Building a Model Railroad Step by Step Kalmbach #12418

Follow the construction of a model railroad layout from start to finish! Over the course of three years, Model Railroader Senior Editor David Popp offered readers a monthly Step by Step glimpse into his N scale Naugatuck River Valley layout as he built the layout from the ground up. Now he tells the complete construction story using techniques any model railroader can use! More than 30 short projects take modelers through the process, from building benchwork to operating realistically. Step-by-step photos and illustrations let modelers see every phase of construction and apply the techniques to their own projects. Project topics include getting the layout started, building benchwork, completing trackwork and wiring, constructing scenery, adding structures, detailing, and running the railroad. Includes new material on choosing a scale, working in the available space, and installing DCC decoders.

Softcover; 8 1/4 x 10 3/4; 112 pages; 250 color photos; 20 illustrations;

Reviews

If you do everything prescribed in this book, you will end up with a high quality model railroad. The subject of building a layout from design and baseboard upwards has been covered many times. This means there is plenty of opportunity to regurgitate the same old stuff in the same old way, but David Popps book is very different. There is a freshness about the presentation and an attitude in the text that almost makes it seem like a new subject. The author uses his own layout, New Haven Railroad, as a vehicle for the tutorial proving that his ideas, techniques, and approach to the subject really have substance this is not just a theory.

A first flick through gives the impression of color and brightness. A first read of the text gives a sense of accessibility and a feeling that everything is achievable, provided we take notice of the advice given. In a sense, there is nothing much new to convey. There are no revolutionary new techniques to learn and the end result reveals no surprises. But the way in which the reader is guided methodically and carefully through the model building process is reassuring to the novice and supportive to those who have some experience in the hobby.

The seven chapters are sub-divided into projects, which are largely self-contained tasks, each with a definite end result. Other projects impart enough knowledge about a subject, for instance, scenery, to enable satisfactory results to be obtained in a reasonable time and enough understanding to develop the topic further.

The book guides us through getting started, building benchwork and adding backdrops to completing trackwork and considering DCC. Constructing scenery and building structures follow, whilst chapters six and seven cover detailing and actually running the railroad.

An interesting page appearance makes for pleasant reading with no hint of the design adversely triumphing over the content. Good close-up photography at appropriate places enhances the text as do well-captioned diagrams.

Although this is an American production, the techniques and approach would apply to all railroad/railway modelers.

From July 2007, Continental Modeller, with permission