I am starting to ballast an area of my layout. I bought two 1 pound bags. I would like to know how much track these bags are going to cover.
Thanks
Mike Dickinson
It depends on how thick you put it on and how far out from the tracks you go. A good tip I heard not too long ago is to use regular sandbox sand first, and then cover that with a very thin layer of ballast- helps you get the absolute most out of your money, and if you do it right, nobody will be the wiser.
HO Scale? How big is your layout? A couple pounds did a 2x8 yard with about 6 tracks, plus a 3 foot diameter loop on my layout.
Jim
I agree that a two pound bag should (should) get you about 15-20' in HO scale, but it could just as well go less or a lot more dependent on how thickly you ballast, how high above the surrounding terrain your roadbed is, how careful you are, and patient, to make sure the slope and tidiness are realstic and tight, and how careful you are with the ballast between the ties. This takes some time, usually in mulitple sessions.
This is one skill you develop as you go along. It might help to practice a bit on a small section of track and see how it works for you. Then, take up what ballast you have poured and begin on the layout.
-Crandell
I got most of my ballast for free when i cleaned out my gutters for the house it has a mixture of gray and black from the shingles and just the right size for ho, looks just like the real thing with a little coal mixed in . It was still wet so i spread it out on the sidewalk in the sun dried it out nice, got about 2 half gallon jugs from it . Dont try it if your not to good on a ladder .