My tips are for laying tracks.
When laying track, make sure have placed the track on a grade above the surface rather than just on the surface of the ground. This gives a more realistic look rather than having the track look like it's flat on the ground.
To simulate this, I place my track where I want it at the appropriate height. I then cut a small trench on either side of the tracks at -4 or -6 meters. This gives a profile on either side so that there's that raised look. In some cases, I'll even go the opposite and raise the ground 1 or 2 meters up above the surface.
When the ground is profiled, I will then use two or three textures for the road bed. I first spread out a dark charcoal. Asphalt 2 by JJS is really great. I set the texture size to be large and rotate the textures as I go along with a wide brush to quickly cover the whole embankment. I allow the coal-like texture to spill over the embankment and into the gutter. It's okay if there are grid-spots showing at this point.
Once the coal is laid down, I then use one of the ballast textures. New ballast is one of them. I set the radius to just a little bit wider then the track with the texture size set on medium to small. I then splash the gray ballast quickly over the tracks. Some areas might end up with more than others, but when done it looks pretty good.
With the ballast and underlying ash/coal in place, I then use different grass textures, with the larger of the British Textures (The one that looks like moss with red flowers in it), being used on the embankment and allowed to blend into the coal. I use this to blend in and fill in the grid-spots left from the dark coal. This gives the look of a grassy embankment with the darker earth underneath. The deepest part of the embankment has the darkest colors, and I'll sometimes add some sand texture in there like there was a run off from a rain storm. Afterall, the reason for the raised embankment is to prevent the rail line from flooding.
When it comes to road crossings, cut the track, get a crossing of your choice, move it into place, and then connect the track again. After that I connect the roads and ensure they're banked with dirt so they don't look like they float all over. Sometimes if you're not sure if the crossing is connected correctly, place a signal after it and a piece of rolling stock before the crossing. If the signal turns green then your track is connected properly to the crossing. If it stays red, well then you need to check your track connections.
I hope you find these tips useful.
John
). Also horses are generally not left alone in a paddock and when they are they tend to get bored and trot in a circle so take this into consideration. (A footpath spline might do the trick!) Also on the subject of footpaths, all the one's I've trod tend to be wider than they actually are so lay a footpath over a mud texture. Suggestive of well trod walkers, horse riders and m/c trail bikes etc.