Scale Model Railroad Trains

How To - Engage the Senses with Your Model Railroad

Make your model railroad come alive by engaging the senses. Most trains move and many are brightly painted. Plenty for the eyes and mind to enjoy. The motion of trains grabs attention. Switching one train from track to track, and even running more than one train at the same time raises the stakes even higher. Video on board model trains is available to give you real-time, model engineer’s view. It’s really fun.

The sense of smell can bring back memories years later. Use smell on your model railroad. Add a smoke unit to the chimney of a few buildings or factories. Place fresh cedar wood chips or essence of cedar oil near a logging operation or sawmill.

Sound is very popular in model railroads these days. Many of the new electronic packages allow you to have sounds coming from each of your engines. Sound can be coordinated with the actions. As the engine idles or pulls a heavy load up a hill it can make the appropriate sounds. Whistles and bells add to the fun.

Don’t forget touch. Game machine principles can be adapted for train control. Create a full sized throttle for changing train speed. Classic control boards for switches and signals can be set up just like the real thing. Many railroaders enjoy running their trains like the prototype with card orders. DCC, plug in, and wireless controls add the dimension of moving with your train. Hand-held controls enable you to follow your train and execute moves just like an engineer on board the full sized engine.

I haven’t figured out how taste can be used in model railroading. Let me know if you have some ideas.

Use your creativity and 4 out of 5 senses.

Have fun!

Trainguy

Trackback URI | Comments RSS