Track or scenery first

[ramcneal]

Another newbie question.

I've seen many pictures of layouts in various stages of being built and something has caught my eye. There seem to be different approaches and I'm wondering if these differences, that I'll note in a second, are just personal or is there some more than meets the eye.

Most folks seem to layout their track first and then add hills, buildings and general scenery afterwards. I've seen others layout the hills, add ground cover and finally add the track. I can see benefits to both. The first allows the builder to concentrate on getting the track correct (grade, connections, turnout placement, etc). The second approach reduces the worry of getting scenery material on the track.

Are there other benefits to one approach over the other? One obvious benefit for the track first approach is that the operator can watch their trains run earlier, but that's just lack of patience.

 

[UP2CSX]

While it make make intuitive sense to build a layout like nature built the world, it's the worst thing you can do. I like scenery but the most important thing is to have reliable tracks so I don't spend all my time rerailing trains. If you put down all the scenery first, you still have to leave unsceniced room for the tracks. No plan on paper ever works 100% on the layout so you always need to make small adjustments in the tracks, which is tough to do with a hill in the way. You also need a lot of elbow room laying tracks and those elbows will end up crushing hills, trees, and buildings better than Godzilla. Laying all the track first and making sure that's perfect before you do any scenery work will make your layout run better and make it a lot easier on you.

 

[ramcneal]

Thanks. I planned on laying the track first, but when I saw others doing their layout differently I thought it best to ask as I might be missing something.

I've already made mistakes and I know I'll make more in the future. I would prefer to reduce the number of future mistakes to near zero. So as I read and watch others I formulate questions and then search for answers. If I can't find the answers by further reading I've got to then ask dumb questions. (I know the only dumb question is the unasked one).

 

[John P]

Never mind what works best from a construction standpoint. Let's allow ourselves to be human. And what we want is to see the trains run!

So, track first (And wiring, I guess. Whatever it takes to accomplish the Prime Objective). Then get everything else filled in.

 

[ramcneal]

I understand the desire to see the trains run. I also know myself and I'm an impatient bastard so I want to avoid giving myself short term gratification at the expense of long term enjoyment of the layout. If there was a real benefit to putting down some ground cover first then I would be willing to take the time and work in that direction. It doesn't sound like there's any benefit.

 

[brubakes]

I have to vote for laying the track first. As UP2CSX said, the most important thing is to have reliable tracks. Otherwise whats the purpose of everything else.

Start with the track. Build the layout you want and then you will be sure to want to tweak it anyway. You don't have to worry about demo since there won't be anything in the way until your happy with your track.

 

[AyTrane]

After you put your track down and get it perfect, then you add your mountains. Most people cover their track with masking tape or equivalent to keep the excess ground cover falling to where it will be hard to recover. To ballast the track you just uncover the track.

 

[SpaceMouse]

For the most part I agree with track first. However, on the layout I'm building I have a large section of river that the railroad follows. There are multiple trestles and if I build the railroad first in that area, I'm going to have to do a lot of work around areas that are fragile. So I plan to scenic that are a first. It won't interfere with track work later.

 

[dmeephd]

I would suspect that many railroaders do a combination of both, especially if the scenery describes a rugged terrain. (Kinda hard to place trackwork on a mountain that doesn't exist!)

On the other hand, it is important to define what exactly scenery is. To my mind, scenery is a sub-process in the overall process of designing and building a model railroad layout. One must understand what they are trying to depict visually, and plan accordingly. On must also understand hoe they are going to construct the actual layout. Are you using open gridwork or sculpting everything in extruded foam, or a combination of both?

For example, I prefer sculpted extruded foam over Sievers benchwork. Therefore, I plan all scenery and lay the extruded foam in the layers necessary to provide the topology I require. I then lay trackwork where possible, then sculpt the foam accordingly. However, in some rugged areas, I might sculpt the foam and make actual cuts for the track just like in real life, so that the terrain appears to have been modified to accommodate the track.

In any case, I generally do not paint, plaster, or apply detailed scenery (ground cover, shrubbery, trees, etc.) until after the track is laid. But my terrain skeleton is almost always in place prior to track laying except in urban or rail servicing areas where the terrain is mostly flat.

David