Model Railway Forum

hi i have been building my oo model layout in my garage for about 5 years on and off.
my layout features five lanes of track two incline sections a home made turntabe it also has a removable section to allow accwss to the garage.
my layout is dcc with electrfrog pionts motor operated.
i have attached few photos hope they come through
i am now at a stage that i would like to add scenery and ballest to the track this is something i need help with as i dont have a good hand for this
if anyone can can help with tips and hints on this or even would like to help by coming and showing me how its done i would be very grateful
i would pay you something for your time i live in northants
this looks like a gteat forum looking forward to my membership

An amazing start! well done!

Welcome!

Welcome to the forum.

Do keep us updated on both your layout build and anything related.

Hi welcome to the forum I hope you find it interesting.
I see you are in Northants. I will be coming down to the Depot in Weedon Bec soon to give my recently acquired classic car a run.
If you are not too far from there I could pop by and show you some scenery materials and videos of my layout to give you some ideas.
PM me if interested.
Regards, Colin.

Welcome to the friendly forum. Post regular updates as things progress.

Welcome to the forum Bek

There is an absolute wealth of knowledge available everywhere on here and we're always ready to help with questions and queries.

Hello. I have ancestry from the area you live. I have not been there.

The only thing I can do is write advice or find you tube links to demonstrate things as I am in Wales.

There are knowledgable people on this site though, and you are sure to find someone to help.

Something I will say is to get just one or two tracks running first. The rest can happen later... Take your time and enjoy!

Welcome Bek - you have joined a great forum - lots of help, information and fun.

Ballasting is pretty straightforward - you just need to be patient in your application. You will need to decide on a colour - if you travel on trains regularly or the station is not to far away, have a look at the track - it can be dirtier in stations as trains have stopped and dripped all number of things onto the track - further out it may be a few shades lighted. Also decide on the size - I used 00 gauge ballast, some say that is to big and used N gauge on an 00 layout - again personal choice. Use a teaspoon and small stiff paintbrush to tease it all into position - some will put masking tape along the sides - about 1cm out from the sleeper ends - then when you are happy with it, spray with water with a very small (one or two drops) of washing up liquid (spray bottle 99p from B&Q) and then flood the track with a diluted PVA glue ( I used a 60% water 40% PVA mix). Do not ballast your points yet. It will look awful with the glue everywhere, but once dry it will look very good. As it starts to dry out peel the tape away and tap down any edges that have lifted as the tape was removed. It really is fairly simple - don't think you have to do the whole layout in one go.

Photo shows some newly ballasted track on my layout.
IMG_1729 by Barry Clayton, on Flickr

Welcome
It is always a bit daunting doing things for the first time, but there are plenty of helpful people on the forums and videos about, so I am sure you will soon feel more confident. Please keep us updated with the layout (preferably with its own thread in the relevant section).
I cant offer much advice being as I am relatively new to model railways too, except give it a go. Its all part of the fun, and you likely will surprise yourself with the results !