LION does ballast last (if at all) Him has some ballast on the Brighton Line, and it is not glued down. LIONS like gravity. Gravely Gravity Ballast...
Sorry.
LION has been doing lots of re-wiring lately, him will need to vacuum entire layout before is it operational again. This will pick up the ballast. OK so be it. I got lotsa ballast, and if I need more, it is no further than the nearest bag of kitty litter. Soon wire project will finish, and LION will turn to scenery. Ballast is scenery. LION wants to put it in BEFORE doing so will damage installed scenery. So if train is winding its way through a forested landsacpe, (and yes, a tree *does* grow in Brooklyn) then ballast goes in first. If train on an embankment, then it may go in later.
Nah... Ballast is part of the track work, it goes in with the track work.
LION RULE: Paint tracks before ballasting.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
I've always felt that WS Medium ballast looked too large, almost softball-sized for HO. When I 've had a choice in the matter, i either go with WS Fine, or with some other brand.
-Fritz Milhaupt, Publications Editor, Pere Marquette Historical Society, Inc.http://www.pmhistsoc.org
I always use the n scale ballast on my HO layouts, I too think it looks better. I paint the sides of the roadbed with undiluted white glue and sprinkle the ballast onto the glue. After it dries I vacuum the unattached ballast. Much less messy and I have more control. I use the "wet diluted white glue method" only for the ballast between the ties. I paint the roadbed where turnouts go a dark oily color and I don't put any ballast or glue on the turnouts, just on the sides of the roadbed. Finally I always do the ballasting before the rest of the scenery.
Just to make you feel better, I've been looking at a lot of RR photos lateley focusing on track and ballast, and realizing that in the real world ballast isn't always that neat-looking either. Plenty of it gets into the "landscape" even when it is pretty newly laid.
That said, after testing with with WS medium and fine ballasts and being dissatisfied I decided to go with Scenic Express #40 natural stone ballast. I am starting with the blended version and its a little darker than I like (may get some light grey and try that next) but I find it works a lot better than the WS stuff. It is heavier and stays put, and smaller than the WS medium ballast which looks too coarse to me. Also unlike my first layout where I used detergent to wet the water/glue mix I am now soaking it down good with alcohol before applying the glue. Much better results.
As for the order of things, trying to figure that out myself. I've decided that the best time to ballast is after the base scenery is in place, and to paint the rails is after the ballast is applied using an airbrush. That way I can also get good staining effects on the ballast and ties on either side of the rails. Of course if there are trees and structures in place it makes it rather tough to get to.
Walt
Huntington Junction - Freelance based on the B&O and C&O in coal country before the merger... doing it my way. Now working on phase 3. - Walt
For photos and more: http://www.wkhobbies.com/model-railroad/
You could, probably, throw, in some, paper wrappers, pop cans, beer bottle's,etc. They would not look, all that out of place, either.
Cheers,
Frank
In the real world, ballast is applied over finished scenery. Small quantities migrating to unintended places is a common occurrence. I see nothing unrealistic about it.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
I have tried Woodland Scenics Fine ballast on my HO scale layout, but it doesn't work for me on the mainlines. On the other hand, the Fine ballast works great in yards (freight and coach) and in gravel-type parking lots and contry roads. For mainlines, I use Woodland Scenics Medium ballast. It looks more prototypical.
I do my ballasting last. I use a small hobby vacuum to pick up stray ballast.
Rich
Alton Junction
Hi,
I'm no stranger to building layouts (first one in 1956), including the application of ballast. I did my previous HO layout back in the mid - 90s and it came out very nice (my opinion of course). I now have a new HO layout and find that I'm not having all that easy of a time doing the ballast - and is somewhat frustrating. Maybe its my age (69.9), but it just seems so much harder to do it right than on previous layouts.
Anyway, I find myself questioning two of my "ballast laying rules", and want to throw them out here........
First, I use the "medium" size Woodland Scenics HO ballast. I'm wondering if the small or N scale would be better - better looking and easier to lay and form............
Second, I have always preached, "do the ballast last", after all the scenery around it is done. But now, as I smooth out the ballast, pieces often pop out and land on the dirt/grass "yards away" from the trackage. And of course, that sticks out and looks terrible (to me). So now I'm thinking, maybe I should apply and form the ballast first, and then do the ground cover around it afterwards.
What are your thoughts on that?
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central