Model Railways on a Budget

Model Railways on a Budget details an eight-year journey into the fascinating world of railway modeling; from fumbling beginnings to a growing competence with layout design and construction. A limited amount of cash, and some rather costly mistakes at the start, led to a decision to scratch-build as much structure and scenery as possible using just ordinary household materials; including bundles of scrap wire found at the roadside! Whilst the book isn’t a ‘how to construct a model railway’ manual, it was written with the cash strapped beginner in mind and clearly demonstrates, through a series of slowly evolving themes and ideas, that it is not always necessary to reach for the wallet in order to build realistic layouts. Whilst the work is not ‘fine scale’ in the traditional sense, it does provide a reasonable impression of realism; a facet of the hobby that has been driven by the ever-growing range of exquisitely detailed model trains produced by today’s manufacturers. The novice need not worry about the cost of these ready-to-run offerings either as on line trading sites are awash with the second hand models of yesteryear; with a small amount of effort even these can be brought up to modern standards. So with a bit of careful research, and some canny purchasing, anyone can enjoy this highly satisfying hobby including those of us with relatively limited means.