Help with ballast

[Anonymous]

I just finished building and wiring my first n-scale layout. I used cork roadbed and would like to ballast the tracks but am unsure what the best way to do this would be. I have a lot of electric switches on the track and am afraid of damaging them. Could someone please advise me as to the best and safest way to ballast my track?

Thank you,

Joel

[Anonymous]

Use the right size ballast (fine is probably best for N). Lay the ballast down the center of the track, and use a stiff bru***o spread it between the ties and on the sides. Make sure you sweep stray pieces away from the points on the turnouts, and off the frog and out from between the frog rails and guardrails.

Once you have the ballast shaped to your liking, wet it down with 'wet water' (water with a couple of drops of dish detergent or isopropyl alcohol in it). Use either a fine mist from a sprayer, or an eyedropper, or anything that gives you a controlled flow so you don't wa***he ballast away. Work in small sections -- no more than a foot or so at a time.

When the ballast is thoroughly wet, glue it in place with a 50/50 mix of water and white glue or matte medium. Again, use something that'll give you a controlled flow so you don't disturb the ballast (I particularly prefer using an eyedropper for this). When you're gluing the ballast around turnouts, again make sure there's no stray pieces between the points or around the frogs, and also work the points back and forth a couple of times as the glue dries. That'll keep it from getting glued into place, and will also form a sort-of channel below the throw bar so it works smoothly in the future.

Repeat as necessary. [:)]

[Anonymous]

Well, I ballasted my track as jsalemi with a few exceptions. One, I poured about a tablespoon of ballast town about 2-3 feet of track and then spread it with a 2" foam brush until there were only two or three pieces of ballast on the ties per foot of track (trust me, it makes all the difference). Then I poured ballast along the sides of the track and then spread it out and shaped it, making sure no cork was showing through. Granted, my layout is HO, so you might have to adjust the amounts a little. When I sprayed the track with "wet water", I used a glass cleaner bottle. I started spraying a very light coat of the water on the ballast from a few feet above the ballast. Once all the ballast was wet i began to gradually move in closer to the track. When I was done spraying, there was a small puddle, more or less, around the track. Basically, the ballast was thoroughly wet. When I applied the glue mixture, I used an old glue bottle with a twist-open cap opened enough so that you have to squeezeit a little to get a solid stream of the glue mixture. I applied it by squeezing the bottle just enough to create a steady stream of glue and then passed over the ballast until glue was seeping out the bottom. When I was all done, I went and blotted up some of the excess water/glue on the sides of the track.
I hope that this was helpful. If you want, check out this link http://community.webshots.com/album/109373438labwaY for some pictures of my ballast-work.
Reed

[sailor38]

I can tell you from experience some things NOT to do.

First: If you're going to paint your ties and rails, do that before you apply ballast and CLEAN UP THE RAIL TOPS before you ballast. You'll have to do it again after you glue the ballast down but it will be much easier if you don't have to cut through layers of paint too.

Second: Less is better. Mask or cover your turnouts, places where you will have grade crossings, and locations of uncoupling ramps before you ballast.
You can easily go back later and fill in any bare or skimpy places. Use an eyedropper for applying glue to these "touch ups". Believe me, it's easier than trying to remove glued down ballast where you were too "enthusiastic".

Last: Be sure to check your sprayer/atomizer BEFORE you use it. If you don't, you may get clumps instead of a nice mist of glue. And, be sure to check the distance from nozzle to target. Too close and you'll blow the ballast out of position.

Have fun and don't be in a hurry!

[Anonymous]

I was just going to ask about ballast when I read this thread. Thanks for posting this and the great replies are going to help!

[bogp40]

One added hint for ballasting the beveled shoulders. they are always a pain to cover the roadbed edges. Paint the glue mixture on the roadbed with a small foam brush and sprinkle on the ballast- gives a little foot to hold the remaining ballast. Do this before spreading ballast between the rails. Let it set before wetting down or will only wash away. Remaining ballasting as jsalemi suggests.
Bob K.