Often times when building a model railroad, it can be difficult to avoid flat, empty areas in your scene. Maybe the landscape upon which you’ve designed your layout is made up mostly of cornfields, or perhaps your train tracks pass through an industrial town without much other than a few buildings.

Back in the early days of model railroading, backdrops were the exception

Tom Lund, your host, is a life-long modeler and former Model Railroader art director. Tom’s techniques will bring your scenes to life no matter what era or region you model.

The Piermont Division of the Western Maryland is Howard Zane’s beautifully scenicked and detailed model of a West Virginia coal hauler.

Bob Brown’s Tuolumne Forks Railroad combines the charm of a logging and mining operation with the passenger traffic of a tourist line.

Dick Elwell’s Hoosac Valley is a bridge route that interchanges with the Boston & Albany, the Delaware & Hudson, the New Haven and the New York Central.

Gary Hoover’s Missouri, Kansas & Quincy is a modern HO railroad that covers half a continent from Chicago to California.

The elements of bustling industrial railroads combined with the urban American scenery of the 1950s were captured to create Chuck Hitchcock’s Argentine Division of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway.

“Grosser’s Nostalgia Trip” is a 1950’s era re-creation of the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Saint Marie Railroad, otherwise known as the Soo Line.

The Santa Fe Emporia Subdivision of Stephen and Cinthia Priest is what you might expect from these two authorities on this railroad.

Get a great first look at the Denver, Front Range & Western model railroad layout of Doug Tagsold in this video.