Ballast for My Layout...what to use??????

[Anonymous]

Thanks Elliot. No plans now for a trip out but I will stop by when I'm in town.

Mike

[Big_Boy_4005]

The bridge was made from basswood strips that were cut and textured then applied to the structure which was made of plywood. Each of the edge stones that form the ends of the arches was hand cut.

I was actually suprised how quickly I was able to cru***he ballast. It was almost 15 years ago, but I think I only spent a few hours doing the crushing. The actual rock was rather crystaline, so it was easy to smash. The problem was that the chunks were a wide variety of colors, and when crushed looked completely different fron the general appearance when they were on the bridge. The trick was to grab enough gray ones and not too many pink ones.

If you're coming to town, drop me an email. Visitors are always welcome.[8D]

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the great suggestions!!! Next time I'm in St. Paul I'll make a point of stopping by the Twin City Model Railroad Museum.

Elliot, how was the bridge constructed, and how long did it take you to cru***he ballast?

Unfortunately Doug there are two things we don't have in sunny southern California, one being snow and the other being basements... both of which I miss. The basement more then the snow.

[Big_Boy_4005]

All of this reminds me of a story.

A number of years ago I was in an O scale club. The layout we were building was something of an historical repersentation of railroading in the Twin Cities. One of the more famous landmarks repersented on the layout was James J Hill's stone arch bridge, which the Great Northern used to cross the Mississippi River near downtown Minneapolis.

Three generations from one family worked to build the model, and even though it was selectively compressed to fit the space, it was magnificent. Once it was installed, the task of painting it fell to me. The track was laid, and then someone suggested that it be ballasted with real ballast from the bridge. So I went out and scooped up a 5 gallon bucket full of the actual ballast from the bridge, and went to work with a hammer and sieves.

Of course none of the people who visit know what lengths we went to on that project, because unless you are a member of the club, you can't get close enough to the bridge to see the ballast.



If you ever get to St Paul, don't miss the Twin City Model Railroad Museum at Bandana Square.[8D]

[cnw1995]

I use the little rocks that magically gather at the foot of the driveway. It's left over from sanding during the snow months. I've gathered a huge bucket of it - just have to wash it out. Best of all, it's free.

[FJ and G]

I use crushed gravel. I scavanged it from a gravel site along the road.

It is somewhere in this forum on a picture of a turnout I made. I'll try to take photos of my nearly completed crossover soon.

[Dr. John]

Chicken grit, available at feed stores is pretty cost effective. The starter size is about right for O scale. It's best to rinse it off with water to eleiminate the dust, but it has a good texture and can be colored with washes of thinned paint or india ink and alcohol.

[spankybird]

Hi rrcorssing-fr.

I used cat litter, but it was the clay type. This give you some difference is size.


click on the pics to enlarge them.
Also, you can’t beat the price. Just by the cheapest type.


Check out our web page (by clicking on the web icon) to see more of our layout.

tom

[Big_Boy_4005]

First off, does that brand have any of the colored crystals? For ballasting the cheapest stuff is generally best. If you dont like the granule size, find a piece of screen with the right sized holes, and sift out the largest particles. Then place the oversized pieces in a plastic bag or a cloth closed tightly, and cru***hem, then resift. It may be a little more work, but you will end up with what you are looking for. Proper sized ballast at low cost. Have fun.[8D]

[Anonymous]

I'm getting ready to ballast my layout, and I'm looking for some general suggestions as to what to use as ballast. I've purchase some tidy-kitty cat litter, but am not really happy with the look. It seems in consistent in size. Any brand suggestions? At the same time I have some ballast I purchased at the hobby shop to sample, which looks good, but I'm not sure I really want to spend $50-$75 bucks on ballast. [?]

What do you use and why?