Making Model Buildings for Garden Railways book

Making Model Buildings for Garden Railways
by Peter Jones with Kes Jones
Crowood Press
The Stable Block, Crowood Lane, Ramsbury
Marlborough, Wiltshire SN8 2HR
United Kingdom
Available in the US from:
Quayside Publishing Group
400 First Avenue North, Suite 300
Minneapolis MN 55401  
7¾” x 10″, 192 pages, hardbound, profusely illustrated in color  
Price: $39.95  
Website: www.qbookshop.com

The legions of Peter Jones fans will rejoice at the release of this new book, which was in preparation when Peter passed away and was completed by his daughter Kes with the help of others. The book is a comprehensive treatise on Peter’s unique and charismatic approach to the design and construction of structures for use in the garden.

Following a brief introduction and some notes on scale, Peter discusses architecture and how to look at it, with examples of full-size structures, then offers some simple projects. After these come chapters on working with various materials, including concrete, stone, plastic (including the extensive modification of plastic kits), and wood (plank-on-frame, solid sheets, etc.). One of my favorite chapters is called “Working Buildings”—those that actually function in some way and that incorporate working stationary steam engines, fire (oh, joy!), moving parts (windmills), water, smoke, light, and/or sound. The book is rounded out with chapters on roofing (various types and materials), weatherproofing and maintenance, advanced techniques, and miscellaneous topics.

Peter does not take the reader through specific building projects. Instead, he discusses materials, techniques, tricks, dodges, and, perhaps most importantly, his philosophy behind his work. In the photos of his structures, it is often difficult to distinguish them from the full-size article, his work is that good. His techniques are innovative and imaginative, frequently using one material to represent another in unexpected ways.

Since Peter was British, the book has a decidedly British slant. There are occasional words and terms that might leave Americans scratching their heads. Don’t let that put you off, though. This is an excellent, thorough book.  

The book is beautifully produced. It is a hardback edition (befitting its importance) with a dustcover. Paper is high quality with a matte finish. The nearly 400 photographs are beautifully reproduced, almost all of them in color. However, it is the text of the book that gives the volume its gloss. It’s written in Peter’s humorous familiar, easy style, in which he makes all things seem possible.

This is, I feel, the very best book on building garden-railway structures ever written. It is amazingly creative and really gets us thinking about what it actually is that we are trying to accomplish. If you are serious about making buildings for your railway, this book should be in your library.