This post on Brass HO Trains is about Landscaping.  Landscaping and layouts for Brass HO trains and other model trains can be interesting and fun. A simple base for laying out an E-Z track system can be built on a styrofoam base. The base can be cut into desired shape and size with an electric knife or hack saw blade. The track has to be aligned carefully and the joiners can be pushed inside or snapped together. At this stage, a car can be made to run along the laid out track to check the fixing. It may be difficult correct any mistakes later.

Building a tunnel needs careful planning prior to actually building it. The identically cut stylofoam pieces can be stacked up on one another for the height and styrofoam glue can be used to keep them together. The height will vary for Brass HO trains and other model trains. The shape of the tunnel and the roof part can be a separate piece of the styrofoam. Portholes can be designed one plaster and painted using acrylic paints and fixed using the adhesive. The roof of the tunnel must be made to look like a small hillside, which can be done by using a coat of adhesive and grass, with bulges made to look like rocks.

The rest of the space can be used for buildings such as station, house, freight company and other structures and landscaping. Place the buildings in their respective places and plan out the streets and roads using the permanent marker. Lighting up the layout, placing the lights in particular places gives a special effect to the layout. A “V” shaped groove can be cut to bring in the wire to the upper surface and the same can be run along the desired path. Staples can be used to hold them in place. The wires can be hidden using some light weight spackling.

One can cut the foam into rolling shapes to make mountains, valleys, canyons, bumps and rocks. These can be stuck using the white glue. Ponds can be made by using wire brush on the foam to scape the area in desired shape to about 1/4” deep. Brown and black colours can be used. The pond edge and the surrounding area must be brushed up with adhesive and a grass base can be applied, taking care not to spill the grass into the pond. The track has to be stuck to the base using a brush to apply adhesive. Grass and grasslands can be made by applying a coat of adhesive on the foam in the required areas and the bulges that look like hills, and then spreading simulated grass in the area.

The pavements are made using dry plaster powder into gray base paste and brushing it on the roadways. This needs to dry up before applying anything else. The final step is to add buildings, trees and other details wherever necessary. Scattering around the sand, brick pieces and other things will give it a realistic look. The final look comes in when you install a wooden frame around the whole board. The foam gets a support and the wear and tear of the corners will be prevented. The scale of the landscaping will be different for N scale, O scale or Brass HO trains and one needs to consider this too, to keep the whole unit uniform. Check this book out for more info SubTerrain Manual – Constructing a Lightweight Model Layout the Woodland Scenics Way.

Brass HO Trains

At Brass HO Trains we know that when you spend a fortune on HO Scale Trains to satisfy your passion collecting them, it sure goes to say that they are not meant to be locked up in a box or cupboard. Each of these HO train set is an asset that you would be proud to display and show off. Building the right kind of cabinet does the trick.

The essential things that one needs to consider are proper functioning of the models, keeping them safe from dust and dirt, yet allow proper viewing when it is running. Certain locomotives and cars that are not suited to the layout may be among the collection, like the Brass O train, Lionel HO trains, Bachmann scale trains etc. These can either be separately displayed or can be accommodated in a corner in the same case. The boxes may be chosen to be mounted on walls or can be at the center or corner tables. The easiest route would be to get a display cabinet that is designed specifically for model trains.

A person can be hired to build or you can build your own cabinet. Pre-fabricated cabinets are available that can be used to display the HO train set. Cabinets with glass front doors can be ideal for proper viewing of the beautiful HO brass model trains. The display case must be according to the planned layout space and dimensions. This kind of cabinet settings can be fast, less expensive and easy to build, too.

However, if you want to start from the scratch, you would need to purchase enough wood to construct a cabinet. An open-ended box would be ideal if you want to fix a glass surface for viewing. The box has to be shallow, yet have dimensions to fit your model train pieces. The shelves can be placed at different heights that is appropriate and do not come in the way of the running trains, and can be made with wood or glass.

A relevant scenery can be set up as a backdrop for the entire surface of the box at the rear side. A mirror backing can be done to make the whole set look bigger and apparently make the collection look larger. The doors can be done with glass or clear acrylic, fixed with hinges or sliding along the beading. The tracks, buildings, trees, rocks and many other accessories can then be arranged that have match the scale of your brass HO trains or any other scale used.

Many companies have come up with display cases that can be purchased right away and fixed on to the wall at your home or office, suitable for model trains of O, S and N scales. When you go for a readily available cabinet, you get a wide choice of sizes, material and colours.

Enclosed cases are wall cabinets with sliding Plexiglas doors. Some companies offer 3-4 shelves for displaying brass O scale and S scales trains. They also come in various colour choices like natural oak, dark oak, natural pine, etc. The see-through display cases with acrylic doors, that are hinged to the cabinets are also available in the market. Doorless cabinets and, cases made of plastic are also available. Getting the right one to suit your Brass HO train collection or other model trains is entirely your choice.

Brass HO Trains

Brass HO trains on creating layouts… a collection of Model Trains is an interesting hobby. This collection, when displayed would be a pride of the collector, while a working model of a set of tracks, stations, scenery and other things would make the whole thing come to life. One needs to dream a lot about these carriages and engines to build a unique layout, with realistic crossing points, water falls, bridges and tunnels. The hobby has also given rise to a new market where the demands of these layouts are being met by upcoming manufacturers. Some of the basics required to build a layout are given here.

The builder needs to first choose a theme of the layout. The trains, buildings, trees and the scenery has to match the geographic zone or the area in question. The layout space has to be defined and the total length of the tracks has to be considered. The beams and pipework that project can be potential dangers if care is not taken to keep them out of the way.

Locomotive cars constitute the rolling stock of the whole HO train set. One has to be careful in selecting everything right from the couplers to the tyres. Some of the tyres can be real tiresome and hinder the smooth running of the trains. It is best to be informed about how the locomotive HO works and why some locomotives are better than the others. Levers that are responsible for smooth running and sudden halting of the trains have to be considered.

The HO brass model trains need to be run on tracks that run between a themed location like a town, hillstation or a forest. Building scenery can be fun, especially if you use low-cost items such as thermocol and POP. The scenery could include things like trees, buildings, windows, telegraph poles, old signage, ground cover, rocks, roads, fences, scenery props or a scrap yard scene.

Tracks can run along the whole length of the layout space, criss-cross between themselves and curve around the outer perimeter of the layout. But one has to be careful about creating curves to avoid derailments. Choosing the right kind of rail joiners is the trick. Running your favorite collection of Brass HO trains would be fun if they run simultaneously in the whole layout.

Adding realism to this kind of layout with a little imagination would work wonders. Creating a tranquil pond, drainage canal, raging waterfall and rippling stream, soldering the tracks, etc are some of the ways to do so. One can also add up some rust, mud and tyre marks to give it an aged look or the appearance of wear and tear.

Powering is required to make the trains run, lights and LEDs light up the path and the layout, make the motors run for the waterfalls and other accessories, etc. The engines of these trains are different their compatibility with certain transformers is better than with others. With the various power packs that are available in the market, you can choose the one that is more suitable for your requirements. Care has to be taken to make the layout of the Brass HO train set according to the HO scale for smooth running of the set.

Brass HO Trains