Top 10: inexpensive

12. Salvaged Christmas tree lighting wire when current will not be an issue.

13. PVC pipe fittings for tanks, oil field & refinery construction.

14. RIT (from supermarket) for your dying needs.

15. Home Depot/Lowes for their (free) sawdust (for texturing).

16. Illinois RR Museum used book store for "how to/back issues."

17. You local woodland for all sorts of landscape elements.

18. Your local granite & marble fabricators discard pile for such things like flagpole bases, foundations & dramatically colorful rock formations.

19. See if your local library has some Bob Ross 'Joy of Painting" books or DVDs or perhaps your cable company carries "Create," for some free lessons on how to paint/shade  landscaping, backgrounds.

I read that Rit dye formed corrosive salts and not to use it.

Recycled Popsicle sticks to use on various projects on my layout.

Make your own houses on the very cheap.

http://modelrailroadlayoutsand...int_out_scenery.html

Great cheap tips! ... thanks for sharing.

20. Kitty liter makes cheap ground cover.  NOTE:  Not suggested if your pet is called Tom or Sylvester.  Could make later a "bad old 'Putty Cat'".

Old Artificial Christmas trees.

I chopped up my original Christmas tree which will live now forever. The cost of a can 3M super-77 and pine needle flocking was minimal and helped make about 300 trees

Also when in Starbucks take a few extra wooden coffee stirrers which helped detail a few flatcars and the planks on a home-made water tower

Steve

Empty Folgers coffee canisters measure about 6 1/2 " tall used on temporary layouts to elevate tiers most any rolling stock can pass under. The indented handles in the canisters form a great place to hold a 3" paint brush upright when your painting is interrupted for lunch. Maxwell House canisters are a little shorter and when used as a paint can the indented handles will hold a 2 1/2" brush.

Figure painting craft stores such as HobbyLobby sell acrylic paints for under $2.00,

saving Floquil Pollyscale for painting cars and locomotives.

If you order electronic purchases such as resistors, diodes, rectifiers, capacitors, etc. in larger quantities for project work the shipping costs can be easily offset. There are a number mail order sources on the web were you can cross reference for unit and quantity costs. If you have an interest in building electronics for model railroading, circuit diagrams are available from Forum Members or a web search for model train circuits.

Wood coffee stirrers for structures, sawdust ground cover, and

I used "real" Texas dirt/fine gravel on my Texas layout in Oregon.  I made sure o bake it in the oven to neutralize any Armadillo poop there might have been.

Steve, Lady and Tex

I'm saving this page, so many great ideas I've never thought about! Excellent, keep'em coming!