Show us your Ballasting.

[posneg6]

Show your ballasting tricks and tips.

I've just completed my first station ballast job in years using a ballast spreader. I think it's a bit rubbish! too much ballast on the sleepers.

Would love to see how you do yours. 

[Il Grifone]

I use a cheap (e.g. Poundland - usual disclaimer) flat brush to spread it and then fix it with dilute glue (fabric with a spot of detergent to weaken the surface tension).

[Adrian Stevenson]

My layout is O gauge. Track is sprayed first with sleeper grime. I then do the traditional method of pour some ballast on and then tap the rails with a spoon to dance any ballast off the sleepers, followed by moving it around with a paintbrush until I am happy with where it sits. Then fix with PVA glue and weather and dust the sides of the rails with weathering powders plus add cosmetic fishplates.

 

Cheers, Ade.

[sulzer27jd]

Woodland Scenics Medium Ballast, which is their HO range, used in 7mm. Johnston's Klear was used to fix it. 

 

John

[davefrk]

Ballast on Wharfeside, Chippings from local quarry sieved out to 2-3inch lumps (sic) this was the nearest colour to the location of the railway in West Yorkshire. Glued with B&Qs Diall PVA which doesn't set as hard as EVO Resin W, a couple of drops of clear cheap washing up liquid, 'no green dye'. Ash ballast in yard, Early Learning Centre play sand which comes washed, same glue but with black poster paint added to colour the sand.

 

 

Haven't seen the railway since last February but I'm sure it's fine.

 

Dave Franks.

Edited February 4, 2021 by davefrk

[woodyfox]

This is Peco O gauge track with chinchilla grit as the ballast. The grits' raw colour is a lightish brown. It's cheap too and glues well. I use a spray of water/ipa mix then a mix of water/pva with washing up liquid. 

 

[Ray Von]

I recently converted to copydex from PVA for ballasting and I'm really pleased with it - not least because it allows for alteration and reparations far more readily than PVA glue.

 

I've used it on my N gauge shelf layout, using play sand for the ballast - some of which (about 30%) was lightly aerosol painted brown, dried and then mixed back in with the original sand.

The copydex adds a very light "brown sugar" tinge to the finished ballast, which I think helped reproduce the colour that a lot of Southern Region ballast is:

 

Edited February 4, 2021 by Ray Von
Typo

[Andymsa]

This is a bit out there and no jokes plz lol. After laying the ballast I dry brush any excess  off the sleepers, and now for the weird bit I use a speed adjustable bullet sex toy. The motor is removed from the inside of the toy, I found that the high frequency of vibration is just right as the ballast just bounces off the sleepers. You just allow the motor to vibrate on the rail and also tamps down the ballast. You could use an electric toothbrush brush if your screamish about such things as sex toys.  

[posneg6]

2 hours ago, Andymsa said:

This is a bit out there and no jokes plz lol. After laying the ballast I dry brush any excess  off the sleepers, and now for the weird bit I use a speed adjustable bullet sex toy. The motor is removed from the inside of the toy, I found that the high frequency of vibration is just right as the ballast just bounces off the sleepers. You just allow the motor to vibrate on the rail and also tamps down the ballast. You could use an electric toothbrush brush if your screamish about such things as sex toys.  

Strangely I don't have one of those in my tool kit, I'll ask the wife. however I do have a pair of crutch-less knickers that I could sieve the ballast through. 

Just a bit of fun.