Scenery

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.

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. [:D]

I did ballasting first. Don’t ask me why![:)] It just worked out that way.

I agree, that ballasting should be the last scenery project. I happen to be modeling a freelanced hilly coal mine, lumber, and beef processing area of Pennsylvania, which entails hundreds of deciduous trees. After filling the distant hills with trees made with dowel skewer trunks, I am now in the process of producing hundreds of deciduous foreground trees. I use sage for the trunks and Gorilla glue on Super tree sections to fill in the fine branches. I then shake the tree forms in a bag, that is partially filled with WS Blended Turf. The trees are excellent! Bob Hahn

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.

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. [:)]

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:

  • install subroadbed, Homasote roadbed
  • install basic terrain shell, using pre-colored plaster when practical
  • color the terrain, and install some trees and ground cover away from the track
  • glue the ties and ballast at the same time
  • spike the rail down
  • finish the scenery close in to the track

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.

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.

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).

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

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! [:(]

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’----[:P]

Tom [:)]

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

  4. Add basics of scenery, including buildings–maybe or maybe not to a complete stage

  5. RUN TRAINS, make sure there aren’t any interference issues and operations are smooth.

  6. 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