Click here for plans for making tunnel portals, bridges, and walls

This short video shows plans for three scale model silos you can make yourself. They are already detailed to an exceptionally high standard, so you won’t need to do any airbrushing or painting.

• Silo facility No.1 (plan # B530) the Silo Storage Company Silos
• Silo facility No. 2 (plan # B531) the Advance Rail Forwarders Silos
• Silo facility No. 3 (plan # B532) the Bulk Road & Rail Silos Silos

The plans for making these silos in HO, OO, S, Z, or N scale are available from http://www.modelbuildings.org/industrial-silos-models-to-make.html

Low Relief Background Building Plans

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Wild West Plans

Mining Town Plans

Roger asks readers:

“I am building some houses from scratch and was wondering, what is a good material for making gutters? I have tried hard paper but I could not make it look real. I am constructing the building from 1/16th wood. I tried finding something on the internet but all I get are ads for real gutters. Does anyone have a suggestion?”

Dan asks readers:

“Hi was looking for an N scale Santa workshop building and/or village for my layout. Does anyone know were to buy theses items? Thank you.”

One option for Dan would be to simply adapt another building by adding a festive theme to it. Even something such as one of the barns seen here could be adapted with snow added, decorations, glitter, and maybe colored leds added http://www.modelbuildings.org/Barn-and-WC-B444.html It really comes down to whether you can find something ready-made, what it costs, or whether you need to get creative and design your own.

http://www.modelbuildings.org/scale-houses-8-house-models-to-make.html

Most model railroads include at least one rail yard for very good reasons: they look interesting; they provide plenty of operational options; they avoid bottlenecks that can bring a layout to a stand still; they provide extra storage for rolling stock… I’m sure you can add to this list.

However, having enough space for efficient rail yard operations can be a dilemma without careful planning and effective use of space. That’s where backdrop buildings can be a huge space-saver. Instead of taking up space with “full-sized” 3D buildings, slimmer 3-sided “low-refief” buildings (made from cheap corflute) can be used. These backdrop buildings only need be an inch or two in depth to provide the life-like illusion they stretch full depth. The big advantage is that buildings of this type can allow space for extra yard track. The buildings in this video are a good example.

Find out more on how to make background buildings here

This new series of low relief railroad yard buildings includes 4 white buildings that jut out on an angle from the background, yet still only take up minimal space. The interesting thing is they can be arranged in a variety of positions to change the look of the complete structure… so the tallest building can be positioned on the end or in the middle. This short video shows how.

More details at http://www.modelbuildings.org/background-yard-structures.html

Rail yards are an important part of most model railroads not just because that look interesting, but also because they provide a lot of operational possibilities. Rail yards shouldn’t become a bottleneck that brings the railroad to a stand still. That can be very frustrating!

At the very least there should be enough track for the trains you’re operating and possibly another couple of tracks for train arrivals and departures. However, finding enough space to operate an efficient rail yard can be a problem, and that’s where background buildings can become a great space-saver.

Instead of using a full-sized 3D building which will potential take up valuable space that could otherwise be used for more track, it is possible to achieve the sane effect with thinner “low relief” 3 sided buildings or “flats” which are just frontages. The backdrop buildings need only be an inch or two deep to still give the illusion the building stretches full depth. That way you’ll have space for more yard track. This video shows some good examples of tall backdrop buildings.

How to make tall these tall backdrop buildings

Don’t panic! If you are not skilled with an airbrush, you don’t need to be… because these 3 new structures are already detailed and weathered to a very high standard. So… NO airbrushing or painting is needed!

• Silo facility #1 (plan B530) is the Silo Storage Company complex
• Silo facility #2 (plan B531) is the Advance Rail Forwarders complex
• Silo facility #3 (plan B532) is the Bulk Road & Rail Silos complex

Plans available from http://www.modelbuildings.org/industrial-silos-models-to-make.html

Here are a couple of interesting yard photos snapped at the recent Brisbane Model Train Show.

Ryan has a question for readers:

“I am a very new beginner. My train room isn’t built yet but is underway. My HO layout is going to be an L shape and I want to know how to add a couple bridges and waterfall features. Will I have raise my layout up from the beginning and make a gap along the track to implement a bridge? What’s the best material and any advice is appreciated. Thanks.”

Just Released are plans for these 6 new railroad yard buildings.The video (which is less than a minute long) shows all 6 buildings. It even shows a close up of one of the buildings revealing the intricate detailing and weathering techniques. These plans can be constructed using whichever materials you prefer using – card, corflute, balsa, foam sheet… you decide. More photos and details are on the web page http://www.modelbuildings.org/railroad-yard-designs.html

They can be purchased individually on as a package deal saving 68%!