Capture a Slice of US History with these Old West Models
and Mining Town Buildings. Perfect For Model Railroads.
Download – Print – Fun to Build. Yee-Haw!

Download, Print, and Build Old Wild West Models and
Create Your Very Own Western Railroad or Mining Town

make old west models and buildings for western town

These old west models look betta than the biggest
gold nugget I ever dug up… and they’re cheaper
to buy than a feed of grits at the saloon…

Ya’ll remember when the town folk pitched in to construct all the buildin’s. It was no mean feat… So ya’ll gonna like how easy these old west model are to make. The sheriff will be mighty happy if you build him a jail

he Blacksmith will need a barn to shoe the horses…And a saloon over yonder to full with namby-pamby city slickers…

Every town needs a place for the Gunsmith…And somewhere to stock-up on supplies…

Take it from me… these old west buildings are real easy to follow…

Ya put ‘em together with some old cardboard and balsa, and they look real smart.

When you print ‘em out on one of those new fan-dangled home printing machines, ya… And you won’t need no paint neither.

Ya can print ‘em out for railroad scales HO, OO, and N scale. Ya’ll just download ‘em once, which makes yourself dozens of old west models if yer’s want. So if yer’s skedaddle down to the picture below, yer’s can download the old west models. And, ya can make a mining town too if yer’s interested.

create old wild western model railroad town buildings

Ya can print ‘em out for railroad scales HO, OO, and N scale. Ya’ll just download ‘em once, which makes yourself dozens of old west models if yer’s want. So if yer’s skedaddle down to the picture below, yer’s can download the old west models. And, ya can make a mining town too if yer’s interested.

Construct Scale Model Old Wild West Buildings. Ideal For School Projects, Dioramas,
and Intricately Detailed N Scale, OO Gauge, and HO Scale Railroads

If replicating an a slice of US history interests you, or constructing a realistic scenic diorama for your model railroad has appeal, then this range of downloadable plans will certainly be of interest. You can build a complete wild western street scene right out of US history from the late 19th century, or you can construct a small mining town from the same era, or combine both scenic themes. There are 13 old west models in the wild western building series and a range of mining town structures in the old mine town series.

These HO scale, OO, and N scale plans are easy to download, and a huge amount of fun to construct with the help of some discarded cardboard from old cereal boxes, and perhaps a few sticks of balsa to make support posts to support the verandas of buildings on these old west models, or so a cowboy can tie his horse’s reins to a post in front of the cantina. You’ll be making a do-it-yourself hitching post!

old wild western scale model building plans

The Cheap and Easy Way to Make Old West Models for a Wild Western Town

The classic old wild building was a typically simple rectangular structure having a straight gabled roof, however there were variations back in the years 1865 to 1895:

A fake fronth2age extending to (or above) the ridge line. During early construction stages an old western building might have started its days as log structure or even a canvas tent. However, by adding a false front with a clapboard, stone, or brickwork siding the building actually appeared larger, and in those days this provided an air of respectability to the establishment, be it a general store, Bank, gunsmiths, or saloon. The other benefit of the false frontage was the larger area available to paint a sign It also provided a larger area for a sign advertising the business inside. This is the style of building you’ll see with the printable plans for the old west models on this website. The paper models for these old western buildings can be downloaded, printed out, and assembled using card.

The first sidewalks in the old wild west days were elevated timber boards, so passers-by could walk above the dust, dirt, and mud that lay under their feet.

It did rain back in the wild west, so the cowboys and ladies of the town needed to keep dry. Many old western buildings therefore had an awning or porch to protect towns folk in wet weather, and to keep the sun from heating up inside of the establishment during summer months. There was no air conditioning in the late 19th century.

Take a good closeup look at the sides of the old west models above and you’ll easily see how much a false front dressed up the structure. The old west models can be downloaded in HO scale, OO gauge, and in N scale. Make them using cardstock from used cornflake boxes.

As you can see from the image at the top of this page, there a several wild western buildings that make up the series of downloaded old west buildings. These include: a sheriffs office, dry goods store, barbers shop, gunsmiths shop, blacksmiths stable, the town Bank, a general store, school house, telegraph office / stagecoach depot, the town church, the Palace Hotel, Land Office, and the Blue Mountain Saloon. In the mining town series of scale model plans for old west buildings there’s: a mine chute, miners cabins, school house with water tank on top, workers accommodation, a site office, managers house etc. These full color plans can be easily downloaded ready to start construction.

ho models of old wild western buildings

A term often mentioned in US history books is the “American Frontier.” In general terms this was the period in the United States of westbound expansion that started with English colonial settlements as far back as the early 17th century ending in 1912 when the last of the territories became States. Geographically, the American Frontier refers to the settlement of native Indian lands found west of the Mississippi. Today they are Texas, Midwest, Great Plains, Southwest, Rocky Mountains, and the West Coast of the USA. During the second half of the 19th century, and into the early 20th century, the focus was mainly on the American West – hence the terms Old West and the Wild West (yes it was wild at times!). It was the days when cowboys roamed the country and the railroads began to spread throughout the USA.

Construct 13 Old West Models For Your Model Railroad or School Project

 old west mining town models scale railroad buildings

Scale Models of Old West Mining Town Structures for a Model Railroad

There’s Gold in Them There Hills! Having relocated westward to California the settlers were generally just grateful to have arrived safely (those that did) on the beautiful shores of the Pacific Ocean. Most were looking forward to settle down, and enjoy the peace as they proceeded to build a new life. For many, that was not to be.

In 1848 gold was discovered in California which triggered a wild, “free-for-all” gold rush with even more people relocating to the West, and many where immigrants from other countries. Driven by the desire for easy money, around 175,000 people began the journey from east to west in the hope of striking it rich by prospecting for gold.

Some were successful finding gold and becoming wealthy. Sadly the many others lost everything they owned in the struggle to become rich. There’s no question, however, that “the California gold rush”, is remembered as one of the most extraordinary eras in US western history. So, the California gold rush saw the rise of many old wild western towns—some survived and prospered, and others became ghost towns when the gold prospectors left.

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