RMweb Gold Sweet pea Posted November 29, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 29, 2018 Can I use oo gauge ballast for o gauge modelling or is the something else I can use on the market. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcD Posted November 29, 2018 Share Posted November 29, 2018 In the past I have used OO and N gauge ballast as well as sand it all depends on the type of ballast you want to have. If your after an industrial look you can use what you want. Marc Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Sweet pea Posted November 29, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 29, 2018 Marc thanks for your reply most helpful. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted November 29, 2018 Share Posted November 29, 2018 Don't forget the largest ballast is 2.5 inches. Which in 7mm is under 1.5mm. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverlink Posted November 30, 2018 Share Posted November 30, 2018 Ballast that I have used on my layout which looks good when finished. Cheers Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erictheviking Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 I use Gauggemaster OO ballast for O gauge. I am quite pleased with the result. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erictheviking Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 I use Gauggemaster OO ballast for O gauge. I am quite pleased with the result. GAUGEMASTER. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve fay Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 Dapol’s new o gauge ballast is very good, it depends on what your modelling really 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Prism Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 Nice 'greasy-sleeper' look, Steve. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbishop Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 I make up my own mix. About 90% oyster shell; this is sold as chicken grit and comes way overscale so needs a whizz in a redundant (*) coffee grinder. The colour can be determined at this stage by including a lump of coal. It needs a brief whizz, extraction of right sized product, then rewhizzing the remainder. The oyster shell doesn't glue very well, so I add 10% of granite ballast. Bill (*) use of redundant coffee grinder optional, but otherwise divorce proceedings definite. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgood Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 (edited) Does 00 ballast look better? I too was not so sure that the use of highly accurate sized ballast is essential - its more a case of finding something that looks right, and yes, sometimes that can mean using larger or smaller than prototype.Anyway - having been very taken with the look of Woodland Scenics Medium ballast on a layout (I believe it is ground nutshell / fruit stone), I searched in vain for some data on the grading for each size from UK suppliers. So I ordered some medium and fine to try.Having got the material I find it is not easy to measure without crushing between the jaws of measuring instruments, and I have no grading sieves of the right sizes.And then I discovered on Woodland Scenic's U.S. site the very data I was after! I failed to find this on any of the UK sellers' sites.So in case it is of any help here it is:Note the O Scale used is, as expected, the U.S. 1/48, the HO being 1/87.Converting the three sizes to 7mm and 4mm scale gets us these scale particle gradings:Compare with a 1980s BR grading spec for ballast which is: 100% passing 63mmBulk of material 50mm - 28mmless than 1% passing 1.18mm Looks like MEDIUM is pretty good for 7mm with FINE a good choice for 4mm.I know grading specs changed a bit over the 150 years or so but not by that much.I also have some DCC 00 samples coming to look at, but again can find no info on grading.In terms of grading of real ballast, it is likely that anything between 2mm and 20mm would have been taken out – as this would have a much higher value as concreting aggregate (crushing is an expensive way of obtaining specific sized aggregate compared to using naturally graded material), but also to ensure good drainage. A small amount of retained fines helps to bind the larger stone, this and crushing dust residue not washed from product accounts for the BR fines spec., indicating they want it clean, but not necessarily washed totally clean.So I was pleased that what I thought looked best on a layout, compared to other layouts at the same venue, in fact turned out to be pretty much to scale. I should of course add - Other brands of ballast are available! Edited December 3, 2018 by Osgood Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Sweet pea Posted December 3, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted December 3, 2018 Hi thanks to all for the advice on which ballast to use. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deano747 Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 Hi All, I've been stocking up on this natural granite chippings. I haven't used any yet but plan a photo plank when time permits. Usual disclaimer. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1mm-Grey-Green-GRADED-Granite-Chippings-Ballast-Model-Scenic-Railway-N-OO-HO-O/163405310369?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=462725279899&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2648Iv'e Regards, Deano. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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