I use plain unscented kitty litter. The track is airbrushed railbrown. Also use a metal rasp to round off the sharp corners of the cork roadbed. My track has been laid for 25 years with no problems. Changes through the years are accomplished by simply vacuuming the track. I have a double deck layout with 900' of HO track on top and 350' of O scale Gargraves on the bottom level. The same process has been applied to both layouts and it has served me well for 25 years
mlehman the issues inherent in loose ballast.
the issues inherent in loose ballast.
It moved around – the original shape and slope changed as trains ran over it, ballast grains migrated to switch points, I put divots in the road bed when I touched it accidentally and the capper was a derailment where the grains ended up in the running gear of a derailed loco…
IMHO - glue it down.
Or…..
mlehman I'd suggest painting the cork, then painting the track before laying it, then weathering both together. This would give a better appearance IMO and virtually no maintenance afterwards.
I'd suggest painting the cork, then painting the track before laying it, then weathering both together. This would give a better appearance IMO and virtually no maintenance afterwards.
As always, opinions vary,
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
I have ballasted a section of my track and haven't glued it down yet. I'm using Scenic Express ballast which is heavy and stays in place by gravity so far no issues. The Woodland Scenic's is allegedly made from ground nut shells so is lighter and probably more prone to shifting - so keep that in mind.
As for excess ballast, I use a brush to sweep it onto the area where it is supposed to be or move it around.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
LION uses GRAVITY to hold the ballast down.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
My next layout I plan to use textured paint under the turnouts as I don't put caulk under them in case replacement is necessary. The approach tracks seem to hold the turnouts down without a problem. You could use it for all your ballasting or most of it to cover the cork.
You might also try a spray adhesive, 3M or some such, as long as you cleaned the railheads quickly after spraying.
Good luck,
Richard
If you don't want the hassle of gluing ballast down, I always thought you'd also probably have no desire to fight the issues inherent in loose ballast. Just my opinion.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
David Barrow, in one of the iterations of his Cat Mountain & Santa Fe, used loose grains of ballast to "suggest" ballast - he did not fully ballast his track but did scatter enough ballast between the ties to give it a generally ballasted look. Mind you this was during one of his minimalist phases when his structures were not structure models per se but white foam core structure shapes, rather as you might see in an architects presentation to show in a general sort of way the buildings that surround the main feature of the presentation. (Barrow is an architect.)
The ballast was loose so you did not keep it in place. He laid his flex track directly on the table top, no cork roadbed as I recall. Why? Because he was also in a phrase of changing his track plan constantly. Little to nothing was really permanent. I assume when he wanted to change, he got out a vaccuum cleaner, put an old stocking mesh over the end of the hose, and collected up his ballast that way for re-use.
That might not be what you want. If you regard the track as down permanently I'd think you'd want the ballast down permanently as well.
Not perhaps on topic or even related to your question, but when ballasting turnouts one trick I have used is to place a piece of duct tape cut to the width of the ties (usually black rather than the silvery gray stuff) face up under the points, and scatter a small amount of ballast to cover all the sticky parts but in just one single layer of ballast, so the ballast does not come up and interfere with the moving points or the throw rod. I blow the ballast away to make sure nothing has accumulated. This is one way to get ballast under the points which is otherwise one of the tricky parts to ballasting track because it is very very easy when cementing ballast to stick the points in one position and not be able to move them ever after. (Do not ask how I know this.)
I have done this on my layout and at tracklaying clinics including sample ballasted turnouts I pass around the room, so i can say that it "works" in both HO and N.
Thinking along those lines, it would be possible when using adhesive caulk to lay track, to spread the caulk evenly and totally on the top of the cork roadbed before pressing down the sectional or flex track, and also spreading a thin layer of caulk on the edges of the cork roadbed, then spreading around plenty of ballast and tamping it in place all over. I use an old piece of cork roadbed as my tamper. Now, only that ballast actually touching the caulk would adhere. The rest would be loose and once the caulk has set you come in with a brush (foam brush works well) and gather up as much of the loose ballast as you can for use elsewhere. Am I conveying anything with this description? I have actually done this BUT I usually feel a need to beef up the ballast and apply a second layer later using traditional cementing methods.
But it would be one way to have the minimalist, non glued ballast that stays in place: whatever ballast that sticks to the caulk would tend to stay there reasonably well.
Hope this helps but I have a sinking hunch it doesn't.
Dave Nelson
If you don't glue the ballast down, how do you keep it in place? Like on the sides of cork roadbed.
How do you clean the ballast or the near by area?