Cork Roadbed and Ballasting Turnouts

[Chessie Sys. 3022]

Hi. This is my first time building a layout with cork roadbed, not to mention my first post on this board. My questions are about laying the cork roadbed at turnouts and ballasting the turnouts so they don't get jammed. How do I do this? Many thanks in advance.

~Justin

[jrbernier]

Justin,

  Be Careful!  I ballast with real stone ballast(AZ Rock & Mineral) and spread it over the track, then I use a small 'vacuum' I built to recycle the excess ballast back to a jar.  The vacuum attachment removes ballast above the tie level.  I then mist the ballast with a water/alcohol mix to 'wet' it.  I use watered down 'matte medium'(craft store) spread with a large eye dropper to soak the area.  The next day I use a 'brite boy' to clean off the rail heads. 

  For switches, I 'hand ballast' the area around the movable points,after putting some white glue between the ties.  I also cut a long 'trough' under the throw bar area so ballast does not migrate under the throw bar and stick up the works.  Some folks spread plastic compatible lube(like Labelle) around the moving parts before ballasting.

  Like I said, just be very careful!

Jim

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I avoid ballasting the area around the turnouts moving parts completely. To simulate ballast in that area on some past layouts I would put paper the same color as the ballast under that area.

[loathar]

Don't spray mist your ballast glue on your turnouts. Better off to use an eye dropper or similar tool. And try and keep the glue away from any moving parts. Don't go overboard on the amount of ballast either. Just enough to look good. And as mentioned, vacuum off the excess.

If your using under table switch machines, make sure you drill your hole for your throw rod before you lay your turnout. Forgot that myself a couple of times.

[cacole]

Paint the cork roadbed under the turnout the same color as the ballast you're going to use, so any spots of missing ballast are not as obvious.  Spread the dry ballast very lightly in those areas of moving parts, and none at all around the throwbar.

When I ballast, I spray rubbing alcohol or wet water (water with a couple drops of liquid dishwashing detergent), just enough to dampen the area.  Then I dribble on the 50/50 white glue mix from an old Elmer's glue bottle with the orange cap or a restaurant ketchup/mustard dispenser.  Then I spray more alcohol to insure that the glue spreads evenly.  Using rubbing alcohol instead of water allows for faster drying.

[fireman216]

Even though I can't stand cork...I have used the fleck spray paint at my club...it looks just like ballast when it dries...spray the cork with that color.....and put the switches over that...you can find the stuff at Walmart....I do not suggest anything near the moving parts of a turnout....

[BigRusty]

I have purchased a spray can of Rustoleum American Accents STONE color. Sprayed on cork it looks close to ballast so any bare spots, at least under turnouts don't show.

I am about to start building my 8 x 18 foot double track oval test loop in my remodeled garage. It will have minimum radius 36 inch curves (38 inch on the outer track) with spiral easements into the tangents. There will be passing sidings on each side of the tangents and crossovers at either end.

I will be using 3/4 inch plywood subroad bed, with the curved areas cut from straight sections with angled ends to minimize waste and also eliminate cutting all those curved pieces with a saber saw.

I will be using latex caulk to fasten the cork, using bricks to weight it down as long as need be. It will then be sanded wth a belt sander to knock back the sharp outside edges and insure that that it is absolutely flat.

Before the ME 83 flex is applied, I will spray the entire roadbed area with the grey fleck paint as a base for the ballasting. There will be no ballast in the point area of the Fast Track made No 8 trunouts with continuous point rails.

[BigG]

  A belt sander to use on cork? That sounds like serious overkill to me! If you spread the glue evenly, there should be only a few places which might need smoothing, and a handheld block with conventional sandpaper will be just fine.   While sanding, the edges of the cork bed do need a bit of rounding at the top of the shoulder. If there is a sharp edge at the top, the ballast will try to leave a gap there that will need redoing..  a tedious job you don't have to do if you sanded off that shoulder. If you look at proto roadbed, there is a natural roundness to the pile of stones anyway.  You mention using bricks to hold the cork while the glue dries; I use map pins on it. That way I can see exactly where the centreline is. And there are no dips from compaction.

  I like that suggestion of spackled paint; I'll try it next time.

       Have fun,   George 

    

[loathar]

If your going to try that stone fleck paint, make sure you get the right brand. One of them is water based and requires a coat of clear coat to seal it. It flakes off real EZ if you don't.
(I forget which brand, it says to seal it in the instructions)

[BigG]

  Thanks for the tip, Loathar.  I'll watch for that.     George

[jrbernier]

  Like 'BigG' said - The belt sander might be a little overkill.  I use a 'sureform' hand tool or a 'Mouse' detail sander on the roadbed.  The cork has a sharp bevel and I sand down the contour so that it is more rounded on the edges.

 I also apply some full strength 'matte medium' to the bevel sides and glue ballast there before starting the main ballasting job.  This gives the ballast an 'edge' on that 'slippery slope'!  I mask the edges of the ties before applying the glue.  After a through cleanup/vacuum,  I spread the ballast and do the 'mist' with 'wet water' and then apply the diluted white glue or matte medium the ballast between the ties.

Jim

[dale8chevyss]

When ballasting my turnouts I used a minimal amount of ballast and ensured that it was clear of the points, especially between the points and the ties.  Moving the points many times when ballasting/glueing helps to ensure that they don't stick. 

[BroadwayLion]

I buy my ballast in Wal*Mart, a 25 pound bag for about $3.00. Actially, it says "Cat Litter" on the bag, but I sift out the big peices, and the cats at least cannot tell the difference. This leaves me with a large bucket of ballast.

I am building my third serious layout in a room 24 x 27 feet. I did use cork roadbed on my first two layouts, but not on this one. I am laying the track directly on the Celotex base. With almost 800 feet of track, I had to use a cheaper soruce of ballast, evenso, there will be areas that do not require any ballast.

I do not glue my ballast down at all, but rather use the same method as the real railroads, and allow gravity to do its work. This has not failed me yet, and sure does make track alterations a lot easier. 

Here are some samples of my track work:

 

 

ROAR

[modelmaker51]

When ballasting my turnouts I used a minimal amount of ballast and ensured that it was clear of the points, especially between the points and the ties.  Moving the points many times when ballasting/glueing helps to ensure that they don't stick. 

Pretty much my method as well. If you do glue a switch shut, just spray a little "wet" water on it and work it loose, occaisionally moving it until the glue has re-dried.

I would not recommend leaving ballast unglued, too easy for locos and cars to draw it up into the mechanisms as they pass over. Loose ballast of any kind is never a good idea. Also not a good idea to glue cat litter, it will suck up a lot of glue and will either clump up or turn to mush.

[jackn2mpu]

I actually use a couple of different methods of ballasting, depending on where I am working. Around the moving parts of turnouts I mix in dry glue with the ballast, put the ballast down, and then wet it to secure the ballast. Less of a chance to glue the points and make them immovable. The rest of the layout I lay the ballast and use an eyedropper to soak in either WS scenic cement or 50-50 mixed white glue and water. I must be lucky, because I've never pre-wetted with alcohol or wet water, and I've never had a problem with the glue snuggling down into the ballast. And ballast adhered like this has never come off either. This is all on cork roadbed.

Edit on 4/17
As they say in football: upon further review things have changed. Was laying ballast the other day and had tremendous problems getting the WS scenic cement to snuggle down into the ballast. Had to go the wet water mist route. Then eyedropper the adhesive mix down. That worked okay.