light & inexpensive roadbed gravel for Lionel 0 gauge track

[Anonymous]

Ground thermoplastics or fine thermoplastic pellets would make good solid roadbed that would still be light.

Pigmented Polyethylene Pellets is one roadbed material to consider

There is ground rubber or ground vinyl to consider.

The type of adhesive to use on ground plastics or polymers is another topic to examine.

Foam adhesives could work. I would need to experiment to be certain.

Andrew F.

[waltrapp]

HUIZC

I use chicken grit for ballast on my Christmas layout and can tell you that it is definitely NOT light weight. You asked for something light weight and since grit is basically stone, well, you get the picture.

Speaking of picture, here are 2 that show the color. Neither great but OK to get the general color across. It's a bit more whitish in the pictures than in person but not by much. I'd describe the color as a dirty white. It's a beautiful grey color when you wash it (to get the dust off) but it lightens back up when dry. There are techniques that forumites have mentioned to darken it but I have not darkened mine.





- Walt

[Anonymous]

The Kitty Litter type that you might like is called Swheat Scoops. It is made out of wheat. While it does have weight it seems lighter than Clay litters. It is sold in many pet stores and grocery stores. At pet stores the price per pound of Swheat Scoops gets much less expensive as the bags get larger.

Andrew F.

[BobbyDing]

I'm using ground walnut shells from the pet store (cheap bulk bags), then dye'm to suit your tastes..

Do a search in this forum with "Ballast" and you'll find a lot of discussion on a variety of favorite methods. They're all good.

Bobby

[cnw1995]

This is going to sound weird, but look around a bit too. I swept up a huge bucket full of small stones at the end of the driveway after the winter - washed and shifted it all - and it looks great - free too.

[FJ and G]

I used kitty litter on my last layout. It looks good at first but then turns to mush and develops a nasty top crust when you hit it with water/glue mixure and then you've got slime on your hands.

I use real gravel for my ballast that I got from road spill near a gravel pile.

Here's an image of the real gravel that came in prototype size so didn't need to do any sifting (it's 0 scale, awaiting the 3rd rail wire)

[donl409]

I used Estes Natural Aggregates aguarium rock as shown in the book (Greenberg Books) Realistic Scenery for Toy Train Layouts by Dave Frary. Fairly cheap , light weight and comes in several colors (also non magnetic, I believe). Just pour it over the track and bed , brush it around to your satisfaction then use a baster filled with Elmer's glue diluted with "wet " water, and wipe off the tracks when done. Also used regular white agqarium shells for the sidings then used a ink wa***o weather. Worked ok as well

[Dr. John]

Most feed stores sell Chicken Grit (small crushed stone) at a very low price. It comes in different sizes, so check before buying a bag. It is also usually light in color, so you may need to darken it with thinned paint or ink.

Tim, Kitty Litter works well unless you own a cat. If you have a cat, well, a cat's gonna do what a cat's gonna do!

[tjsprague]

I've heard that people use kittly litter. I'm considering doing some testing as I want ballast, but have a hard time paying for rocks.

Anybody have any experience with it?

Tim

[Anonymous]

There is 78 feet of Lionel 0 non-27 gauge track that require roadbed gravel. I may end up with Woodland scenic ground shells but maybe someone has used something that is less expensive but just as light in weight. If you have a sugestion please describe how you adhere this to the underlying sub-roadbed & metal track ties. My local lumber yard has realistic looking ground stone but 78 running feet may prove to be heavy. (I need light weight because the 6x12 layout is stored vertically). Thanks