Questions about ballasting track

[liquidcross]

I'm starting my N scale layout soon, and since it's the first one I've ever built, I want to know a few things about ballast:

1.) What color/type of ballast should I use? My layout is mainly going to be a large freight yard.

2.) I've seen numerous ways to "stick" the ballast to the layout. The most common one seems to be pouring the ballast down, brushing it off the rails, soaking it with water, then dribbling glue on it. How do you keep the glue off the rails, if there's ballast on all sides of them?

3.) I'll be using cork roadbed underneath my track. When covering it with ballast, have you got any suggestions to make it look more "realistic"?

Thanks in advance! [:D]

[Anonymous]

If you are doing a big yard, you might be better off using a sheet of cork or homosote for the roadbed. It will be cheaper, quicker, and not so critical that you place it correctly. I have seen those paper-based ceiling tiles used as well. WARNING - They may expand if you use waterbased materials.

The colour and size of ballast you choose may depend on what the real thing uses. If you are modelling a specific location on a specific prototype, try to find pictures of what they use(d) and find something to match. Ballast in yards is often much more dirty (especially between the rails) than any mainline would be.

As far as getting the ballast to stick, there is more information on this forum and others than you'd possibly be able to read in a reasonable amount of time [;)] - just try a search! My favourite method for well maintained mainline (as represented by cork roadbed) is to:

1) run a bead of full strength white glue along each side of the cork on the slope. Spread it with your finger if necessary.

2) Sprinkle ballast into glue with a small spoon or dixie cup bend to make a pouring spout. This ballast will keep the ballast on the outsides of the rail from falling downt he slope.

3) Put ballast between the rails with spoon or cup. Use a soft bru***o level it with the tops of the ties, and to make sure there are no stray bits against the inside of the rail (these will cause derailments if left in place).

4) Wet the ballast between the rails and outside the rails with "wet water" - I use 50% alcohol and 50% water most of the time. This allows the glue mixture (50% water, 50% white glue) to flow between the ballast, rather than washing it away.

5) Let dry.

Some tips:

- use an eyedropper from children's medicine to apply wet water and glue mix. You could also use a syringe without the needle tip.
- only attempt about 2 - 3 feet at a time until you get really good
- be very careful around moving parts of turnouts!
- if you are in a hurry, you can use a mix of alcohol, water and glue to skip the "wet water" stage. This is not as good as doing it in two passes, but it does work if you are careful.
- you can colour the glue mix to alter the look of your ballast, but only to a certain degree - e.g. you can't make black ballast white...

I have tried a whole number of things beside Woodland $cenic$ ballast, and they work reasonably well:

Fine aquarium gravel - a bit chunky for ballast, but makes a great coal load!
Sand - looks ok, be sure to run a magnet through it to avoid possible problems with moving parts in locomotives. May or may not resemble you local ballast depending on size, colour, etc.
Bird Grit (budgie gravel - various names) - the stuff I found is off-white, but takes a stain of india ink or paint well. A bit oversized, but not as much as the aquarium gravel.

Good luck!

Andrew

[MAbruce]

Congratulations on starting your layout!

I’ll try to answer each question with my limited knowledge. Hopefully, more people can add to it.

1. Type of ballast, meaning what brand & type? Woodland Scenics is the largest player, but there are others like Arizona Rock & Mineral. I used Woodland Scenics, and thought it was okay. I’ve heard a lot of great things about AZ Rock & Mineral though. Which ever you choose, make sure it’s the “fine” grade as you are in N-scale, and you don’t want your ballast to look like boulders. As for color, well, that’s were some research is going to have to be done. If you are modeling a region of the country, then find websites of train pictures for railroads that run in that area. Or you can take a trip to the railroads in your area and see what color they use.

2. You have the basic ballasting method down, just be sure to use “wet” water (a little detergent mixed in the water) and a fine mist sprayer (I bought a cheap 99 cent bottle of hairspray). That way, the water will soak in without disturbing how you carefully laid the ballast. I would first experiment on a spare piece of track so you get the hang of it before you try it on the layout. Don’t worry about the glue, it’s water base and can be cleaned off the rails later. Here is a good article on it: http://www.trains.com/content/dynamic/articles/000/000/000/104mnojz.asp

3. I’m not really sure about what you are after on this question. The purpose of laying cork roadbed is to make your track look more realistic. It will get covered by ballast, so none of it should show through.

Good luck and have fun!

[ndbprr]

I guess this is one of those areas where everybody does it a little differently. My preference in yards is to use cinders. If you are modeling a prototype check some pictures of what they use. As a kid I thought the PRR used dark red ballast as I looked at it in stations. It is only recently that I have come to realize it was red from the brake shoe dust from the stopping of passenger trains but I digress. Get a fuel bulb at a hobby shop that sells model airplane stuff. It has a huge bulb like a baster only bigger and a very fine tip so you can lay some serious glue with a full bulb. I put my ballast in place and then gently tap the rails with a screw diver handle to settle it between the ties. Then I wet it with the alchoal water mix and then GENTLY dribble a 50/50 white glue water mix onto the ties. This will run into the baallast and glue it down. When you can see the glue between the ballast grains you have enough. It will dry clear and be invisible.

[liquidcross]

QUOTE: Originally posted by masonjar


be very careful around moving parts of turnouts!

That's the part that has me the most paranoid. [;)]

Thanks for all the help, guys! Your advice will come in very handy, indeed.

[DSchmitt]

Good advice from the others.

Ballast in yard areas is usually dirtier than on the main. There will however usually be less encroachment by weeds. The edges of the ballast are not as well defined. Its generally not replaced or cleaned as often. Grease and oil from standing equipment stain it. There will also be evidence of leaking or spilled loads and small piles of sand around the rails where the engineers apply sand to gain traction when starting a cut of cars.

[liquidcross]

One more thing, before I forget...how do you guys get rid of excess ballast (that didn't end up sticking)? Vaccuum?