James River Branch: Naughtright Cemetery

Naughtright Cemetery

My fascination with model cemeteries stems not from the desire to model a funeral scene (as seems to be the case with other modelers), but solely for the detailing opportunities: a variety of headstones, some intricate fence, a couple of nice streetlights, and a finely-crafted tree or two. Naughtright cemetery was one of those on-again-off-again scenes. It appeared in the plans for the first version of the layout, and twice before on the current version—and also got moved clear across town before finally settling into a permanent home.

The detail items to be included in the cemetery are gathered together.

Once the cemetery was at last a definite "go," I quickly assembled all of the main ingredients. The etched metal fence was produced by Petau Modelbau, although their Z scale line is discontinued—and a real shame, too, because the etchings are some of the finest I've ever seen; they all come pre-painted, and some even have assembly jigs. The headstones are from StoneBridgeDesigns—a well-timed new release—and Shire Scenes. Lastly are Märklin's exquisite antique-style streetlights. Alas, I must wait until the streets are finished and installed before I can cut loose on this tasty little morsel.