I'm in a huge crunch here. I'm building a small HO scale layout in my room ad I am using ONLY Bachmann E-Z track. The thing is, the track has fake and unrealistic plastic ballast that will not come off. I have layed the track already, and I was planning on adding the ballast like regular track but have the real ballast on top of the fake ballast. I need some help on how to do this.
Actually the grey plastic is roadbed, not simulated ballast. It takes the place of say cork roadbed. It's designed to have you add your own ballast after the track is in place. That's why the ties are so high - if you look at Kato Unitrack (where the gray simulates ballast) only the tops of the ties are showing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdAKkebzvUg
Ken Patterson showed this is the often seen MR/RMC ad for Bachmann that he did a few years ago (lower right below, from his excellent website, kenpatterson.com):
stix is right. Just ballast the EZ track as you would any track on either cork or foam roadbed. I use EZ 36" radius on part of my Yuba River Sub at a point where I needed a constant radius around a rather tricky portion of my layout with a large drop to a cement garage floor. I just used WS ballast on the EZ roadbed like I did with the other flextrack on the foam roadbed, and it worked out just fine. I layered the ballast on, soaked it with 'wet' water, dribbled on good old thinned Elmer's glue and let it dry for about 12 hours.
Here's a shot. Yes, that's EZ track under the ballast. It's been there ten years or so.
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
Just apply some white glue and spread the ballast on top. Then hit it with a water/glue coat to make sure everything sticks. You might consider adding track feeders before ballasting though.
Springfield PA
Well, the thing is I am not an experienced model railroader at all, this is my first operating build. I have never balasted any type of track, my photo was just track glued down to a board, trees glied down, cheap kitty litter that is basicly gravel, and every thing just placed on top. I know nothing on model railroading exept for what I read in MR Magazine. But still, thanks for the advice, it helps more than you think.
You gave me some great info thanks abou the kitty litter I never gave that a thought. Did you use any one in particular the one I have has green and blue stone it, I dont believe that would be to realistic but great idea. I to just got back into building ho scale trains and have never built scenery. So thank you very much
crazyhippo67 You gave me some great info thanks abou the kitty litter I never gave that a thought. Did you use any one in particular the one I have has green and blue stone it, I dont believe that would be to realistic but great idea. I to just got back into building ho scale trains and have never built scenery. So thank you very much
The kitty litter is really clay rather than stone, not that that matters. LION buys "Special Kitty" at Walmart, the stuff in the 25# red bag. Him sifts it through a window screen, kept the small stuff and the cats already knew what they could do with the rest of it. I suppose you can glue it in the normal way. LIONS are not known for doing things "normal". him follows the 1:1 practice of letting gravity hold it in place. Much easier to make adjustments to the tracks. But then, LIONS are different, and do not use a cork roadbed, for him thinks that would make a trackway that is too tall. Besides, LIONS model subway trains, neither tunnels nor elevated structures use ballast.
Ok, OK! LION knows the old IRT used ballast but the modern specs do not call for ballast.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Bachmann EZ-Track can be made to look rather good with ballast. All my track is Bachmann nickel-silver EZ-Track with Woodland Scenics ballast added.
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
To ease the ballasting, "paint" straight white glue on those rather steep plastic shoulders (small foam paintbrush) and sprinkle on some ballast. May need to let set up a bit as not to disturb it while brushing the ballast on the ties. This will allow the ballast to stick and act as a dam to keep the remaining ballast in place to "wet" down and saturate w/ glue/ water or alcohol mix. I do this on regular roadbed for ballasting. Where ever possible lay cardstock next to roadbed to catch the excess. On anything steep drop off, use tape to hold the "ballast" stop/ catcher. Saves a lot of that $$ stuff to immediately reuse instead of sweeping or vacuuming up.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
bogp40Saves a lot of that $$ stuff to immediately reuse instead of sweeping or vacuuming up.
jeffrey-wimberly bogp40Saves a lot of that $$ stuff to immediately reuse instead of sweeping or vacuuming up.Attach the foot portion of a nylon stocking to the end of a vacuum hose do it can be tucked inside. Vacuum up some ballast then hold the vacuum hose over a container and cut the power. The recovered ballast will fall into the container. Repeat as often as needed.
Jeffrey to the rescue!
I'd been collecting mine in the tank of my mini-Shop Vac, where it ended up mixed with all the other stuff that was already there. Your method is far more elegant.
Tom, I wasn't aware you were modeling Japanese prototype Those 2-position lower quadrant semaphores in your photo match some (1:1 scale) I saw in Kyushu 50+ years ago, and some (1:80 scale) I bought at Tenshodo's Tokyo shop. Mine are slated for use on the unbuilt part of the Tomikawa Tani Tetsudo, but I'll bury those relay boxes and dummy in the operating cables and levers. The full scale versions are mechanically actuated. Also, on a track like that the Kokutetsu would have used a guard rail, sort of like a bridge guard rail, but only one, and only on the up-slope side of the track.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with lower quadrant semaphores)