N scale modelling inspiration and resources
I first spotted this interesting bridge a few years back when Google Map exploring the railroads and industrial spurs around Savannah, Georgia.
Something about the control tower and massive counter-weight structure appealed to me and I have always thought it would make an excellent North American river crossing module and scratchbuilding project.
I’ve also wanted to do a post about it for ages…
Continue reading “Bridge Over The Savannah River (Savannah, Georgia)”The town of Mount Joy in Pennsylvania, USA has been on my must research list ever since I found this photograph of the Wenger Feed Mill:
Wenger Feed Mill by Jim Epler – Own work, CC BY 2.0, View Image
You might think that’s strange because a closer look at the picture reveals there isn’t actually any track in the picture. While that observation is true, it’s still a very interesting and attractive jumble of buildings which would make a very nice scratch-building or kit-bashing project.
I don’t have a photo to show it but the facility is still rail served, it’s just that railcars are currently loaded/unloaded on the other (north) side of the facility. However there’s no reason why we couldn’t apply a little modellers license, add some track and create the option to model tracks on both sides of the facility.
There’s also something else not visible in the photo above that makes this location somewhat rare and interesting, at least in terms of US operations…
Continue reading “Grain Silos & Feed Mills In Mount Joy, Pennsylvania”Following on from my recent post about Wolfsburg Hauptbanhof and the idea of using the ‘half-station’ approach to model a large station in a small space I thought I’d take a look at Erfurt Hauptbahnhof.
Erfurt Hauptbahnhof by Ingolf – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.0, View Image
Erfurt Hauptbahnhof is an interesting mix of old and new architecture much of which could easily be modelled in a small space but what really caught my eye is an interesting tram/bus-only underpass that really lends itself to modular modelling.
Read on to find out more…
Continue reading “Interesting Idea For A Module #11 (Erfurt Hbf)”I’ve always thought that scenes involving trams are particularly well suited to T-Trak modules; trams run in shorter formations than regular trains, tram track formations tend to be quite compact and by their nature, trams are usually found in more densely populated areas with (hopefully) lots of interesting architecture to model.
By Tram Into The Newly Built Area Of Freiburg by Matthias Frey – Own work,
Used With Permission, View Image
Plus if you don’t want to model a purely urban scene, as the photograph above shows, tram lines can offer interesting opportunities to mix more natural elements with busy city scenes.
Continue reading “Interesting Idea For A Module #9 (Freiburg Trams)”Continuing with the theme of modules with slightly unusual scenes and viewpoints I thought I’d discuss this photograph of the northern entrance of Wolfsburg Hauptbanhof in Germany.
North Entrance of Wolfsburg Main Station & ICE Power Car by Matthias Frey – Own work,
Used With Permission, View Image
It’s a brilliant photograph with excellent composition; in fact it’s the kind of image you don’t often see in railway photography where of course the focus is the trains. However the unusual perspective sparked some ideas for modules and module design in general that I’ll be discussing in this post…
Continue reading “Interesting Idea For A Module #10 (Wolfsburg Hbf)”Wow, doesn’t time fly?
Back in January I wrote a post about how I built a light-weight and relatively cheap T-Trak module using Gatorboard. Since then almost three months have passed but in that time I’ve finally decided what to model and have actually made a start.
So what did I chose to build on my first module?
Continue reading “Building On My Gatorboard T-Trak Module”I’m always on the lookout for prototype photographs that capture railway activity from a slightly different perspective, particularly if it might work well as a viewpoint in a slightly unconventional module or cameo.
While browsing the https://www.bahnbilder.de/ website I came across the photographs of Gisela, Matthias and Jonas Frey.
View From The Courtyard Of The Basel Art Museum by Matthias Frey – Own work,
Used With Permission, View Image
They have an interest in both architecture and railways and as a result they have taken some really interesting and inspirational photographs…
Continue reading “Interesting Idea For A Module #8 (Basel Trams)”Following on from my recent post about the Remersdaal viaduct and Line 24 in Belgium, I thought I’d do a quick post about this nearby road/rail bridge:
Remersdaal – Spoorwegbrug by Frans90245 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, View Image
All things considered it’s fairly ordinary road/rail bridge but it’s a perfect scene to recreate as a T-Trak module…
Continue reading “Interesting Idea For A Module #7 (Line 24, Belgium)”I recently become very interested in building T-Trak modules. As it’s winter and I lack workshop space I need to be able to build the modules inside the house with simple tools using a strong, light material.
Using foamcore board seemed like the ideal solution. I’ve built experimental modules/layouts in the past using the kind of foamcore that can be found in the average hobby or art store but I’ve never been completely satisfied with the results. They tended to warp when damp/wet and the material never seemed as strong as advocates of the method made out.
Then I got my hands on some Gatorboard…
Continue reading “A Gatorboard T-Trak Module”