Track Ballast - A visit to the fishy store

[Buckeye Riveter]

Q: Has anyone ever used gravel purchased from an aquarium store for their layout's track ballast? They seem to have several sizes and of course colors.[?][?]

My Answer: I haven't.
[:)]

[Blueberryhill RR]

I started my layout with white aquarium gravel. Actually, it was too stark white for ballast and a little large for 0 guage. At least, I thought so. I switched to fine chicken grit, which had multiple colored stones.
I will use the aquarium gravel for places on the mountains.

Chuck

[wrmcclellan]

Buckeye,

I looked into this also. What I did not like was the aquarium gravel was too homogenous, too bright (primary colors) and it is very shiney.

What you might look into is the aggregate that is used on roofs. If you look at a typical asphalt roofing shingle, note the gravel aggregate is a perfect size for O scale trains! I use what comes off my roof and settles into the gutters. I got one big load due to the last hailstorm that destroyed my roof. I got another big load withthe loose stuff that washed off the new roof.

Up nawth - folks that do a built up (residential) tarred roof can actually buy the aggregate in bulk (1mm size, 50 lb bags) and compared to commercial ballast it is "dirt" cheap.

The material goes by the names: roofing granules, fine roofing agregate, etc.

It is nearly impossible to find it down here.

Regards,
Roy

[Dr. John]

In the book, "Realistic Scenery for Toy Trains," Dave Frary used aquarium gravel for ballast. The size looked right, but I thought it looked a little too smooth and shiny, even with weathering.

[Anonymous]

I did use it on a layout a long time ago. The price was right and it glued ok with my white glue and water solution. It looked too fake, even after crushing it up with a hammer to make the bits more diverse and spraying flat black on it to cover the gloss.

[Big_Boy_4005]

Here kitty kitty. [swg]

I just started ballasting with kitty litter. Right after I bought the stuff, I didn't think it was going to work. But once I got a small section glued down, I thought it looked pretty good. There are some rather large granules in the cheap brand I bought, but they aren't really a problem, and can be crushed easily if I find them to be too obnoxious.

The slightly darker area on the upper track is the section that has been glued. I actually added a little black paint to my glue and water mix.



By the way, just under 5 gallons for just over $5.

[spankybird]

Me too for the Kitty Litter. [tup] It should be the Clay Base.[;)]



The only two places it doesn't work is

1. if you have a cat [}:)]

2. out side on a GR.[^]

[zwbob]

I used kitty littter on my previous layout and it was a little big but not to bad. On the layout I'm building now I'm using chicken grit. I like it much better then the litter and it's only about $5 for 50 pounds.

[andregg1]

I start to use this product.



Looks ok. the color match and if you drop oil look better.
Andre.

[spankybird]

Oil Dry is made of clay, just like kitty litter is. (It's really one in the same)

[Anonymous]

Not to be asking dumb questions, but what is chicken grit?

Also, I had been told to avoid the kitty litter because it attracts water and moisture and can rust the track. Does that only apply to litter made of shredded paper, or is it an issue with clay-based? Also, I've heard that the clay can get up into the engines. I don't know, I'm not trying to be critical, I am just repeating what hobby shop employees have told me over the last year or two.

[wrmcclellan]

Reading,

Chicken grit is fine crushed and washed gravel, usually granite. Chickens and many fowl need the grit in their digestive sysytem to help break down food. A typical size is about the same as quartz sand, so it is a bit small for O scale. There are several grades available at feed stores, so maybe one is large enough for O scale. If you try it make sure you get granite grit and not ground oyster shells, which is sometimes called chicken grit, but is used as a calcium supplement for chickens.

Regards,
Roy

[Buckeye Riveter]

Roy, How come you know so much about chickens? [%-)][%-)]

We have a product here in Columbus that they call Gold Dust that can be used for ballast. I had never heard of it until the other day.

[wrmcclellan]

Buckeye - not that much. Spent a few summers on my Aunt and Uncle's farm out near Brenham, TX. Spent way too much time on a small tractor pulling a mower. At least my uncle (cabinet maker) had a neat shop to mess around in. No air conditioning. Just window fans. At least the house was on a hill. Everyone sat on the front porch drinking ice tea and shooting the breeze until about 30 minutes after the sun went down and then went to bed. Of course we were all up at dawn. I didn't say my getting up was voluntary.

