
Using Mirrors To Add Depth To A Layout

Club member Tony demonstrates how he uses mirrors to add realistic depth and perspective to his model railway layout.
Plastic mirrors however are much easier to work with, and the ones I used can be bought in car accessory shops (replacement wing mirror glass) or I found cheaper on line at that “well known auction site” They can be cut to size with a “Stanley” knife in conjunction with a steel straight-edge. Take care!!!
The first picture, using a plastic mirror, shows a reflection of the railway bridge, which appears to be in the far distance. Two images of the white car can be seen.
In picture 2, the mirror, plastic again, is placed above a tunnel where the railway goes through a back-scene to hidden sidings. The mirror reflects the over-bridge and the buildings. The distorted image of the terraced houses at the extreme top left is a reflection of those which are out of sight to the right of the camera.
Picture 3 has a glass mirror. There are only six “Superquick” houses in this picture (Recovered from a previous layout when I lived at my parents house, many years ago) The mirror gives an image of a long street. The tunnel in the background is actually behind the camera. I hope this gives some idea as to what can be obtained using this method.
Article submitted by Club Member Tony Mercer
What a great idea ! Thanks for sharing.
Really does the job , I’m well impressed .