Building a Model Railroad Step by Step

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.

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Author: David Popp
Softcover; 8 1/4 x 10 3/4; 112 pages; 250 color photos; 20 illustrations; ISBN: 9780890246

David Popp is an associate editor for Model Railroader magazine. In addition to his interests in all-things railroad, he’s been a high school English teacher, directed and acted in a number of different theater venues, writes music, and enjoys historical miniature war games. David and his wife, Ingrid, live in southeastern Wisconsin with their Mini-Cooper named Jack.

Chapter 1
Getting your layout started 6
Essential layout-building tools 7
Project 1: Choosing a railroad, location, and era 8
Project 2: Selecting a scale 8
Project 3: Drawing your track plan 9
Naugatuck RR history 11
Project 4: Modeling your layout in 3-D 12
Five track planning tips 14
Track plan for the Naugatuck Valley 15

Chapter 2
Building benchwork and
adding backdrops 16
Project 1: Creating easy, versatile benchwork 17
Project 2: Landscaping with foam 20
Construction hand tools 21
Project 3: Making styrene backdrops and painting clouds 23
Power tools 25

Chapter 3
Completing trackwork,
wiring, and DCC 26
Project 1: Laying and wiring track 27
Tracklaying and wiring tools 32
Project 2: Installing a DCC system 32
Project 3: Installing decoders in N scale locomotives 38
Project 4: Making your track realistic 39

Chapter 4
Constructing scenery 42
Project 1: Casting rocks 43
Project 2: Paving Easy Street with styrene 46
Scenery tools 48
Project 3: Providing easy ground cover 49
Project 4: Adding simple, realistic trees 53
Project 5: Modeling foreground trees 56
Project 6: Creating conifers 59
Project 7: Crafting cool water 60
Modeling tips for water 61

Chapter 5
Building structures 64
Project 1: Building a wood structure kit 65
Project 2: Kitbashing plastic structures 68
Modeling tools 69
More Modeling tools 72
Project 3: Using modular structure kits 73
Project 4: Making a mix-and-match industry 77
Project 5: Expanding into the aisle 81

Chapter 6
Detailing your model
railroad, inside and out 84
Project 1: Including ordinary details of everyday life 85
Where to find details 87
Project 2: Producing quick mainline details 88
Trackside detail modeling tips 93
Project 3: Putting together a station scene 93
Project 4: Adding easy interior details 96
Project 5: Adding sound to the layout 98

Chapter 7
Running your railroad 102
Project 1: Making your freight cars prototypical 103
Project 2: Moving freight and making names 106
Project 3: Using sequence operation 108
information Sources for operation 109
Operating sequence on the Naugatuck 110

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 Popp’s 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