ACW railroads (1 Viewer)

[WBritain]

I built this small Civil War diorama a few years ago specifically to display a large scale 4-4-0 American that I was going to rebuild into something much closer to a wartime locomotive. I only took a few photos when a friend talked me out of it to display his train, so it looks like I will just have to revisit the subject when I finish my loco. That in itself is a long drawn out project, but I am still hopeful. I used Atlas nickel silver rail designed to be used with 1/48th and spiked it to ties I made from hedge trimmings trimmed flat on two sides. Using the Atlas rail gave it a pretty acceptable scale profile for the track. The ballast was made from sifted mason’s sand to simulate the ballast in period photographs. The winter huts and the Sibley tent were converted from W. Britain scenics. The rest of the figures and limber are also W. Britain items I sculpted for the company. The next time around I hope to design it as a module so I can set it up with additional sections, with the thought that I might be able to run the train through the scene a few feet from time to time... fingers crossed!

 

[7th OVI]

I built this small Civil War diorama a few years ago specifically to display a large scale 4-4-0 American that I was going to rebuild into something much closer to a wartime locomotive. I only took a few photos when a friend talked me out of it to display his train, so it looks like I will just have to revisit the subject when I finish my loco. That in itself is a long drawn out project, but I am still hopeful. I used Atlas nickel silver rail designed to be used with 1/48th and spiked it to ties I made from hedge trimmings trimmed flat on two sides. Using the Atlas rail gave it a pretty acceptable scale profile for the track. The ballast was made from sifted mason’s sand to simulate the ballast in period photographs. The winter huts and the Sibley tent were converted from W. Britain scenics. The rest of the figures and limber are also W. Britain items I sculpted for the company. The next time around I hope to design it as a module so I can set it up with additional sections, with the thought that I might be able to run the train through the scene a few feet from time to time... fingers crossed!

This looks great, building a working railroad within a diorama is very challenging especially when there is limited "off the shelf" offerings. This all looks amazing to me and the level of detail you are putting into it gives it that added sense of realism. American and Atlas are great in the larger scale. Do you have any images of the in-process locomotive? Model trains are another collecting passion, and I just cannot see enough of them. Good luck with this and I hope to see it running someday soon.

 

[wayne556517]

Simply amazing mate thank you for sharing.

 

[mestell]

This display looks outstanding Ken.

Mike

 

[29 Let's Go]

Ken,
Lots and lots of detail. Always enjoy your work.
Steve

 

[WBritain]

Before I was a military modeler I was a model railroader. I worked with a dear friend for 22 years to complete the scenery and back drop on his Erie Railroad layout, which will be open during the NMRA national in Michigan this year. Hopefully in retirement I can return to my first love, ideally combining my interest in the American Civil War at the same time!

 

[Louis Badolato]

Ken,

Pheonomenal as always!

 

[Terp152]

What a wonderful display! The details are in every scene.

BTW, there's that word, "retirement."

 

[jason foote]

Great looking diorama. I love your light. Looks so realistic. Did you shoot outside?

 

[WBritain]

Yes, I used to shoot outdoors much more when I still lived in Michigan. In my opinion this approach can produce the best results when photographing smaller displays. The interesting detail I can share is that I often would print or paint a backdrop to mask any out of scale details or create different time of year, but then I was thoughtful to make sure that the light source was very similar so the lighting and shadows made sense.