Well, I am finally back at it. I have had to take a 3 month break from building the layout. Some dumb dumb at work deleted All of the bills and related records from the past 6 months. So I had 3 months to put Humpty Dumpty back together. I was the closest I have ever come to killing someone I swear to....
Anyway. I have just about finished laying cork and have a good jump on the track work. Pictures to follow soon. After that comes my least favorite part, ballesting. Then my favorite part, assembling and painting buildings. And some ground scenery of course. Hope everyone has a good day.
JJF
Prototypically modeling the Great Northern in Minnesota with just a hint of freelancing.
Yesterday is History.
Tomorrow is a Mystery.
But today is a Gift, that is why it is called the Present.
Ballasting is easy and I made a special tool for grooming the edge. I use a styrene tube about 1/8 and insert it into the end of one of those attachments to a regular vac that makes it into a mini vac. I just shove it into the curved attachment for the mini. I can groom an edge or just pick up one grain that got out of place.
JDawg After that comes my least favorite part, ballesting.
You won't get a bigger bang from your model-railroading-buck than you will for ballasting and painting the rail. That's where it changes from toy-like to model.
While it may bore you, I'm including my procedure for ballasting...
I keep seeing comments about people dreading having to ballast their tracks, or, from people who've tried and not had success, and about what a crummy task it is. What follows is my procedure for ballasting - there are other methods that work as well, but this one uses readily-available and cheap tools and materials. And it works!
The choice of ballast is up to you - I use both Woodland Scenics Fine Ballast , and real rock ballast, too, on my HO scale layout, but there are many other brands and sizes available, and plenty of colours. If you use natural materials, like sand, dirt, or decomposed rock, it's best to use a magnet to remove any magnetic inclusions that might possibly damage the motors in your locos. To ballast your track, I find that a small paper cup (such as those kitchen or bathroom Dixie cups) gives you great control over where the ballast goes. I usually move the cup along the centre of the track, tapping it as I go, to keep the ballast flowing. Less than you need is better than too much, although a soft 1/2" brush is useful for pushing around the excess or levelling what's in place. Don’t use the brush to brush the ballast around, especially the WS ballast, as it’s very light and will fly all over the place. Instead, lay the brush almost parallel to the ground and drag the ballast along. Then go back and do both roadbed shoulders in turn. Use the brush to level and re-arrange things as required, making sure to keep the ballast away from the throwbar area and the flangeways of the guardrails. To remove stray ballast from the tie tops, lightly grasp the metal ferrule of the brush between the thumb and forefingers of one hand, laying the handle across the rail tops, then, as you move the brush along the tracks, lightly and rapidly tap the brush handle with the fingers of your free hand. The stray ballast will "magically" bounce off the ties and into place between them.
If you're also ballasting turnouts, make sure to keep the level of the ballast below the tops of the ties, and don't place any ballast between the ties surrounding the throw bar. To avoid gluing the points to the ties, place two drops of plastic-compatible oil atop each tie over which the point rails move, one next to each point rail, then flip the points back-and-forth several times to spread the oil. Parking the points in mid-throw will also help to ensure that they don't get glued to the stock rails, either. If necessary, use strip styrene to keep them in place.You can mist the contoured ballast using either water and alcohol, or water with a few drops of dish detergent added. Either should work, although I prefer the detergent, as it's cheaper and works just as well.
I generally do fairly long sections of track at the same time, and the alcohol may evapourate too quickly to be effective over a longer period of time (I save my alcohol - not the denatured kind - for a nice drink after I've completed the ballasting.) Use a sprayer that will allow you to spray a fine mist. To avoid having the force of the spray dislodge loose ballast all over the landscape, aim the first few spritzes upward, letting the droplets fall like rain. Once the surface has been dampened, you'll be able to spray it directly. Make sure to thoroughly wet the ballast right down to the base. Not doing so is probably the main reason that many people have trouble getting a decent-looking and durable ballasting job. To apply the glue/water mixture (white glue works just as well as matte medium and is way cheaper, especially if you buy it by the gallon. Those who claim that white glue dries shiny are not using sufficient wetting agent. The proportions should be about 50/50 water/glue, although a little heavier on the water will still work well). To apply the glue mixture, don't ruin a perfectly good spray bottle (and while doing so cover your rails and anything else nearby in glue, too): instead, use a dropper. An eyedropper will work, but a plastic squeeze bottle with a small nozzle will be much faster. Simply move along the track, as quickly as necessary, allowing the glue mixture to drip onto the ballast (or ties - you won't see it once it dries). You should be able to see it being drawn into the ballast due to the wetting agent. I usually do the area between the rails first, then the sides in turn. The glue mixture will spread throughout the ballast and down to the roadbed, so make sure to apply enough to allow this to occur. The result will be ballast bonded solidly in place, yet with the appearance of loose, individual pieces.
Where I have scenic areas adjacent to, but below the level of the track, I also apply the basic ground cover, which also helps to soak up the excess glue that spreads out from the ballast line. If you're applying ballast (or ground cover) to steeply sloped areas, use a suitable-width brush to apply undiluted white glue to the slope before applying the ballast or ground foam, which will help to hold everything in place while you apply the wetting agent and the dilute white glue (these steps help to bond the top layers of material to those in contact with the unthinned glue, and also help to draw that glue up into the top layers).
Depending on how deep your ballast and adjacent scenery is, the glue may take several days to dry. Don't touch it while it's still wet (you'll make a mess) and wait until it's dry before cleaning the rails - I used a mildly-abrasive block intended for polishing electrical contacts.
Wayne
How to say it?
Ballasting is the best part of layout building. It is outright fun. It is the point at which your model railroad comes alive.
The key is to do it at the right time, after laying and wiring track but before "landscaping" (i.e., ground cover, trees and bushes, etc.).
Here are my most important steps in the process:
1. Use real rock ballast, not fake stuff like Woodland Scenics Ballast.
2. Don't use your wife's best silverware, but find an old spoon and use it to apply the ballast on both sides of the track outside the rails.
3. Lightly apply spoonfuls of ballast between the rails, but don't overdo it.
4. Use a small paint brush or barber's brush to groom the ballast, removing ballast off the ties.
5. Focusing on small sections of track (maybe 1 to 2 feet at a time), spray the ballast with 70% isopropyl alcohol.
6. Immediately apply your glue mix with an eye dropper, focusing on the ballast outside of the rails.
7. If you lightly applied the ballast between the rails, there is no need to apply glue between the rails since some will seep in during the preceding step.
8. Studiously avoid even looking at the ballasted areas for at least 24 hours, maybe even 36 hours.
9. Vacuum up any stray ballast.
10. Your'e done!
Rich
Alton Junction
For me, ballasting track is a very stress-relieving activity. It takes just enough concentration to take my mind off of any worries I may have, but not so much that it's mentally fatiguing. Plus an hour's work shows suficient progress to be satisfying.
But that's just me.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
I appreciate all of the tips. I am going to apply them as I work this week. I think part of it is that I expect the ballesting to be perfect, which it is not on the prototype. Anyways, thanks all!