I'm interested in hearing thoughts on the progression of scenery development on a new layout. Specifically, what is normally done first - track ballasting or ground cover?
In my case, as I LOATH doing ballasting, everything else pretty much gets done first on my projects.
I did ground cover first. Ballasting is still on my to-do list. Covering the bright blue with trademarks surface of the foam board into green grass did very good things for the look of the entire layout.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
I usually lay my track, add some ground cover to start with. Once I am happy with how my track is running and I have am done being inspired to add or modify the track plan I think glue it all down, then I go back and starting adding more to the scenery- trees, bushes, standing grass, figures or animals. Then when I am 100% sure my track is good, I will ballast. I think I will never be done with scenery, as I will find something I want to add or correct something I might be less than happy with.- which is fine, that is what makes this fun a hobby.
I lay the track, then ballast, then do the scenery. I don't like ballasting, so I get it out of the way.
I did ballasting first. Don't ask me why! It just worked out that way.
I will lay the track down first and make sure it all runs good. Then if the train runs good, then I will add some scenic items. Some turf to cover up the foam board, and a few other items. Maybe even start some hills, or mountains. The VERY last thing I do is ballast. If your like me (redoing another layout), it will make a mess.
"Rust, whats not to love?"
It depends. If you are going to use hydrocal, plaster, or sculptamold, do that first, but in all other cases, it goes track -> hills -> (hydrocal ->) ballast -> grass -> trees -> fun.
~G4
19 Years old, modeling the Cowlitz, Chehalis, and Cascade Railroad of Western Washington in 1927 in 6X6 feet.
UP N-Scaler I'm interested in hearing thoughts on the progression of scenery development on a new layout. Specifically, what is normally done first - track ballasting or ground cover?
To me it doesn't really matter. I do which ever suits my construction methods and personal whims.
With handlaid track, my favorite sequence is as follows:
With commercial track, I usually never get around to ballasting. But that's because the commercial track is there to get limited operations started early. Eventually, commercial track gets replaced with handlaid.
Fred W
I do scenery first, then ballast. I run the scenery up to almost the edge of the track, then when I ballast I slightly overlap. Just seems easier to me to do it that way.
Larry
http://www.youtube.com/user/ClinchValleySD40
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52481330@N05/
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/500/page/1/ppuser/8745/sl/c
I usually let the track work settle in and give it some time before balasting. that allows any problems to show their head and be fixed easier without having to remove the ballast. For that reason ground cover comes first.
Springfield PA
I absolutely love to ballast track, it's my favorite thing to do. I would rather ballast then lay track, do scenery, or even run trains!!!
Michael
CEO- Mile-HI-RailroadPrototype: D&RGW Moffat Line 1989
Motley I absolutely love to ballast track, it's my favorite thing to do. I would rather ballast then lay track, do scenery, or even run trains!!!
Sure wish you lived close by. I don't dislike it, just not my favorite thing to do (necessary evil).
ClinchValleySD40 Motley: I absolutely love to ballast track, it's my favorite thing to do. I would rather ballast then lay track, do scenery, or even run trains!!! Sure wish you lived close by. I don't dislike it, just not my favorite thing to do (necessary evil).
Motley: I absolutely love to ballast track, it's my favorite thing to do. I would rather ballast then lay track, do scenery, or even run trains!!!
I would be willing to do yours any anyone elses, just let me know. Apparantly you didn't detect the sarcasm in my post. LOL oh heck no, ballasting is very tedious work. I don't like it at all.
I don't work to any set schedule. Parts of my layout are ballasted while others aren't, and some parts are landscaped while others are bare.
I do what I feel like - or what I have time for.
I'm quite happy to develop small areas at a time, instead of tackling the whole thing.
Mike
Modelling the UK in 00, and New England - MEC, B&M, D&H and Guilford - in H0
The way I see it, in the real world prototype, ballasted tracks are laid over Mother Nature's scenery, so it looks good to do your scenery first.
On the other hand, anyone who has ever done a track clearing project knows that Mother Nature works very hard to take back what's hers.... so it looks good to do your ballasting first and have some scenery materials spill over on to it.
In short, whichever you prefer. It's your layout.
And FWIW, I hate ballasting even more than Motley does. I was on Expedia looking for bargain airfares from Denver to Hartford when he said he was being sarcastic!
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
The very last thing I do is ballasting. I mean, I even wait until I've got my HO scale black bears scratching their backs on my HO scale trees before I ballast. The Yuba River Sub has been up and running for about 10 years now, and there are still portions of the track that are unballasted. I keep using the excuse that I'm waiting for the trackage to 'settle in.'
--and it's 'settling' and it's 'settling'----
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
CTValleyRR The way I see it, in the real world prototype, ballasted tracks are laid over Mother Nature's scenery, so it looks good to do your scenery first. On the other hand, anyone who has ever done a track clearing project knows that Mother Nature works very hard to take back what's hers.... so it looks good to do your ballasting first and have some scenery materials spill over on to it. In short, whichever you prefer. It's your layout.
Well said. It really depends on how you want to represent your rail line.
I ballasted first, and then worked my ground cover/scenery up to and over it to achieve a 'been there a while' look.
Normally the following order
1. Rough layout including track right of way.
2. Lay track
3. RUN TRAINS--make sure all is well
3. Add basics of scenery, including buildings--maybe or maybe not to a complete stage
4. RUN TRAINS, make sure there aren't any interference issues and operations are smooth.
5. Ballast Track in areas where we are comfortable there won't be any near term changes. But not around turnouts.
This is not always what we do and it doesn't cover everything but seems to make sense to us since once you ballast the track, it's a pain to relay/reballast
Richard
The first time I ballasted, I did it after the scenery. I ended up with bits of ballast everywhere. It was not pretty and a royal pain to clean up. I now ballast before scenery.