Field of Dirt

“People will come, Ray“
-Terrence Mann, Field of Dreams–

The area surrounding the Eldon C. Stutsman complex on The Hills Line is nothing but dirt. That makes sense, since a lot of trucks, farm equipment, and heavy machinery traverse the area everyday. But it doesn’t make for a lot to look at. No one ever said prototype modeling was always beautiful.

The same methods I use for ballasting track are used for large dirt fields, including using limestone paver sand as the base. That argument against using the same material for both ballast and dirt is that everything is too uniform, and there’s nothing uniform in nature. I counter that when we view our layouts we’re viewing them from a 10,000-foot-view. Having scenic consistency helps make everything work together.

First step is to liberally spread some diluted white glue across the foam subroadbed to give the sand something to stick to. I use a damp foam brush to help the glue spread, and don’t work with more than a two-square-foot space at a time.

The paver sand is then lightly dusted to cover the area, trying not to let it clump or build up. I’ll smooth the sand around with a large, soft bristle paint brush or my fingers, trying to break up the surface into a random pattern.

Rubbing alcohol is then sprayed to wet everything down before applying some diluted matte medium to secure everything in place. You want to soak the scene thoroughly so that the dirt isn’t disturbed, especially on such a large scene. Track is also ballasted at this time.

After cleaning the rail tops I let everything sit undisturbed until fully dry, at least 24 hours. That time will vary depending on your overall climate and the relative humidity in your train room.

Yeah, it doesn’t look like heaven, but we’re still in Iowa.