Ballasting switches

[WisconsinCentral]

Hello,

How do you ballast a switch without jamming it?

Thanks,
Douglas H,
New Brighton, MN

[waltersrails]

Well lets just say very very carefully. Just pour out very little ballest on it. and use a a
very thin paint bru***o get it where you want it and make sure before you pour what every type of mixer on it. be sure you got any loose ballest out of where the track swiches.

[cacole]

Don't ballast where there are moving parts, is the simplest answer to your question. Even real railroads don't use as much ballast in areas of the turnout points as in other areas.

[oleirish]

A trick that might help is to use 3in1 oil on contacts and pivot points before ballasting,just incase you slip on the glue a little!!It works for me!
JIM

[dgwinup]

QUOTE: Originally posted by oleirish

A trick that might help is to use 3in1 oil on contacts and pivot points before ballasting,just incase you slip on the glue a little!!It works for me!
JIM

Really good idea! You don't want any ballast migrating under the points and keeping the points from fully closing.

Darrell, quiet...for now

[rolleiman]

Many years ago (mid-late 1980s) Kalmbach did a series of videos on How To... One for scenery, one for building wood structures, one for track, etc.. By now they are all ancient and probably worn out from viewing but the point of my post is,

When ballasting a turnout, you want to keep as much away from the moving parts as possible.. On the video, presenter Gordon Odegard suggested using a soda straw to blow any stray ballast away from the points and other moving areas to avoid gluing everything together.

Good luck,
Jeff

[Medina1128]

I like the straw idea. How about a coffee straw? It's a lot smaller.

[ukguy]

Douglas here is a link that I posted a while ago on the same subject, many good answers here.

http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=33856

And here are my results



Main advice I can give is just take your time, there is no deadline, and you will be happier with the results.

Have fun and be safe,
Karl.

[Seamonster]

One idea I've heard of, but not tried, is to put tape over the bottom of the turnout. Then you put ballast between the ties and vacuum up or blow away whatever doesn't stick to the tape. No glue to migrate into the points and jam them. Of course, you have to make sure you don't tape over the throwbar. Maybe someone who has actually tried this can comment on it.

[Anonymous]

You beat me to it, Seamonster. But I will say that you should use Duct tape as it tends to be more aggressive in the adhesion department. My friend did this and it worked out swell. He put the tape on the back of the switch and then poured the ballast onto the tape, gave it a good tamp down with his hands, dumped the loose ballast back into the bag. Then he mounted the switch on his layout. Worked (and is still working)like a charm.

TrainClown ;)

[BR60103]

I suggest using coarse sandpaper or similar under the points area and then building up. CN takes the ballast at the points right down to the bottom of the ties.

(Hi trainclown!)

[WisconsinCentral]

Hi all,

Thank you for your tips. I ballasted some switches last night. It took about 45 per switch, but it looked great when it was all done.

Douglas
http://wc_sd45_7500.rrpicturearchives.net

[waltersrails]

med like the pics