"The Empire II Line"

[EMPIRE II LINE]

Well maybe I have figured it out, how to post pictures that is. Anyway I have a question for all out there ???  Has anyone ever used for ballast, a product called HARDSHELL-- Calcium Carbonate Poultry Supplement ?? Is it suitable to use outside without it melting or deteriorating in the rain. I've had about 16 inches of a section of track covered with it for about a week now in the thick Florida morning dew here, with good results so far. So if this works what is the best way, or mix I might say, to glue this stuff to the surface with out it beeing too hard to remove if necessry but yet so,s the rain won't wash it away too fast. It's white and really looks great and it's cheap TOO !!!!  Will post a shot of how it looks later...  Byron

[altterrain]

Its hard to say how long it will last outside. Calcium carbonate is also the primary ingredient in chalk, tums and sea shells. The first dissolves in no time, that latter takes a long time. It all depends on what the binder is.

 -Brian 

[Rene Schweitzer]

When I was a kid, my grandmother raised chickens and used this supplement (it makes the eggs' shells hard). It was pretty tough stuff, believe it or not. How often are you planning to add new ballast? If you don't mind touching up every 6 months or so, it should hold up fine. Long term, though, it certainly won't last as long as traditional gravel/rock ballast.

[Capt Bob Johnson]

If you're anywhere near a plant that makes concrete block a bunch of folks around here are having great success using the coarse aggregate they use in the blocks.  It even works better than quarter minus, or other forms of crushed rock!

[Tom The Brat]

This isn't the same stuff as "Chicken Grit," if that's what you're looking for.

Stop by your local landscaper or even Home Depot and see what they put under paving stones for walkways. In Macomb, it was called "Lime Waste."

[EMPIRE II LINE]

This isn't the same stuff as "Chicken Grit," if that's what you're looking for.

Stop by your local landscaper or even Home Depot and see what they put under paving stones for walkways. In Macomb, it was called "Lime Waste."

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb266/empireIIline/IMGA0213.jpg

Yes Tom, that is commonly what it,s called and so far all of my testing of it proves well. So does anyone know of a good bonding agent/mix for this to the ties and road bed. So that it will stay put to some extent in the weather, but yet would allow for future track removal if repairs were needed???   Byron   

[dukebasketballer`]

Hey Byron,

Maybe you could use some kind of masonary sealer. It would probably need to be reapllied from time to time, but it may give the level of workability for moving track around that you are looking for. Maybe try going to homedepot or dor some research on the internet.