more-easy-ways-to-add-realism-to-your-layouthttps://www.trains.com/ctt/how-to/expert-tips/more-easy-ways-to-add-realism-to-your-layout/More easy ways to add realism to your layout - TrainsLearn more easy ways to add realism to your layout from this Classic Toy Trains article. Small details make a big difference.https://www.trains.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/CTT-ken-cook-details-freight-yard-0625.jpgInStockUSD1.001.00expert-tipshow-toarticleCTT2025-03-072025-06-09223563
My layout, The “Casey” Line, was published in the September 2021 Classic Toy Trains. My 30-year project was based on reading a boxful of 1950’s Model Railroader magazines and compiling a list of the best features on model railroads from those articles.
Fortunately, I was able to include all the scenic features recommended in those articles. Similar pieces in earlier magazines inspired me to not only build a layout, but to push myself to learn new skills, which greatly improved the finished product. I hope you can glean an idea or two for your own layout.
An overview of the freight yard on The “Casey” Line postwar Lionel layout by Ken Cook. Details added for realism include hand-cut ties placed under the older 0-27 track, rusted rails, multiple appropriate trackside items placed near the various accessories, telephone poles within the yard, and vegetation. Ken Cook photo
The freight yard is not yet complete, but you can see the progress of detailing: scrap railroad ties, vegetation, rusted rails, and spare culvert pipes near the Lionel No. 354 Culvert Unloader. Note the dead track between the culvert unloader and enginehouse holding old cars and equipment. Did you notice the smoke in the enginehouse stacks? Ken Cook photo
A view from the opposite end of the freight yard showing junk at the base of the No. 445 Switch Tower, stacked barrels, telephone poles, and an old tank car used as a storage tank. Ken Cook photo
It’s Lionelville in 1959. The thoroughbreds are lined up and waiting: Nos. 2353 Santa Fe, 773 Lionel Lines, and 2023 Union Pacific. Note the rusty rails, multiple yard signs, Marx light tower, Lionel No. 94 High Tension Tower, MTH scale semaphore, telephone poles, backdrop, and weathered FasTrack roadbed. Did you notice the curtains and shades in the station windows? Ken Cook photo
Details here include workers and their equipment, rusty rails and wheels, buried track and ties, weathered roundhouse with ladder added, and overhead crane. Ken Cook photo
Detail in front of the right-hand stall of the roundhouse. Due to space restrictions, the roundhouse is too close to the turntable, allowing only left and center stalls to be aligned and used. To camouflage this defect, a work crew is digging and working on water and power lines in front of the stall, requiring the access track to be removed and rendering the stall unusable. Ken Cook photo
Along a dead-end spur in the old part of town on The “Casey” Line. Kits include the shanty on the left, a small water tower, a Lionel passenger/freight station (No. 12734 with modified roof, walls, and walkways), and a Sur-Sweet Feed Store. The vehicle in front is by Road Signature and the figures by Arttista. Note other details like a stack of boxes and ruts in the roadway. All items were weathered by the author. Ken Cook photo
The author created this everyday scene along the backside of four buildings. Trash cans line the alley, leaving trash and debris. The etched sidewalk is subtle, as is the dirt and gravel road the garbage truck uses for access. A Lionel No. 2532 Silver Range dome car in the background. Ken Cook photo
In a secluded corner of the layout, tucked behind an elevated track, is a loading facility for trailers (Lionel No. 460 Piggyback Transportation Set), a Lionel No. 30 water tower, and a grain elevator and silo kit. Added details include an auto repair and radiator shop (left), extra grain bins, a Marx light tower, and extra trailers. Note the tire tracks in the dirt and on the trailer platform (covered with removable wood planks so as not to damage the Lionel accessory). Ken Cook photo
Detail in front of the right-hand stall of the roundhouse. Due to space restrictions, the roundhouse is too close to the turntable, allowing only left and center stalls to be aligned and used. To camouflage this defect, a work crew is digging and working on water and power lines in front of the stall, requiring the access track to be removed and rendering the stall unusable. Ken Cook photo
