Civil War Layouts

[david_heath899]

I am considering building a small HO-scale layout set during the American Civil War. Ideally, it would be based in one of the Confederate States (we won’t worry about 5ft gauge at the moment) but that’s not a showstopper. I’ve no desire to scratch-build and am pretty rubbish at making kits, so any locomotives will have to be commercially available ready-to-run models. Does any manufacturer produce a suitable civil war period loco? I know that Bachmann make several ‘American’ 4-4-0s, although they seem to be a decade or two too late (Union Pacific etc.). I guess I could modify them to an early 1860s guise.

On a wider point, has anyone seen (or even modelled!) a civil war-period or themed layout? Are there any back issues of railway modelling magazines that might contain something along those lines?

[BrianMoore]

If you put the words "Civil War" (keeping the inverted commas), layout and HO into Google and click, you'll find loads of stuff. It's a niche modelling subject, but lots of people have done various things, and will have travelled the path and done the learning about what's available.

Good luck.

[david_heath899]

Okay, thanks. I will check that out.

[david_heath899]

It looks as if Bachmann produced a Confederate Railroad 'set' (and one of "The General"!) a few years back. However, the reviews on amazon.com are dreadful! Although it would provide some useful ready-to-run stock, it sounds as if it's something to avoid like the plague. And I wouldn't want the track or the controller, of course.

[david_heath899]

Okay, this is in O-scale but it's still good inspiration:

http://usmrr.blogspot.co.uk/

[david_heath899]

The October 2019 issue of MODEL RAILROADER magazine is now available from UK stockists and features Bernard Kempinski’s O scale United States Military RR ‘Aquia Line’ layout, set in Civil War-era Virginia (see previous posting for Bernard's blog). This is actually quite a technical article and details how innovations such as battery power, laser cutting, 3-D printing, photo-etching and spin casting helped bring the layout to life:

http://mrr.trains.com/issues/2019/october-2019