This time around, I am taking things very slowly... I have just finished laying down the roadbed for the New Castle station area (8' long, 16" wide) - 6 tracks plus 3 coach storage/switching tracks (again, this station will be a diesel to electric and some cars switching area). This thing was built as a "standalone" section, to make things easier. Question for you guys/gals: is there a reason to paint this roadbed? The station platforms and a thin layer of ballast will cover it all... Also, I've been working on a system map to make thing seem more real, though this whole thing is freelanced. Quick facts: only New Castle and New Castle South will be modeled (at this point); the rest of the cities will be part of staging. Amtrak will use the SNCFR trackage as well, so both SNCFR and Amtrak Trains will be seen here; New Castle South will be a switching area w/ some industries; the trains will start and terminate from/at the interchange w/ the CSX main line at Cumberland.
You should paint the roadbed. If any ballast breaks off, you will see the cork if it's not painted. Also, a painted roadbed reduces the amount of ballast you need to use by a significant amount, which is important to keep the cost down if you use scale sized ballast such as Arizona Rock & Minerals (highly recommended). One bag of ballast should do your entire layout if you think of the ballast as the sandpaper grit on your painted base instead of a scenery material. Sand down the shoulders of your cork where the slope meets the flat surface to avoid piling excess ballast up the slope just to bury the sharp edge.
