look bland without the correct landscape in place.

It is quite easy to get inspiration for the options available to you. You can look at your fellow model train hobbyist’s layouts and see what they use. You can also browse through magazines and look on the Internet for ideas.

Another great idea is to just observe the countryside as you travel around. There are so many ideas to be found if you keep your eyes open and take notes. Often you will start to create one layout and then find yourself moving onto another concept that involves more water features or different landscapes.

It is best to set up your layout on paper first. This will give you the best chance of making accurate measurements and placements first time around. If you just try to set up the landscape without planning, you are likely to run into a number of problems.

Firstly, you want to organise the railway track. Ensure that you have enough track to create loops, ovals or whatever your design may be. This will ensure that your trains can run continuously, even as you reorganise the landscape.

If the landscape is crucial to a certain area of the layout then you should leave that area until last. For example, if you are using a bridge in the track layout, I would create and build the rest of the track first. You can then add this section last so that you have some of the track already running and operational.

You can then add the bridge and take time to ensure that everything runs smoothly. From here you can add more water features and other landscape options. One of the most popular sections of landscapes is a mountain. These make great additions to the track layout and provide a great spectacle to the overall scene.

Other good option for landscapes is hills, prairies, fields, tunnels and people. It’s always good to have some model humans involved in the layout. Again, this brings the realistic element into the layout.

When you make use of the trains and scenery in the right way, you will create a setting that will be unique and very interesting. Once you have more experience in building track layouts you can start to add more complex structures.

For example, you might want to add an end-to-end track section, or a loop to loop. Another great spectacle to add to any scene is a multi-level track system. On top of this you should think about creating a nighttime scene by adding lighting. Oftentimes, an average looking layout really improves when it is seen at night with lights and the headlights of the locomotives running around the track.

Don’t forget that you can have separate sections of track in different areas of your baseboard. This means that you can create different landscapes in different areas and really enjoy your hobby to its fullest extent.