Building roads

[miniboB]

Gentlemen; I'm about to lay out my first town on my railway. Any ideas on doing dirt/gravel roads would be appreciated. Keeping in mind minimal maintenance. don't want to have to "trim" my roads. Thanks in advance pictures always appreciated.

 

[viaEstrecha]

Worth seeking out old tiles. I've used some left over from my kitchen floor, though for the town roads I was after a concrete road finish rather than dirt or gravel. But I will also be using some old riven stone tiles elsewhere in a farm setting, sourced free from a Facebook group giveaway, which could pass for compacted earth.

With good support beneath, they are good to walk on too, for access, and are very effective at keeping weeds at bay.

 

[dunnyrail]

Or if you want rougher roads use concrete, do not forget some foundation before on well tamped earth. This option give the possibility of meandering roads with a slightly uneven edge if that iwps what you need. This and Via’s suggestion can give you 2 great solutions.

 

[viaEstrecha]

One other suggestion, though certainly not cheap and requiring a lot of preparation of the area beneath, is resin-bonded gravel. I've used this myself only for 1:1 footpaths and steps rather than in the model railway itself, but I've seen photos of a truly excellent garden railway (forgotten where, unfortunately) where it was used for platforms and roads.

 

[beavercreek]

I have used shed roofing felt...the more finer grit varieties, which can be spray painted for creating new tarmac, older grey or dusty tracks using a mask to give difference between the central area and where the tyres contact etc.
It is cheap and can be easily cut to shape like curves etc.
Good tamped earth is all that is required underneath.