I've tended to wait to ballast, just because doing scenery can be messy. If you splat plaster on the track while doing a nearby hill, it's easier to clean up if you don't have ballast down. Plus as noted, doesn't hurt to wait as long as possible to make sure track is 100% bulletproof before ballasting.
Most of my layout is on open grid, so it was necessary that at least the basic landforms (Durabond patching plaster over aluminum window screen) was in place. Depending on the terrain, some lineside ground cover was applied at the same time as the ballast - this takes advantage of the excess glue/water mixture which seeps out of areas where ballast and modelled fill is especially deep...
I've used both real rock ballast and Woodland Scenics ballast, and while they're not alike, both are easy to use.While the latter product is light and can bounce around a bit, if you use a soft 3/4" brush to spread and groom it, you should have good success. The key to controlling the ballast is to keep the brush at a very low angle, with the handle fairly close to the track. This allows you to drag the ballast where you want it, whereas if you use the brush as if you were painting, the springiness of the bristles will spray ballast all over the place.While real rock doesn't fly about so easily, I've found that it tends to act more like real ballast, the granules interlocking with one another, making it more difficult to spread as an even surface. Whichever type you use, the key to getting a solid, durable result is in the pre-wetting. I'm not sure, but it seems to be impossible to over-wet. I've done areas where the ballast, sub-ballast and the underlying rip-rap is over an inch deep, and the drying process took over a week, but the results withstand direct vacuuming (my only method of track cleaning).The pre-wetting is what ensures that the Woodland Scenics ballast doesn't float or move as you apply the diluted white glue, and will ensure that the glue penetrates completely down to the base on which your track is installed.In the photos above, the first two show Woodland Scenics ballast and cinders, while the third photo has ballast composed of limestone screenings. The rip-rap is crushed hardened Durabond, stained with diluted India ink.
Wayne
If you have a steam era layout and seek to replicate that amazing "knife-edged ballast" look that you see in photos from the 19th century up to perhaps the 1940s, then ballast first so you can create the precise edge of the ballast using tape or, as I have suggested, using a piece of cork roadbed pinned down as a sort of fence or dam during ballasting, then pull it away to reveal the very precise edge of the ballast.
Dave Nelson
First,as stated above. Get most if not all the bugs worked out.Be sure your happy with track plan. Sidings where you want them,long enough ect.
Of coarse you can fiddle with it later, but its so mutch less stressful now.
Then, do what you feel like doing at the time. I have done it both ways,and in some spots both at the same time. Makes no noticeable difference
Ballasting and wiring are the least liked tasks for me when building a layout. IMHO, spreading the ballast and shaping the ballast should with a flat triangular brush can best be done without any finshed scenery being in the way. Of course, ballsting should start only if the trackwork and wiring has been thoroughly tested - guess how I came to know this? I can´t count the number of times I had to re-splder feeder wires after I had ballasted and weathered the track.
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
Don't make my earlier mistake in thinking that the train was sound after only a few runs. Wrong. I had to remove a bit of track and redo the work once I got a six-axle loco. Make sure everything is sound by testing different locos, speeds, directions, consists, etc.
Once you're happy with things, I'd put down scenery before ballast. Doing that gives the layout a more natural look. It really doesn't matter as I've seen both ways work.
I agree....pick your poison and have at 'er. Just be sure to do a good job and don't be too mechanical and 'rushed' trying to complete Job 5...or whichever job it becomes for you.
I have a tendency to lay and prove the tracks and any portals or overpasses to test gauge loading and clearances. In order not to lose that to a 'sproing!!!" of any kind, I ballast the tracks to fix them in place. Then I add scenery, usually up to the edge of the underlying roadbed. I cover any bare roadbed after the scenery is done adjacent to the tracks with more of the ballast material which, except for country tracks or industrial, main line tracks are likely to be.
Been there, done that - both ways.........
If you are using Woodland Scenics ballast or other "non-rock" material, I would put it down first.
If you are using real rock ballast, you can put it on after the surrounding scenery is in place.
Why? Well the artificial stuff tends to fly / bounce all over the place. The real rock stuff stays where you put it.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
I think we just hashed this over not too long ago, the general consensus seemed to be either way. One point that was made clear was to make sure track is just the way you want it, and trains run as perfect as you can get.
I did ballast after track laying, and testing, and then worked on scenery. As I completed a section of scenery, I topped off the ballast, and did the ditch and slope areas, so the ballest appeared to be over the grass, with some grasssneaking through, as It looks in the real world.
To me it seemed easier to ballast first, so I had a wide open area at trackside to work with, not having to worry about destroying any scenery.
The shaping and filling in of the side slope after scenery seemed to define a nice looking road bed.
Mike.
My You Tube
I am looking for feedback on whether or not to proceed with ballasting as the next step in layout construction or to wait and do it after the scenery adjacent to the tracks is done. My layout is midwest flat terrain. I'd appreciate any suggestions and experiences. Thanks.