All Kinds of Model Trains Equipment

An Introduction to Model Train Scenery - Your Ultimate Beginners Guide

Model train scenery is probably the second most enjoyable thing about model trains, with the intricacies of the engines and cars being number one and layout in the number three spot. While you would do an initial layout plan first, it's the scenery that makes your creation come to life.

It isn't just trees and landscaping that we are talking about, but all kinds of different ways to decorate you layout ideas. While it's true that you can spend the time to make your own model train scenery, buying plastic plants to tear apart for trees and shrubs, or snagging a toy car or figurine once in awhile from your kids.

You may even think about recycling things out of the garbage like tin cans and cardboard boxes, cleaning them out and painting them to suit your needs. While these are all good ideas, many home made model train scenery creations aren't going to be the same size and scale as the model train, and will look out of place.

Unless you are quite skilled at painting and modeling, you will never get the same quality of detail as you will from products that are specifically made for the train hobbyist. The product and accessory options are far better than anything you can come up with in many cases.

Weight bearing structures like bridges and trestles should be purchased prefabricated, to ensure their durability. It's not just that though, just in holiday accessories you have carolers, musical clock towers, little lighted lamp posts, all that look just like the real thing, just smaller.

The people and vehicles of pre-constructed model train scenery are proportionate to the size of the train, meaning that the people figurines look like they could fit inside the train cars, not on them. Many mechanisms work in conjunction with the train's electrical wiring and can be operated remotely from the command center.

When picking model train scenery, it is important that it's fluid with the Model Train Layout. If you're layout has trains that transport goods, and you have more of a flat town or city layout, you won't want a bunch of trees, mills and other forest related items.

You would want an oil refinery, some warehouses, maybe some semi tractor-trailers. If you are going with a country setting, then you would want grain silos, maybe a windmill, some farm buildings and animals.

If you just have to work with your hands, or have a sense of making it on your own, there are many model train scenery assortments where the pieces are prefabricated, but you get to put it together yourself. This way the scenery retains its detail, and you still get to feel like you did it yourself.

You can find model train scenery from a wide range of places, both on the Internet and at many local hobby shops. It might be a wise idea to visit online shops first, even if you may have to order products online, because they can answer many of your questions as well as show you what they do have in stock.

Then you can see firsthand the detail that goes into some of these items.

About the Author

Clint Spille is a model trains enthusiast who enjoys blogging about the World's Greatest Hobby. Stop by his blog where you can read his many articles on the model railroading hobby or watch the videos he provides on topics such as toy model trains, Model Railroad track plans and much more!

Trains Layout Lamp

Electrical Panel Design Software

Generates: Generates data sheets as bill of materials. estimation & costing. GA drawings, Farication drawings, Bus-Bar chart, Cut-out (Mechanical) design. Auto-generation - single line diagrame (SLD).

Electrical Panel Design Software - Industrial Power Control

(3 phase, 50/60 Hz electrical system, LT industrial power & control panel design)

One Software with multiple design features:

a)- Design Motor Control Center (MCC)

b)- Design Power Control Center (PCC)

c)- Design Desk Type Panels

d)- Design Instrumentation Panels

e)- Design Distribution & Metering DBs

f)- Design Feeder Pillars

g)- Design Bus Bar Trunking

h)- Draw Schematic Electrical Circuits

Simple operation: No intensive training. Just select the required switchgear, drag it to the workarea and drop.

Automatic Panel Sizing: What ever switchgear ( ACB, OCB, SFU of any make) is added to the template, automatic panel size & dimensions, panel volume, MS / SS sheet weight is calculated.

Automatic Busbar Sizing & Weight: Calculates bus bar size, cross-section & weight automatically as per the selected incomer size and taking into consideration other factors affecting the size and performance of busbars.

Electrical Symbol Library: Built in electrical symbol libray. Select a symbol and place it on the e-board. Draw as sophisticated electrical circuits as you can.

Multifunction: Design any type of electrical control panel, instrumentation panel, draw electrical circuits and calculate automatic bus bar size. Mouse click wiring numbering in auto ascending mode. Auto Labelling of all electrical acceessories.

Multi-color Wiring Diagrams: Give different colors to phase & neutral lines and make your electrical drawings more easily understandable and presentable.

Generates: Generates data sheets as bill of materials. estimation & costing. GA drawings, Farication drawings, Bus-Bar chart, Cut-out (Mechanical) design. Auto-generation - single line diagrame (SLD).

