Modeling Ballast and Mud on our Model Logging Railroad

This week we are finishing up the dirt.. Mud, ballast, sawdust.. Sawdust?? Well it's a logging railroad so yes, SAWDUST! We are using Sculptamold modeling compound. Often we also use Celluclay, similar yet totally different. Both can be colored with acrylic paint and have dirt or sand added for texture. We have several videos on building our model railroad on this playlist covering the use of these products:    • Building our 1/20.3 scale railroad   More on Mud:    • Modeling Dirt and Mud at Bottleneck Creek....      • How to Build a Highly Realistic Model Rail...   AND we use "squirrel dirt" and "gopher dirt". Ground squirrels are fun and cute, as long as they are NOT in your yard tearing up your lawn, but we love to visit the thousands of them that live along the UP mainline in Echo Canyon.They are underground most of the year, but in the spring they come up and say hi! And beg for chips and nuts... So we feed them and take home the redish brown dirt they dig up. Already a loose power it great for modeling. We sift it through a kitchen strainer and use it on the layout. We also use "golpher dirt". OK same thing, only from the golphers that destroyed Steve's lawn. They dig up rich black soil. Great in the forest on the logging railroad. The question come up, why not just dig up dirt with a shovel??? What's with the little critters? Well, yes there is a poop problem, but they do all the hard work. No rocks, no roots. Just loose fine dirt... And after straining, no poop...no rocks, just super fine dirt that makes great mud.. and scale dirt.. AND mixes with either the Sculptamold or Celluclay!! Or can be pressed into the wet Sculptamold or Celluclay. AND we use Yellow Dextrin. From the web: "Yellow dextrin is manufactured by partially hydrolyzing Starch, using the dry roasting method in the presence of a catalyst. Yellow dextrin has low viscosity and is very sticky and hygroscopic in nature. ... Yellow Dextrin Powder is in the form of fine dry powder ranging from light to dark yellow and dark brown in color." It's used in glue among other uses. If it gets even a tiny bit wet it gets sticky and fluid. It drys hard and mostly clear. We mix it with any loose power like dirt and spray it with a mist of water or alcohol and it grabs whatever surface it's on and stays there! Ofter loose dirt wants to run off making a real mess. This fixes that! And can be all you need to keep loose powers in place forever. If you have larger chunks you still need to follow up with diluted white glue from a dropper. Or Woodland Scenics landscape cement.