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Nathanville Model Railway Village

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A Model Railway Village in the Making

Nathanville Model Railway Village - Welcomes Careful Train Drivers! - And Railway Enthusiasts.

A Tour of Nathanville in the making; tips on its constructions, photos and links to the main website for more information.  Also browse the relevant links, add to and vote on them, vote in the polls and sign the guest book.  Below is a summary of Nathanville's Model Railway Village with links for more information, and at the bottom online shopping from Amazon & ebay for all your travel accessories.

Building a Layout

Replica or Imaginary

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Photos and Videos

Model & Real Trains from around Europe

Construction details, video clip and photos of Nathanville Model Railway Village.
Train Photos
Visit Nathanville's main site to view a small collection of photos for Real and Model Railway Trains including the Nathanville Model Railway photos.
A Model Railway Village in the Making
Visit Nathanville's main site to see the full details on its construction, watch the short video clip of it in action and view the photos of Nathanville Model railway Village.

Nathanville Model railway Village 

RAILWAY ENTHUSIASTS

Other Great Railway and Model Railway Lenses

Visit our Railways Enthusiasts Group to see what other Railway Modellers and Railway Enthusiasts are doing on Squidoo. Model railways or the real thing, steam or diesel, and model villages. A selection of lenses relevant to Rail travel, Model Railways and Model Villages.

Mode of Transport

Do you go to work on an egg or by some other mode of transport?

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  • Reply
    Tipi Nov 19, 2011 @ 11:10 am | delete
    I just discovered a whole lot more wonderful content under this guest book. I chose the egg option, I sit on my white fitness ball most of the day working at home...it was the closest thing!
  • Reply
    stevetyke Aug 6, 2010 @ 4:33 pm | delete
    This
    build model railway layout has got some great attention to detail. Really enjoyed the lens and will pop back again to see how it is going.
  • Reply
    Mike Dec 10, 2009 @ 7:07 pm | delete
    Hey killer lens and great content. I'm you won't mind that I linked to this lens from my Christmas Train Set website. http;//www.christmastrainset.org
  • Reply
    Nathanville Dec 11, 2009 @ 10:39 am | delete
    Hi Mike, thanks for your comments; your Christmas Train Set website is a pleasure to visit and view.
  • Reply
    Nathanville Dec 11, 2009 @ 10:41 am | delete
    Hi Mike, thanks for your comments and link, your Christmas Train Set website is a great visit.
  • Reply
    Robin_Forlonge_Patterson Mar 6, 2009 @ 8:17 pm | delete
    Good work, Nathanville!

    I bought a small trainset for my children. Half a dozen "landscape" features that one could plonk anywhere. Then we added bits from purchases of old sets. Had enough electrics to run two trains at once.
    After the children had left home, my wife sold the lot to a sob-story con-man for $10.

    My liking for trains began when I visited my grandmother in Khandallah, Wellington (New Zealand). She lived at 2 Lucknow Terrace just across the road from the Simla Crescent Railway Station, I loved hearing and watching the electric units gliding up and down the line. Nothing like that in Dunedin, where I lived. There were passenger trains out to Mosgiel in the west and Port Chalmers in the north-east (just a distant memory now), but they had steam engines pulling them. And I never lived close to them.
  • Reply
    MrMarmalade Nov 19, 2008 @ 3:44 pm | delete
    I have always admired you enthusiasts put so much time and effort into building your model Railways.
    love them but no skill or patience.
    Did buy a house once and the Gentleman had built his railway all around the inside under the house and out into the back yard which was big. He only went outside with his trains on fine days. He told me it had taken almost 20 Years to build.
    Made you a favorite and Five Stars
  • Reply
    Evelyn_Saenz Oct 12, 2008 @ 6:32 am | delete
    What is it about trains that make them so fascinating? Even young children who have never seen let alone experienced a train ride seem to love them.
  • Reply
    dc64 Aug 27, 2008 @ 10:39 pm | delete
    I so love trains. I have lived near enough to hear the train in the distance, and there is just something I like about it. No trains run where I live now, so I have to visit marvelous lenses like this to get my fill! 5 stars for sure.
  • Reply
    delrond Aug 20, 2008 @ 4:12 am | delete
    Nice lens - a real insight into the nathanville model railway village. I am impressed by how much detail there is.

