Model Railroader – September 2019

STEP 3 PAINT AND BALLAST

26 http://www.ModelRailroader.com

Step by Step

After the track was in place and

wired back into the Digital Command

Control (DCC) bus, I ran a test train

through the area to make sure every-

thing worked. Getting lucky on the

first try, I moved on to painting.

To keep the electrons flowing,

I masked the points of the turnouts.

The points have to make contact

with the stock rails for power continu-

ity. I used Model Master Railroad

Tie Brown to paint the rails and ties.

That also blended the feeder wires

into the scene. As soon as I finished,

I went over the railheads with a

wood block to remove the paint. This

is easier to do before the paint has

time to cure.

When the paint was dry, it was

time for ballast. I used Scenic

Express Smith & Son 40-pound gray

limestone ballast. I used a plastic

spoon to fill the gauge of the track,

then spread the ballast with a soft-

bristled paintbrush. Next, I added

ballast to the shoulders of the road-

bed, then smoothed that in place

with the paintbrush.

I left the old ballast on the shoul-

ders of the roadbed so the new mate-

rial would have something to grip.

I just had to be sure to cover all of the

old ballast.

Once everything was where

I wanted it, I carefully flowed 70 per-

cent isopropyl alcohol on the ballast.

It’s important to be gentle applying

the alcohol so you don’t create cra-

ters. With everything soaked, I used

another pipette to flow on Woodland

Scenics Scenic Cement. It’s thinned to

the correct consistency to hold the

material in place and flow well into all

the open spaces between the stones.

You could also use thinned white glue

or matte medium.

I let the ballast dry overnight, then

cleaned the railheads with a Bright

Boy abrasive track cleaner to remove

any lingering paint or glue. With the

rails shiny again, it was time to run

trains across the newly laid track. Now

there’s one less area that needs the

0-5-0 helper to get through!

Soak with 70 percent isopropyl alcohol Soak with glue

Groom with a soft brush

Spoon ballast onto the

Spread it with a soft brush shoulder of the roadbed

Spoon ballast into the gauge of the track

Model Master

Railroad Tie Brown

Masking tape covers points