Shady Creek Model Railroad

I focused on short track sections instead of ballasting the whole track at once.  I have had track come unglued when working on large sections since I had used white glue to secure the track.  I have also had an experience where I had to sneeze, but forgot to look away.  The whole section of ballast that I had laid, but not glued was blown apart.

I first laid ballast on the outside of the rails.  I used an old mustard container to pour the ballast exactly where I wanted it.  Using a stiff brush I shaped the ballast so it was level at the ties and sloped downward going away from the ties.  I then poured ballast between the rails.  I used the brush to level the ballast between the ties.  I carefully added drops of alcohol with a dropper to the ballasted section to wet it and help secure it.  I then added drops of diluted white glue to the section.

I let the ballasted sections dry before I filled in the unballasted sections.  I had to be careful around turnouts.  Ballast in the wrong areas could prevent the turnouts from working properly.  I laid down a shallow layer of ballast around the connecting tracks, so they could still be removable.

I vacuumed up any loose ballast after everything had dried.  I had a few areas that I had to go back and patch with a little more ballast.  Once that was dried, I cleaned ballast off the sides of the rails with a pick and vacuumed up the loose pieces.  I cleaned the tops of the rails with an abrasive eraser.  I used a test car to make sure there were no ballast pieces interfering with its operation especially at turnouts.

At some point I need to still add trees and other details to this area.  I think I may take a break from scenery and go back to build another building for the brewery.