When should the track be ballasted? A text recommends waiting until after the hydrocal has been applied to define the terain and rock formations, but friends say to ballast first and cover the rail during the hydrocal activities. Any suggestions? Thanks, Jim
Good question, I'm sure there's many "RIGHT" answers. Here's mine...Lay track, cover it, put on hydrocal, let it dry, uncover track, ballast track, add dyes to rock formations, then apply ground cover, trees and other folige. That's my answer, might be wrong but it's right for me. Welcome to TrainBoard!
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by jimnrose: When should the track be ballasted? A text recommends waiting until after the hydrocal has been applied to define the terain and rock formations, but friends say to ballast first and cover the rail during the hydrocal activities. Any suggestions? Thanks, Jim<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> My rule is: For new lines or upgraded lines lay the scenery first and then ballast the track. For older lines and secondary or poorly maintained lines, ballast first and then lay the scenery. This kind of mimics real life better than a one rule fits all solution. The other thing to take into account is access. As long as you have good access to your layout it shouldn't really matter that much which you do first. If you have a long reach or large area that you have to work from one end to the other it might take a combination of ballast and / or scenery and not necessarily one or the other first. Good Luck.
Maxweel, UP Fan, Thanks for your inputs. I'll apply the ballast after the hydrocal activity, but I'll glue the ties to the cork at the locations where the rails are seperated (rev loops & thermal expansion)to make sure the rails aren't moving when I run the train sets to debug the rail installation. Take care, Jim
