Model Railways In Small Spaces | Ideas for The Space Limited

They may be small themselves but most model railways take up a fair chunk of space. You may think you don’t have enough room in your home but there are still lots of small places where you can put a railway.

train in caseWhen you think of model railways, what comes to mind?

For most of us, apart from delightful tiny trains trundling around miniature worlds, it’ll be the large area they occupy.

This can be a problem if you don’t have enough space but these clever ideas will help those with even limited space build their railway.

Inside A Coffee Table

This is just genius. Incorporating a model railway into a coffee table is inspired. You get a railway you can use all the time, visitors can admire it and yet it doesn’t use up any space. If done well, the layout will also be tucked away safely, free from prying hands.

On A Window Sill

Window sills are wasted on plants and ornaments when you could have a railway running along them. And the typical rectangular shape of window sills makes them ideal for many long layouts.

In An Old Fireplace

Many old houses (in England at least) have fireplaces that are no longer used. These vary in size but larger ones could be used for a small N gauge layout. Just make sure you seal off the chimney and it’s properly cleaned first, the dust and dirt will play havoc with your engines and track.

In A Suitcase 

What more needs to be said, it’s a railway in a suitcase! Using a suitcase has a lot of advantages, you can close the lid and put it away safely and dust-free when not using it but it’s easy and quick to set up when it comes to working on it.

Can you beat these for small places to put your railway? Where is yours? Add a comment below.

Resources:


> 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.  
Founder of ModelRailwayEngineer, Andy Leaning

Andy is a lifelong modeler, writer, and founder of modelrailwayengineer.com. He has been building model railways, dioramas, and miniatures for over 20 years. His passion for model making and railways began when he was a child, building his first layout at the age of seven.

Andy’s particular passion is making scenery and structures in 4mm scale, which he sells commercially. He is particularly interested in modelling the railways of South West England during the late Victorian/early Edwardian era, although he also enjoys making sci-fi and fantasy figures and dioramas. His website has won several awards, and he is a member of MERG (Model Railway Electronics Group) and the 009 Society.

When not making models, Andy lives in Surrey with his wife and teenage son. Other interests include history, science fiction, photography, and programming. Read more about Andy.

Afflliate disclosure:The links on this page may take you to carefully selected businesses, such as Hornby, Amazon and Scale Model Scenery, where you can purchase the product under affiliate programmes. This means I receive a small commission on any orders placed although the price you pay does not change. You can read my full affiliate policy here,

Add Comment

Required fields are marked *. Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.