A key design tool: A key design tool for electrical panel designers, electrical panel manufactures, electrical machine builders, electrical engineering professionals, electrical switchgear manufacturer, electrical suppliers, electrical design consultants, electrical contractors.

CNC compatible Programming Text File: It generates text file to feed input details to CNC sheet cutting machine for making cut-outs for accessories. Text file contains programming for 2 - axis CNC co ordinates.

Latest Update -

1 - Now design PCC, MCC, Distribution Centers, Distribution Boards, Machine Control Panels using PLCs, Instrumentation Panels, Desk Type Panels, Floor Type (slanted) Panels, Floor Type (plain) Panels.

2 - Get General Layout Drawings, Bill of Materials sheet, Estimation & Costing sheet, Single Line Diagrams, Complete Circuit Diagrams (semi automatic) generation.

3 - Labeling System (for accessories and controls) Added,

4 - Wiring (ferrule) Numbering System Added,

5 - Motor Starter Star - Delta Drawings added and auto selection of materials as per motor capacity and many more...

Know more about the software...

Electrical Control Panel Design Software

3 phase industrial power control panel and distribution board designing is no more a tedious and time consuming job now. Get your industrial power panel and distribution board designed within minutes. Just drag the required switchgears, instruments, meters, indicating lamps, fuses & accessories into your work area and let your computer simulator design and calculate the various dimensions of your panel for you. Make changes in size if required, change placement of items to best suit you and again get a new design and dimension. No limit how many times you change the layout and you get the final designs.Simulator takes care of various clearances while you place an item in the template and calculates the final size by taking into consideration these clearances and other factors.

Panel accessories

Panel accessories like - Voltmeter, Ampere meter, Frequency meter, Red Indicator, Yelow Indicator, Blue Indicator, Hinge, Lock, Knob, Contactor, Relay, Timer, Insulator, Busbar - Support, Selector Switch, Control Fuse, Push Button, Earth Fault Relay, Over Current Relay, CT, Electric Motor Starter, Power Factor Meter can be dragged from the tool bar and placed upon the panel template as per the need of the design.

Types Of Panels You Can Design

With the help of this software now you can design any type of 3 phase industrial power and electrical control panels - be it a power control centre (PCC), a motor control centre (MCC), an electrical power distribution centre, electrical distribution board or an instrumentation panel. Design cubical power panels, desk type control and instrumentation panels, floor type control and instrumentation panels. A key tool to design 'Contorl & Relay Panels' using PLCs and SCADA system.

Draw Electrical Circuit

The software lets you draw any type of complecated electrical power and control circuit/diagram. You draw horizontal and vertical lines and put electrical symbols upon the lines to complete your electrical (power or control) circuit. Cross over points are automatically converted into shorting-links or may be changed to jumpers or vise-a-versa. The software contains almost all the symboles in its library required to generate electrical power and control circuits. Label all the electrical symboles through a pop up text box - just enter the name/specification of the item and put it near the the symbol. Put ferrul numbering on each wire as per your convenience and requirement. Give color to all the lines as red (R), yellow (Y) and blue (B). Default line color is black i.e., neutral (N). Select line thickness to differenciate between power and control wiring. Rotate electrical symboles by 90 deg or back to best suit the placement upon the power lines. Delete any electrical symbol or power line with right mouse operation. So this software can generate elctrical power and control circuits in semi automatic mode.

Single Line Diagram

Single Line wiring diagram is generated automatically.

Bill Of Materials

What ever you add to your panel or electrical circuit, every thing is added to bill of material sheet automatically. If you delete an item it is removed from the sheet itself.

Estimation & Costing

You get a detailed estimation and costing detail in the word formate for easy printout and distribution. Change item cost, panel board painting and fabrication cost, bus bar cost, labour cost, margin profit as per your system and set up.

Printouts

Take printouts of the complete design along with detailed bill of materials, estimation & costing sheet, general layout, single line diagrame (auto-generation) and finally complete circuit diagram (semi-auto mode). When you have completed the design part and would like to know the cost of your panel, options are there to see the individual costs of busbars and panels

About the Author

Softbit provides CAD/CAM software packages for Electrical Machine Design, Industrial Automation products such as Remote Data Logger. Company aims to satisfy the current and future needs of its valued clients. We strive for customer’s satisfaction; our aim is technology dedication & continual improvements. http://www.softbitonline.com/ ac electric motor