Subroadbed
Obviously you need to have something onto which to lay the ties. My experience shows that the subroadbed needs to be as smooth as possible. Flextrack is more forgiving of uneven subroadbed, because the ties can "float" above the subroadbed where it undulates a bit. For handlaying ties and rail, the roadbed must be smooth. I try to use cork as the surface onto which to lay the ties because it does dampen the noise of the engines a bit.

Regular Track
For normal straight and curved track I try to mark off where to lay the ties. A reference line against which to lay the ties is very helpful. A piece of bendable material, such as a piece of Atlas flextrack (as shown below) or a strip of styrene, held in place with some weights, is a great way of creating smooth flowing curves. I draw a line along the top as indicated by the orange lines in the first photo.



Turnouts
I prefer to play around with paper templates for turnouts. The Fast Tracks web site is a great place for downloading these templates. The photo below uses the #8 template. Once I am happy with the location of the turnout, I mark it off with a pen or pencil. I then spread a thin layer of white or yellow glue in the marked off area and glue the template. Some weights and about 30 minutes is all that is needed to complete that step.

Cutting Ties I normally don't stain the ties before laying them. That is much easier to do when they are all glued down. Therefore, the only preparation for the actual tie laying stage is to cut them to length. I use ties from Kappler Mill & Lumber. The regular ties (part number KP00SS8-N) come in a package already cut to length. Switch, or turnout, ties (part number KP00SS16-N) come in a package of 16-foot lengths. I cut them to the lengths indicated by the paper template. The left-over pieces go back into my scratchbuilding supplies drawer for future use.

Laying Ties
I have read the articles where authors recommend using a tie-laying template and using tape to transfer the ties to the layout, but I have found them to be more of a pain than they are worth. It could be that N-scale ties are just too light or that I am not using the right tape. I glue the ties down one-by-one using white or yellow wood glue. I use a scale ruler for the first handful of ties to determine how far they need to be apart (about 22 inches on-center for the PRR), and then I eye-ball it from there on out. The photo below shows the pair of tweezers I use to lay the ties. It is relaxing work and it goes remarkably fast.



As I progress, I place metal weights on the newly glued-down ties to hold them down and hopefully keep them at an even level on top.



Bridge Ties
Bridge ties (Kappler part number KP00BT10-N) are a bit longer than the regular ties. The photo below shows that the ties (the unstained ones) are not only longer, they are also spaced closer together, as per the prototype.



Laying Ties on a Curve
As mentioned in above, it is sometimes helpful to use a flexible material against which to lay the ties in a curve. This next photo shows laying ties up against a piece of strip styrene, held in place by some weights. That way the ties make for a perfectly smooth transition between two straight sections of track. The metal weights represent the straight sections.



Sanding
Once all the ties are down, I sand them with a very fine piece of sandpaper attached to a sanding block. The block needs to be flat so that you don't create uneven spots as you sand. The purpose of the sanding is to smooth out the tops of the ties so that the rail makes contact with all the ties. All but the top of the ties will be hidden by ballast, so, for me, it doesn't matter how thin the ties become once sanded. I run my fingers over the tops of the ties to verify that they are smooth. After the sanding, I vacuum up the dust.

Throwbar Area
This is a good time to prepare the hole for the Tortoise actuator rod. This step depends on the switch machine you use. Although Tortoises can be a bear to install, I prefer them over all the other ones I have tried. I drill two holes close to each other and then file the space between them as smooth as possible to create an flattened elliptical shape as shown in the photo below. I prefer to drill the holes under the outside extension of the throwbar ties. Some people prefer to drill a hole in the center of the track area. The problem I have with that is that the hole is always visible in the future. Also, the actuator rod must be cut to the correct length to avoid it being hit by couplers. Where I position the hole I can always cover it with a static display of the throwbar mechanism that is found on the prototype, and it won't interfere with trains.



Staining the Ties
The photo below shows the tools I use to stain the ties, a one-inch foam brush and Minwax' "Special Walnut" wood stain. I use it full-strength. It goes on very quickly. Make sure to cover the ends of the visible ties. Because of the glues I use, sometimes the bottom of the ties cannot be stained (the glue blocks the stain from reaching the wood). However, because I ballast the track, that is typically not a problem.



Because the ties are made from real wood, the stain will affect each tie differently, which is very realistic. The stain will also highlight the grain in the wood.



Final Subroadbed Preparations
Now that the ties are done, it is time to focus on the subroadbed again. I use a sharp hobby knife to cut an approximate 45-degree slope just away from the ties. This will provide the base for the ballast. The prototype has this slope for most track to keep water away from the track, and to provide for drainage. The only time you may wish to not cut this slope is when you are modeling yard or heavy industrial track. There typically isn't much of a slope to speak of for those types of track.



I ballast before I do the rest of my scenery work. Because of that, certain areas may be hard to paint once the ballast is down. I therefore paint the area immediately surrounding the track with a basic Earth-tone paint. The photo below shows the plywood base painted with a brown color. If the ballast and future scenery doesn't quite cover this area, then all you'd see if brown rather than plywood.



Weeds
Before ballasting, I always try to add something to the track that needs to appear as if it growing out of the track, such as tall weeds or grasses at the ends of the track where few freight cars actually travel. These are grasses sold by Woodland Scenics. The photo below shows one such set of weeds. They will be trimmed to the right length (about one to two scale feet in height) later on.