Ballast and Scenery

Ballasting the track marks the completion of the trackwork. At this stage every piece of track and every turnout should be powered and work reliably so that the trains run without interruptions. If this is not the case make improvements BEFORE you start ballasting your track.

On the protoype pictures from the 1940's there is not much ballast visible, but mostly dirt and rubble, so I tried to mix gray Woodland Scenics ballast with bird litter and beach sand, to achieve this look.

My maintenance of way crew uses a ballast car that I purchase at least a dozen years ago at a train show in Germany (Intermodellbau, Dortmund). It makes ballasting track very easy. The ballast is simply poured into the hopper. The hopper sits on a brass underframe that holds the wheelsets and has 3 holes where the ballast runns between the ties. a couple of rubber and felt wipers spread the ballst between the ties.

When the ballast spread has finished his job, I clean the tops of the railroad ties with a smooth brush. This wipes all the loose ballast between the ties.

With a stiffer brush I clean the rails and the side of the ties. Sometimes ballst sticks to the side of the rails and causes the wheels of the railcars to jump. Then I fill the space between the rails with sand or gravel and sprinkle ground cover on top.

After the ballast is in place I wet the tracks area. I mix Isopropyl alcohol with distilled water and apply the mixture with a spray bottle. I let it soak for a couple of minutes and then using an eye dropper or pipette, I apply a mix of 1 part Matte Medium, 7 parts water and 2 parts Isopropyl alcohol.

I experienced that Matte Medium bonds the ballast better than white glue which also tends to leave a shiny surface or white spots on the ballast. I also came away from using dish washer as wetting agent. I don't like the bubbling effect. I use Isopropyl alcohol instead which works perfectly. Take care to properly ventilate your room when using this medium.

The normal Woodland Scenics ground foam isn't very realistic when used as the only ground cover. Normally I also apply coarse foliage and grass tufts from MiniNatur. Scenic Express markets a similar product in the US.

The tufts come on a plastic sheet and may be torn off. They are glued to the scenery using a drop of white glue. I mix different shades from medium green, burnt  or dry grass. Depending on the area you're modeling you may choose greener shades.