Welcome to my Custom Model Railroad Builder website. My name is Mark A. Baczkowski and I'm your website host and the builder. My goal is to work with you to create and build a custom model railroad that you will enjoy owning and operating. Take a look through the website, and if you like my work - let's get busy creating your dream layout.

Terrain & Scenery

Great terrain and scenery basically starts with an interesting locale to model, a well thought out plan, and a flexible construction method that allows for excellent results. Elevations, rock features, bridge abutments, tunnels, roads, retaining walls, water features and developed properties (just to mention a few) all come alive during this creative process.

Many methods of achieving scenery have been used in this hobby. Building a model railroad for a customer and knowing that I will have to disassemble and ship it, requires strategic planning and lightweight materials. My process isn't out-of-this-world, It's just what I feel comfortable with knowing that I can achieve the scenic goals that have been planned - with realistic results.

Let me know what type of scenery, season and region of the world you want modeled and I'll make every effort artistically achieve your vision.

Although it has a little bit of ground cover on it, this photo of the Poco Grande Subdivision N Scale layout depicts how all the terrain elements blend together to create convincingly real setting for the town and railroad to coexist.

The Parker Subdivision HO layout layout along the west wall as the scenery hard cover was finished and stained and the first corner of vegetation was applied. Note that all bridges, roads, viaducts and waterways are finished models prior to applying the scenic details.

Here is an overview shot of the east wall of the Parker Sub HO layout. The earth scenery base is complete with all additional man-made elements in place.

Attention to details like the bridge abutments...Items like this needto have been built, painted and weathered prior to working-in the scenic sub terrain. All the concrete work was done and the additional I-Beams that hold back the ballast for the track was done at the workbench. Once the terrain is finished and the bridge goes in, a great looking and realistic scene takes shape.

***QUICK TUTORIAL***

Making a Mountain with a Tunnel

Step 1

A few things needed to be done before I actually stacked my foam...Track weathered and ballasted with the tunnel liner and portals in place. I use white 2" EPS foam...others use the blue or pink. I like the EPS foam since I like the way it carves. I use carpenters glue for the foam. Next day I go to town on the shaping.

Once shaped, I use Woodland Scenic's Plaster Cloth over what I have shaped. It's fast drying, super easy to work with, and readily available.

Once the plaster cloth has had some time to dry, I mix up Woodland Scenics Mold-A-Scene and apply it to the mountains to make the initial rock formations. This does take some to dry - a couple days if thick - I want it thick in spots so I can carve it. After a couple hours of dry time I start carving in the deepest rock cuts, then as time goes by and drying continues, I'll return every so oftern to carve and brush away the debris. I save the debris to use as talus. On the terrain that didn't get rock, I apply Sclupt-A-Mold to the plaster cloth to finish off the hard shell. Once all dry it will be ready for final staining.

Here is the scene of the mountain and tunnel fully stained and ready at this point for scenic details and vegetation. I clean up any plaster that got on the concrete tunnel portals with a Q-Tip dipped in water and use it like a brush.

***Hope you enjoyed that little tutorial.***

Thanks for looking!

Questions or comments? Feel free to ask: mark@thesolutionfarm.com