Hi,
I used to do like that when you place only those turnouts, they were free from ballast to switches.
BAYOUMAN HAPPY BIRDDAY, ONLY WAY TO BALLAST HAND LAID RAIL. GREAT WAY TO BALLAST TURNOUTS, BE SURE TO SAND TIES AFTER BALLAST DRIES. FINNISH LOOK GREAT.
HAPPY BIRDDAY, ONLY WAY TO BALLAST HAND LAID RAIL. GREAT WAY TO BALLAST TURNOUTS, BE SURE TO SAND TIES AFTER BALLAST DRIES. FINNISH LOOK GREAT.
Try turning off that caps lock before you type!
CORK-TRACK-BALLAST-ADHESIVE
I can see no real advantage to a CORK-BALLAST-ADHESIVE-SAND-TRACK-BALLAST-ADHESIVE procedure; it takes a few more steps to git'er'done but if he's comfortable with his procedure then "have at it, Dude!"
Incidently, some layouts back I stopped gluing my track to my cork. I now hold my track in position with push pins while I apply the ballast using it to hold my track in place. I randomly drill 1/32" holes in the cork so that the loose ballast falls into these holes; when the ballast is glued in place it holds my track firmly in the proper location.
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
Rustyrex I don't know, I may be in the minority, but I have used the old technique of laying cork road bed, then apply a heavy layer of latex paint and pour ballast on top, usually Woodland Scenics medium grey, then vacuum off the excess when dry. I always found this worked really good if you wanted to do alot of tracks and yards in amount of time.
I don't know, I may be in the minority, but I have used the old technique of laying cork road bed, then apply a heavy layer of latex paint and pour ballast on top, usually Woodland Scenics medium grey, then vacuum off the excess when dry. I always found this worked really good if you wanted to do alot of tracks and yards in amount of time.
I've never been a fan of this, because, while it is quick, it doesn't simulate the ties-set-into-the-ballast effect look very well; the track sits on top on the ballast instead of in it.
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
When you start with roadbed, you've got a smooth, compressible surface to put your track on. If you put a ballast base down before the track, the surface will be less smooth, and certainly not as compressible. That's going to result in trackwork which is more prone to dips and bumps. You don't want that.
To me, it sounds like more work to get a poorer result.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Sound like this guy needs to be brought to the modern times. Sounds like it wouldnt work very well. Kevin
I tried that some years ago and haven't done it again since. One thing is that the ballast would keep breaking up as it was sanded. Another is that it doesn't really save any time. Put the ballast down, apply the adhesive, spend another evening sanding it down, add track, add more ballast, add more adhesive then do the cleanup. Where's the time savings. I put down the track, add ballast, add adhesive, do the cleanup, it's done.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
I don't think I'd like this idea. For starters, I wouldn't want to mess with sanding the ballast. (I use rock ballast, not WS walnut shells, so I don't know well it'd work, either.)
Not sure how this is supposed to save time. You'd stil have to shape the second layer and then apply adhesive.
The capper is, I enjoy the usual method of ballasting and think I've become pretty good at it.
I talked to a guy recently who says he lays all his ballast first, then sands it down on top with a sanding block, and THEN he lays his track on top of the ballast. Then he adds some ballast between the ties for a more realistic effect. He says it saves a ton of time.
Am I the only one who's in the dark that never heard of this? Has anyone tried it and does it work? If so, it seems like it would save an incredible amount of time and frustration. You could lay 20 feet of ballast in a night and sand it the next night (if the ballast material is soft enough--is it?).