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by spankybird

Oil Dry is made of clay, just like kitty litter is. (It's really one in the same)

I actually like the gray color of the kitty litter better, it is more like the local rock than the tan.

Another thing that I've just discovered about the kitty litter is that because it is clay, it can be disolved. This becomes an advantage over more solid stone based ballasts when working around switches. The stones tend to get lodged in the points and under the throw bar, leaving a real mess that has to be cleaned up afterword. The clay cleans up very quickly and easily, and if necessary, water can disolve it completely.

[Anonymous]

thanks for explaining the chicken grit thing. I think crushed granite is probably the best if I can get the right size for O gauge. Has anyone used the commercially available ballast before? I see ads in the back of CTT and OGR.

[Jumijo]

Stone dust, sold at home centers, is also made from crushed granite and looks good too. I had planned to use it on my layout, but after seeing the kitty litter used by Tom and Elliot, I might go that route. It looks just a little more scale in size than the dust, and is most likely easier to reduce.

Jim

[spankybird]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Reading and PA RR

Not to be asking dumb questions, but what is chicken grit?

Also, I had been told to avoid the kitty litter because it attracts water and moisture and can rust the track. Does that only apply to litter made of shredded paper, or is it an issue with clay-based? Also, I've heard that the clay can get up into the engines. I don't know, I'm not trying to be critical, I am just repeating what hobby shop employees have told me over the last year or two.

I have had it on my layout for 6 years now and have not found any rust on the track. I use Lionel tube track, 0-27. I haven't noticed it collecting any moisture, but then again I have central A/C. [8D]

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Reading and PA RR

thanks for explaining the chicken grit thing. I think crushed granite is probably the best if I can get the right size for O gauge. Has anyone used the commercially available ballast before? I see ads in the back of CTT and OGR.

Normal ballast like Woodland Scenics, is just fine. The big difference is cost. The one nice thing is it is very uniform, both in color and size.

[ChiefEagles]

Buckeye should know about chickens. Saw a couple of dozen running around in his yard when I visited him. [;)][:D][:D] [along with two old hound dogs. could not figure out that little wooden building with the moon shaped cutout on the door]

[lionelsoni]

If I ever get around to ballasting more track, I think I will deliberately not match the color of what I have. It seems to me that prototype track varies with age and each re-ballasting.

[eZAK]

I used real crushed stone called screening around here.

[Jumijo]

Nice background mountains, Pat. Are they flat pieces of carved foam coated with ground cover, painted on the background, or something else? I'd like to know how you rendered them, if you don't mind.

Jim

[eZAK]

Jim,
Yes, They are pieces of foam board cut out with a home made hot wire knife.
I then covered them with 'Hydrocal'. You can also use drywall mud 'Durabond 90'.
(I used dyrwall mud on the mountain)

They are only 3/4" at the thickest part.

I then finished them with this;

from http://www.woodlandscenics.com/

Email me at [e-mail] if you need more info.

[Jumijo]

Thank you, Pat. Those mountains look great and give your layout's background some nice dimension.

Jim

[Anonymous]

If you're aiming for scale realism, check out Brennan's Better Ballast. It has a natural gray blend and also varies in size and shape just like real ballast. It's made from crushed granite.



This is a photo of my ballast. It comes with complete instructions on ballasting and weathering to create a realistic look.

Dennis Brennan
brennansmodelrr.com

[Frank53]

check out Dennis Brennan's website. He makes a wide variety of ballasting products and the folks I know who have used it claim it is tip-top.

Don't know the website off the top of my head, but I believe there is a link on the MTJ Home page at www.modeltrainjournal.com.

[Frank53]

I should have read down to the bottom of the page and seen that Dennis beat me to it by 4 minutes. [8D]

[jonadel]

I began with Realtrax and decided to ballast it with chicken grit and we believe it made a big difference, seemed like it finished the project.

This photo shows the track, ballasted, and how well it blends with ground cover


Another shot of a park scene and ballasted track


Bag of grit for less than $5.00 for 50#


This isn't what southerners eat with their chicken is it?

Jon[:)]

[ChiefEagles]

Jon, I was going to tell everyone how nice your ballasting on your layout is. After that Yankee comment, no way. It does look great.