AMI - one person's experience

[Anonymous]

Der
I am using the silt up to the AMI. I will put it on first; I'm not using it as road bed but as earth where there is normally earth on the layout. I will paint on about a 70/30% ratio of white glue to water on the MDF (what I am using) and let it dry. After I have done that, I will then apply the ballast, using white glue/water 50/50% mixture.

Avondale
An excellent idea around your turnouts - worthy of being printed out and saved. I still have, afer laying 120 feet of layout, another 180 feet or more of layout to go. Your method sounds the best I have seen so far.

About sand:

The same guy who introduced me to silt also used train engine sand as his ballast on his HO layout. He is now retired, but was a maintance manager for CN at the Thorton yard. He took a bag of train sand home with him and used it for his ballast - again no problems over the years and it looks great.

Its too big for N scale ballast, or I would use that as well.

[Anonymous]

Der
I am using the silt up to the AMI. I will put it on first; I'm not using it as road bed but as earth where there is normally earth on the layout. I will paint on about a 70/30% ratio of white glue to water on the MDF (what I am using) and let it dry. After I have done that, I will then apply the ballast, using white glue/water 50/50% mixture.

Avondale
An excellent idea around your turnouts - worthy of being printed out and saved. I still have, afer laying 120 feet of layout, another 180 feet or more of layout to go. Your method sounds the best I have seen so far.

About sand:

The same guy who introduced me to silt also used train engine sand as his ballast on his HO layout. He is now retired, but was a maintance manager for CN at the Thorton yard. He took a bag of train sand home with him and used it for his ballast - again no problems over the years and it looks great.

Its too big for N scale ballast, or I would use that as well.

[der5997]

Rick: I think I'll try some ballating directly on the AMI with an earth powder (we're diggind an ornamental pond right now, so there is a choice of real earths available, and a toaster oven handy for "cooking" small batches [:0] ) Can't say when I'll get round to this, but will report what happens.
Avodaleguy's turnout treatment surely sounds good too. Wasn't one of the 101 "Tips for model railroaders" to oil the points of a turnout before ballasting so that ballast glue had a harder time sticking to the rails ect?

[der5997]

Rick: I think I'll try some ballating directly on the AMI with an earth powder (we're diggind an ornamental pond right now, so there is a choice of real earths available, and a toaster oven handy for "cooking" small batches [:0] ) Can't say when I'll get round to this, but will report what happens.
Avodaleguy's turnout treatment surely sounds good too. Wasn't one of the 101 "Tips for model railroaders" to oil the points of a turnout before ballasting so that ballast glue had a harder time sticking to the rails ect?

[Anonymous]

I've heard of that. Again the master of ballasting and hand laying track, as well as using silt is the above retired CN maintance manager. He never bothers to worry about turnouts stickying as he works on every one and "frees" them up. I'll watch him the next time he does it and report back - should be in next week or two.

[Anonymous]

I've heard of that. Again the master of ballasting and hand laying track, as well as using silt is the above retired CN maintance manager. He never bothers to worry about turnouts stickying as he works on every one and "frees" them up. I'll watch him the next time he does it and report back - should be in next week or two.