Socially Responsible

My Model Railroading endeavors are becoming more and more influenced by a sense of social responsibility. I have tried to recycle as much as possible, by using polystyrene used for packaging of household items as foundation for scenery, and using natural rather than man-made products for scenery where possible. I have also sought to keep construction costs to a minimum, so that I can use extra money to help those less fortunate than myself. I endeavor to spend more money on helping others than on my Model Railroad, on a month by month basis.

I have sought to cut costs the following ways:

Sought natural materials for the scenery of my model railroads - Near one of my church member's home there is a large sand dune that always threatens to cover over the road. I have taken sand from there when I visit them to cut the cost of buying ground cover.
Use inexpensive green 'Wet Florist Foam' which can be crushed down to simulate grass, and the like. One pack of this costs a whole $3.00, and covers quite a large area when broken down into 'scatter'. It can also be dyed or spray painted different shades to represent different colors of grass, etc. Wet Florist Foam is available at Florists.
I have used 'Dried Moss', also available at Florists, for undergrowth. It looks quite good, and is less expensive than the usual scenery supply companies products. A shopping bag of this cost me $5.00 at my local Florist.
I find uses for used household products - When we replace pillows, I always seek to use the synthetic stuffing from them for bushes and trees, etc. These work well for adding a lot 'trees' and low bushes all at once. I spray paint or dye the pillow stuffing a brown or green, then when it is dry I add spray adhesive to them and roll them in tree foliage material. And I have experimented with using used dishwashing sponges for small shrubs as well.
Crushed rock for ballast - I was initially going to use sand for the ballast, but I know a stone mason who was able to provide free of charge a large quantity of crushed stone. The granule size is about perfect for using as ballast for HO scale trains.
I have tried to reuse the track from previous layouts. Most of the turnouts on the current layout are about 4 layouts old (about 7 years old), and the flexitrack is re-used if possible.
Instead of buying expensive building kits, I have sought to use plywood, and other cheaper offcuts as a basis for buildings and structures. This has meant that the structures take longer to make, but there is also a certain sense of satisfaction in knowing that I have built the structure myself, and that it has cost me a lot less than it otherwise might have.
I do buy locos and rollingstock occasionally, and generally when I do buy them I am tending to buy them second hand or through auctions. My DCC equipped Bachmann locos were new (costing about $100.00 each), but most of the others weren't when I purchased them. I have managed to find some good bargains on eBay, one particularly good deal was 9 freight cars (mostly covered hoppers) for about $55.00. I try and keep the cost of a car at or below $10.00, excluding freight & replacement couplings.
I use my own 'photo quality' brick paper for brick walls on buildings. These brick walls are $0.49 for each 4x6 inch sheet printed through my local 'kodak express' kiosk, printed on standard photo paper. I take the glossiness off the walls by adding a layer of artists pastels over the top, then sealing the whole thing with a non-glossy lacquer or sealant of some kind.