Using Sand / Cement Ballast success at last 00 outside

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Using Sand / Cement as ballast   Success at last

For over 30 years my 00 garden layout has been battery operated due to problems with picking up power from the track.   The track was Peco 00 nickel silver code 100 mainly concrete sleeper type (No moulded chairs)  laid on sand cement mix with PVA and mortar plasticiser and banked up around the track like ballast.    When tested initially locos produced showers of sparks and it appeared the tracks were shorting through the ballast,  I gave up and have used batteries since.

However last week after a different garden line suffered severe warping of the baseboards and I decided to risk the sand/ cement mix again.  to level up the severely distorted track bed.  This time without plasticiser or PVA and this time 

Initial results after 24 hours to dry and a quick rub with a Peco track rubber were encouraging, arcing, sparking but my old Bachmann Manor ran, however not for long.  A Wrenn chassis 57XX and a Triang chassis 94XX with Romfords also ran then stopped with filthy wheel treads.
It was obvious something was wrong and it became clear that issue was dirt on the inside of the rails, the track rubber on its side didn't work, made no real difference so I looked for a scraper and found the earth pin from a 3 pin UK mains  plug.   It helped, with the pin flat on the rail notch formed by the widened section for the screw for the wire reducing to the smaller section to fit the socket clears the rail chairs and scraped the side of the rail head.   A further tweak a rod (Old clock part) screwed into the pin keeps it level. A Hacksaw cut made the notch fit the railhead better without striking the chairs. That worked, the next test engine (too lazy to clean the wheels) a Hornby 2721 pannier from around 2016 ran very well,  (on plain track.)  Just like inside .

I haven't tidied it up yet but 7 meters or so of plain track are now fully functional again, and it may be of interest to others as my initial layout has plenty of original track from 30 years ago still serviceable and most of that laid on wood has been changed 3 times...