If there’s one thing I’ve learned about this hobby… it’s not a race to complete the layout. I know from experience to at times restrain my enthusiasm and sometimes wait a few days to let my mind think things through or for things to settle into place. Are you ready to nail down the track or would some more testing be sensible before taking the plunge? The same could be said for ballasting. Personally, I would run the trains for quite some time before ballasting. It’s easier to iron out any gauge issues, track bumps, kinks, electrical dead spots, or other operational issues prior to ballasting. Removing ballast is not an easy task, so it’s better to know of any pre-existing problems before gluing the ballast in place. That way you’ll know that any problems occurring after ballasting will likely be a direct result. What’s the old saying – more haste less speed! I hope this helps someone.

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