Ballast now or later?

I read in a book that ballast should be the first scenery element laid down after track, but my friend says that ballast goes last. What say you? Is the order important?

Personally, I put the ballast down once I have the plaster work (in my case joint compound) and track painted. This will allow you to clean up ballast that rolled down the hill or out in the middle of no where before you put down ground foam.

I ballast the track as I lay it (that doesn't sound right ), then do my scenery up to the trackwork.

I read in a book to put the ballast on last so it overlaps with the scenery, which makes sense, but I've also read in Model Railroader to ballast before the scenery, so I'm not sure which to do. Ballasting last seems to make more sense, though. No one has ever adequately explained to me why ballasting first is better.

I suggest doing your track ballasting before you do any scenery.

I am assuming the logic of the author of the book you're reading is that because in the real world ballast goes on around the overgrowth near the tracks.

While that is true, what works in the real world doesnt always work for model railroading.

The reason I prefer to ballast before doing scenicing is the mess that ballasting creates, either in stray pieces of ballast or overflow/overspray from the wetting and gluing of the ballast.

Another plus is if you need to vacuum up any excess ballast you don't risk vacuuming up ground foam along with it.

I say later.

I have sections of the R&IT layout I ballasted back in 1996 that simply don't match areas I've done as recently as a few months ago. Products age, dust and debris accumulate and age your ballast. You may finish trackwork years ahead of your scenery- I think ballast is a good last step. The last step in my ballast application process is to use fine black cinder to create a nice straight edge for the ballast shoulder. Sure, it's a little old fashioned, but the black cinders catch all the stray turf and dirt, and it begins to look like a drainage ditch.

In the Subway:
http://ritmrc.org/photos/2003january/7419atSubway.jpg


On the mainline (far left, ignore the derailment):
http://ritmrc.org/photos/2004february/m ... CF0006.JPG


-otto-

I always make the ballast the last thing I do. The reason is that once the ballast is laid it is a lot harder to tear up and re-lay track. I need to operate trains on the layout for a while before I lay the ballast. Also, sometimes you need to shimmy the outside of the curves a bit for smooth operation with certain engines and rolling stock while others can handle the curves fine with no bank.

That's the main argument I've heard for ballast later, but I think you're also right about being careful around the groundfoam. Maybe I need to wait awhile before doing any scenery, then lay ballast to start.

The specific reason I ballast before scenery.
When I get the track down and ready, I then fit the foam and then use drywall mud to form the scenery. Once I have this like I want, then I paint the mud. After the mud is painted (normally green) I then paint the track. Once it is clean, I then add the ballast, this allows me to push mislayed ballast (you know, the ballast that always finds its way down the embankment or out into the field) this lets you get the ballast lines straight. Once that is ready, then I glue the ballast. Finally once the ballast is dry, I come back and clean the edges again, finally I add the ground foam turf down, this allows me to put grass in the ballast and so forth.

To me, it makes a cleaner look. To many times before I have gotten everything ready, only to have alot of ballast in the grass. That is why I stopped doing it the other way. That is my reason, and everyone is a little different in their methods (thats what makes the hobby fun!)

Otto, there's nothing wrong with having ballast that's a different color in sections of the layout. After all, real railroads replace ballast from time to time and the new ballast is always a different shade.

Why not paint/stain the ties to look new when you use the new ballast? Put in a MOW vehicle near the section and you've turned it into a scenic element!

Camelback wrote:I always make the ballast the last thing I do. The reason is that once the ballast is laid it is a lot harder to tear up and re-lay track. I need to operate trains on the layout for a while before I lay the ballast. Also, sometimes you need to shimmy the outside of the curves a bit for smooth operation with certain engines and rolling stock while others can handle the curves fine with no bank.

I do the same thing that you do. Expanding and contracting of the rail on the layout and inproper spaceing in the rail can cause power outages in the rail. I learned the hard way and pulled up a lot of rail. If you use spary glue it can also cause problums if it gets in the rail joints I found out this was a problum for me as well later on down the road I also found that some curves had to be shimed up in order to regain power in section of my layout and that was a pain in the butt after scrapeing dryed ballast up.
useing diffrent shades of stone also makes for intrest as well I mix light gray and dark gray stone for the main line. Vary Fine Light gray stone in the yards. I do use some Black Cinder for some industrys mostley older ones that I want to show have been around for a long long time.

I usually spray the rails and ties with Floquil Rail Brown (from a spray can) before I ballast (masking off switch points- they get hand-painted later. Oh yeah, if anyone at RITMRC is listening, go ahead and do that. That was supposed to be on my to-do list in 1999). I find that the dust that comes off Woodland Scenics ballast actually "bleaches" the ties-- a nice effect.

-otto-

I make sure it is operable without troubles, then ballast, but the ballast is over scenery, so scenery first, at least near the tracks.