Model railroad buildings enhance the scenery and illustrate human elements. Hobby shops offer pre-made building kits in various types like apartments, stores, and churches that can be decorated. Modelers can also create original buildings by combining kits or building from scratch using materials like wood and foam. Accessories around buildings like trees, cars, and people bring the display to life.

1. Model Railroading - Buildings

2. A model train display's scenery is greatly enhanced by
realistic buildings. Whether the theme is New York
City or a small village, the model railroad buildings
you use will illustrate all that is human about any
landscape. If you are modeling a prototype scene,
then you most likely will want to find or to make
specific buildings for your display. If you are
"freelancing," or making up, your cities and towns,
then you can choose whatever buildings you want.

3. Hobby shops provide pre-made and ready-to-
assemble kits for all kinds of model railroad
buildings. Buildings from kits are typically made out
of plastic and can be decorated with paint or
decals. Some examples of buildings include:

4. Apartment complexes
Large industrial plants
Skyscrapers
Movie theaters
Row houses
Barns

5. Stores
Restaurants
Gas stations
Churches
Railroad yards
Buildings "under construction"

6. You may also choose to create your own buildings by
altering a kit, combining kits or even building your
own structures completely from scratch. You can
use raw materials that you may already have at
home, such as wood, foam, cardboard or paper.
Then use an acrylic paint to decorate them
accordingly. Creating original pieces may be
necessary in cases when you are building a specific
prototype and cannot find an exact kit.

7. In addition to the model railway buildings themselves,
you can integrate accessories that enhance your
display's realism. Accessories are basically
anything that you would see in real life: people,
cars, roads, trees, billboards, benches, chairs and
fences. Strategically place items around your
buildings to bring your display to life, such as:

8. Constructing driveways up to houses and planting
trees around the yards
Parking cars in business and industrial parking lots
Placing people ice skating on a frozen pond
Corralling animals in fences
Lining up people waiting for the train at the railroad
station
Adding humor with a police car pulling over a
speeding motorist

9. To further enhance the realism of buildings, you may
consider pasting miniature pictures and curtains on
the inside. Wiring small amber/yellow lights inside
of buildings will also create a realistic nighttime
effect and will "show" that people live and work in
your buildings - just like in real life.
Furthermore, applying a flat water-based acrylic
weathering medium creates faux dirt and grime that
are inherent to the outside of buildings, thereby
enhancing your display's credibility. You can
purchase this medium in different colors, such as
brown/orange to mimic rust or black to represent
soot or dust.

10. When placing model railroad buildings throughout a
landscape, perspective also comes into play.
Depending on how the display is set up, you may
need larger buildings closer to the foreground and
smaller buildings in the background. Small
buildings "way off in the distance" can be made
from painted wooden blocks - which not only
saves money but it may also save time, as these
may not need as many details as buildings closer
to the foreground.
Resources:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKUhHcnBkYY
http://ezinearticles.com/?Model-Railroading---
Buildings&id=5547565

11. Thank you for reading!