In the summer of 2017, I set myself a challenge to see if a model railway could be built for £35.
The goal was to build a model railway for just £35 (this budget covering materials, track, electrics, controller and rolling stock) and to complete it 4 months.
Above is my initial back-of-an-envelope concept sketch, below is the history of its creation to date. Below is a step-by-step guide to its creation, from beginning to final status.
Part 5: Starting with the scenery
Part 8: Conclusion, final report
Project status
In the end, I missed my self-imposed deadline for the project but did achieve the main challenge – making a model railway for £35.
Budget:
- Track: Budget £5, Spent £5.
- Materials (box): Budget £10, Spent £9.98
- Electrics: Budget £10, Spent £9.99
- Total: Budgeted for items purchased so far, £25. Spent £24.97.
Deadline:
- DONE: Choosing gauge, layout size, theme and track plan. End of August.
- DONE: Aquire basic materials: wood, track, electrics. End of September.
- DONE: Lay and ballast track and electrics. End of October.
- DONE: Get rolling stock and make scenery and/or buildings. End of November.
- DONE: Add finishing details. 2nd Week of January (allowing for Christmas holidays).
Although missing the target deadline, and giving £100 to a charity, it was a really fun challenge, I learnt a lot along the way, and met some great people building their own model railway challenges. I’ll definitely be doing this again. Watch this space.
> Think you know about model railways, take this model railway quiz and see how your knowledge compares.
> A final, personal, note: I spend a huge amount of time testing, photographing, writing and researching techniques for these articles and pay for all the running costs of MRE out of my own pocket. If you found this article useful you can support me by making a donation on my fund-raising page. Thanks and happy modelling, Andy.
