Yes, it is generally recommended to use ballast with a trackbed on a model railway layout. Here are a few reasons...
Cart 0 Product Products (empty)
No products
Free shipping! Shipping
£ 0.00 Total
Product successfully added to your shopping cart
Quantity
Total
There are 0 items in your cart. There is 1 item in your cart.
Total products (tax incl.)
Total shipping (tax excl.) Free shipping!
Total (tax incl.)
Search Tips
Tips categories
Latest Tips
-
Do I need to use ballast with a trackbed?Read more -
How much should I spend on a locomotive?Read moreIt goes back to the old saying: you get what you pay for. The more expensive locomotives out there have slightly...
-
Is paint for airbrushing different from normal paint?Read moreThe only difference between normal paint and airbrush paint is that the airbrush paint has been thinned with a...
-
How do I choose a scale for my model railway?Read moreStarting a model railway layout is an exciting endeavour, but one of the first decisions you'll need to make is which...
-
What colour are railway rails?Read moreIn the early days, railway tracks were made from iron, but cast iron was considered to be too brittle and wrought...
How much track is too much track on a layout?
When deciding what and how of much something to put on your model railway layout, we must insist that you adhere to the model railways golden rule number 1, which is - It's your railway, so do what makes you happy!
But now that we've established that we are not trying to design your railway for you, many modellers do fall into the common pitfall of too much track!
Of course, if you want lots of track, carry on knock yourself out, however, some new modellers have an idea of the effect they want to create, but get a little enthusiastic when it comes to track planning and inadvertently eliminate their chances of achieving what they originally conceived. Most modellers have been guilty of this to some degree at one time or another, so don't worry, it's a normal learning curve of the hobby.
The problem with featuring too much track on your layout is that it leaves no room for any scenery, and without scenery, your layout will begin to look a little like a trainset.
A good starting point for anyone new to model railways is to allocate around a third of your baseboard space to track. This isn't a stonecast rule so don't worry too much about dividing your entire baseboard into cm squares, but if you have a two-foot wide baseboard, allocate approximately eight inches for trackbed and use the rest for your towns, platforms, roads, rivers and embankments, you'll be glad you did!
Posted in: Tracks
Click here to receive the tips weekly in your mailbox. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Related products
OO/HO Setrack Planbook 5th Edition
Price: £ 3.95This book is the new edition of a PECO bestseller and includes lots of new...
No.1 Radius Double Curve, 228mm (9in) radius
Price: £ 3.25No.1 Radius Double Curve, 228mm (9in) radius It would take 8 curves to create...
Related posts
-
How to clean model railways track?There is of course the old tried and tested method, the track rubber which does the job, no railway modeller should... - Is Peco track and Hornby track compatible?Peco Setrack and Peco Streamline are compatible with Hornby track as they all share the same gauge width of 16.5mm....
- How often should I clean my track?This a hard question to answer. There are no hard and fast rules about how often you should clean the track. Bear in...
- How do I cut flexible track?Once upon a time I would have said a newly bladed junior hacksaw and some warding files, but these days I would have...
- How many pieces of curved track do I need to make a circle?As we all know it takes 360 degrees to create a circle, a standard curve is 22.5 degrees and a double curve is 45...