Ballasting model railway track is one of those jobs that most modellers either love… or hate.

I’m not sure my feelings are quite that extreme, but I do need to be in the right mood for it. After all, the idea of spreading grit and glue over beautiful new track—track you’ve spent ages laying and checking to make sure it’s perfectly flat—does require a certain level of Zen before you begin.

Eventually, my Zen moment arrived, and the track on Springwell has now been ballasted.

Click on a photo for a larger version.

I suppose you can’t really call it ballast. My aim was to make the track look as though it’s been in place for years and has been neglected rather than carefully maintained. With that in mind, what I’ve added between the sleepers is mostly soil.

I’m really pleased with the final effect. There are plenty of spots where I can add weeds and grass to reinforce the sense that track maintenance is very much a low priority.

Best of all, the job is done and I can move on to creating the scenery—something I enjoy a great deal more than ballasting!