5 Model Train Structures To Include in Your Layout

Decorating your model train landscape is half the fun of model railroading. In addition to the standard landscapes, trees, and water effects, you should consider adding a few structures to create more visual interest. Structures also allow you to tell a story with your design. Discover five model train structures to include in your layout.

Water Towers and Windmills

Though water towers and windmills serve different purposes, they have a similar function in model railroading: they’re tall. Tall structures strikingly contrast with shorter features like trees and even trains rolling by. They also give your layout a bit more three-dimensionality. If you have a farm on your layout, silos are another excellent option for adding height.

Castle Ruins

If you’re modeling more of a European rural landscape, you might consider including a castle ruin. Unlike fantasy castles in other hobbies, models of real castles won’t take up your entire layout, though they’re not exactly small. Castles look best on hilltops, where people built them in the past.

Platforms and Depots

In the real world, trains always have a starting location and a destination. You can use this to tell a story about where your train is headed or what it carries by including a platform or depot. Perhaps your train carries cargo from a depot to the shipyard or people from the country into town.

Bridges and Overpasses

Try building a bridge if you’re up for a more complex layout-building. Bridges can stretch over streets, rivers, or industrial yards—whatever you can think of! Overpasses are the modern highway equivalent and tend to be made of concrete rather than wood or metal. Whatever the case, test out your incline angles, so your bridge doesn’t become a source of derailing.

Country Barns

There’s nothing more iconic in the American rural landscape than a red barn with white trim. If you have a farm on your layout, include one of these bright red structures. Having a farm on one end of your layout and a town on the other can be a nifty storytelling strategy.

These five model train structures to include in your layout only scratch the surface of what you can do. You can find even more buildings at Midwest Model Railroad, where we have one of the world's largest collections of model train parts and accessories. We also carry Atlas N scale rolling stock to help you make smaller builds. Visit us in person or via our online shop to see what we have in stock.