    Do you mind if i link to this lens from mine:
    Model Railway Trains
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Construction

A brief description on the construction of Natanville Model Railway Village

CHURCH YARD AND GRAVESTONES
The Church and vicarage are at the heart of Nathanville village. Most of the gravestones were made with Match Sticks and Lollipop Sticks. These were then painted, and scale model gravel scattered in the centre of the stones. The two tombs were made from pieces of lollipop sticks and the cross made from small bits of softwood.
BASE TABLE
The frame and legs for the base tables were constructed using 2" x 3" (25mm x 75mm) softwood timber. The frame for the main tabletop was made no wider than 4ft (1.22 meters) as access is from both sides and it is difficult to stretch more than 2ft (0.6 meters) to the centre of the board from either side. The tabletop was covered using tongue and grove loft flooring boards, as this is strong enough to take the weight of the model village and railway. Sections were cut out of these boards for the military docks (shipyard), the valley and a small river running the width of the table.
RAILWAY TRACKS
This was planed, laid and tested before making the valley, docks and hills, so that there was no doubt where to cut the baseboard for the valley and docks, and where the tunnels would need to go in the hillsides etc. The main board supports four railway circuits, of which one has a sub-loop hidden beneath the airfield - Therefore, the main village train system can support up to five trains (four in operation at any time). As a train on the outer circuit enters the hill under the military airfield that train can be stopped, points changed, and the train on the other sub-loop started. Thus, one train enters the hillside and a moment later another train emerges from the hillside. The points that control this operation are wired to a central control making the operation seamless. The system on the underground (subway) operates in a similar way - two main tracks, but with one sub-loop.
ROADS, FIELDS, OTHER SURFACES, BUILDINGS and ACCESSORIES
The roads were made first by pencilling the outline, painting the roads on the surface of the main baseboard with black paint then sprinkling tarmac effect scatter on the wet paint. Grass, soil and other surface finishes were achieved in the same way - using green paint for grass, brown for soil etc., and sprinkling with scale modelling scatter.
MILITARY DOCKS
The dock (shipyard) was made by making an opening in the surface of the main table, and then fixing a piece of loft flooring board to the underside of the table frame - thus giving a depth of 3" (75 mm) below ground level. The railway bridge over the dock was made using 3 mm plywood. Arches were cut into the plywood, and before fixing into place the surface was coated with brick effect wallpaper used for scale model buildings.

Nathanville Railway Village

A quick guide of the railway village in the making

MILITARY BASE
The military base overlooks Nathanville village, and during times of unrest protects it. The airfield and gun defence on the hilltop has external and internal access to the barracks and docks below by steps and lifts. Air, ship, train and road bring in supplies to the military base, and where necessary transported onto the village by rail. (The lift and lift shaft are made from 3mm plywood and thin plastic, glued using contact glue. The lift slides up and down the lift shaft by means of thin string tied to the top of the lift and wrapped around a handle at the top of the shaft). The military base is separated from the village by the main river. The training camp is situated adjacent to the village car park on the other side of the main railway line.
MILITARY AIRFILED
The Military airfield is heavily guarded by defences, which also overlooks and defends the village. The Barracks, just below the airfield is the centurial point of defence and is situated between the airfield and the docks. The Military docks separate the village from the Military base - It also brings in supplies from afar for the military base and the village. Trains then transport village supplies to the village main train station. The Military camp is the only part of the military on the village side of the docks, and plays an important role in defence. Not only is it used for training but also in an emergency acts as an advance attachment in the event of the village requiring ground defence. For added protection from air attack, a network of roads and rail run underground.
MAIN STATION, CAR PARK and VALLEY
The main train station and subway are the village's main link to the military base and the outside world. Although there is also access to the neighbouring villages and towns by country road. The car park over looks the valley, so if you are a little late and miss your subway connection you can wave goodbye to your train as it disappears through the tunnel? In such cases, the waiting room provides cheap coffee and all day breakfasts!
THE UNDERGROUND
Most modellers when they want to add height and dimension to a model railway village use crossover and gradients - and very commendable. I was not so ambitious as to try gradients and crossovers. Instead, I built an underground. The net result is that the layout 12ft x 4ft can support 8 trains (six running simultaneously). Five trains on the main surface and three underground.

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created by Nathanville

Victorian Railways

From a newspaper article saved by George Burgess in his Victorian Scrapbook

Victorian railway trains

* 2s. 7 ½ d = just over 13p in today's decimal currency in the UK.

Victorian Railways
Transcript from a Victorian newspaper on Nathanville.

Hobbies and Leisure Interests

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