First in Scaled Miniature Knarly Tree Armatures
"Scaling Trees"

There are many sizes of miniature trains from the tiny Z scale to the large Lionel scale models. One of the first things to consider in setting up a new layout is how large or small your trees should be. Consider the average tree. How large should it be relative to the size of our model train?
That is not an easy question as an average tree may be much shorter or taller in one part of the country as compared to another part of the country. Here we will cover the basic tree height relative to the height of your engine. This will give us a visual perspective as well as a quantitative means to determine the realistic sizes of trees and shrubs.

Consider the image on the above. When modeling a large outdoor landscape many railroading enthusiasts underestimate the size of trees in their model. In the image to the above, we have an engine, a person standing behind the engine, a maple in the background, and an evergreen fir on the far right. The darker maple is the common size for a mature old growth red, sugar or white maple in the eastern half of the United States. On the west coast, this would represent a common big-leaf maple. The evergreen represents the height of an old growth douglas fir, engelmann spruce or ponderosa pine in the pacific northwest.

Note that the maple is approximately 75 feet and that the evergreen is approximately 200 ft tall. In the HO (1:87) scale, the maple would be approximately 10-11 inches tall. The evergreen would be approximately 2 feet tall. These are the maximum size of trees that should generally occur in most landscape modeling in the HO scale.

Generally, in realistic modeling, one should plan to have a range of sizes from about one-quarter to the maximum size of trees as presented here. If I were to plan a generic mature forest, here are the percentages of trees that I would use:

10% maximum size trees
40% three-quarter maximum
35% half maximum
10% one-quarter maximum
5% a few giants to 1.2 times the maximum and a few trees less than one-quarter

Note, the diagram and heights given here are not the ultimate maximum height of trees. In the Pacific Northwest, Douglas fir is known to reach heights of over 300 feet tall!!! That is half again as tall as the fir in the image. Maples can grow to well over 100 feet tall.

When planning to model a forest, the first thing you should do is determine the region or state in which your model exists. Then determine what species of trees are commonly found in the forests of that region. In mountainous regions, the elevation of the model should be determined as forest composition changes with elevation. Once the region and elevation of you model are determined you can visit the website to your state parks, state office of forestry/natural resources, US Forest Service, National Park or BLM. The land management agencies generally have brochures that can help you determine the types of trees and forests in a particular region. By visiting their website or calling their office, you can determine the types and height of trees most common to that region. Alternatively, you can purchase a book about the trees in your state or visit the US Forest Service Silvics Manual available online (free as of the date of this writing).

The question arises, what is a shrub? A tree is very tall and has need of a very thick and strong trunk to hold all that foliage high up in the air. Shrubs can be though of as small trees with one exception, by definition they have more than one 'trunk'. They have a grouping of main stems that arise from the ground and are limited in size and strenght. Still, some alders and willows have multiple stems to a foot in diameter that allows them to reach up to 50 feet in height, but they are still technically 'shrubs' if their general nature is to have more than one trunk or bole. Shrubs are most commonly found in clearings (after disturbance such as wildfires, landslides and logging) and in riparian areas adjacent to lakes and streams.

As a general rule of thumb, shrubs vary from the height of the wheels on your engine to the full height of your engine. Broadleaf trees should be about 2-5 times the height of your engine. Evergreens should be 5-10 times the height of your engine. In the arid west, big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), the most common species of sagebrush, should be about one-quarter the height of your engine - or half to the full height of an average person.

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