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Adding ballast to tracks makes them look great. It takes a time but it is
worth the effort.
Materials Needed
- Ballast
- White Glue (Elmers) 8 Oz bottle plus refill bottle
- Mixing Bottle (64 oz or so with screw top lid)
- Hot Water
- Dishwashing Liquid
- India Ink
- Paint Brush
- Small Cup
- Show vacuum
Selecting Ballast
There are several options available for ballast. All of them look good
when done. Here are some of the other pros and cons.
| Ballast Type |
Pros |
Cons |
| Starter Size Chicken Grit |
- Very inexpensive at less that $10 for 50 pounds.
- Actual granite like prototype ballast.
|
- Slightly heavier than other options.
- Not sold in hobby stores, need to go to pet/farm feed store
|
| Hobby Ballast - Scenic Express, etc... |
- Readily available at hobby stores
|
- Relatively Expensive
- Tends to float away when applying glue.
|
| Rubber Ballast |
|
- Relatively Expensive
- Tends to float away when applying glue.
- Mail Order
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A note about ballast a uniformity: It should not make a difference if
different modules use different ballast. Remember that real Railroads
did not have color standard etc for ballast. It just needed to make
good drainage!
Preparing the Glue
- Fill the 64 Oz mixing bottle about half full of white glue. (use the
glue in the 8oz bottle first.)
- Add in about an equal part of hot water.
- Put in about a drop or two of dishwashing liquid. The dishwashing liquid
helps break the surface tension of the water and glue and allows the mixture
to more readily penetrate the ballast.
- Add a few drops of India Ink. Optional, depending on how much you may want to darken
the ballast.
- Screw on the lid and shake well to mix. (Alternatively you might want to
use a paint stirrer or mixer.)
- Fill the 8 oz Elmer's bottle with the mixture.
Applying the Ballast
- Use the small cup to pour ballast on to the track. Use the paint brush
to spread the ballast around the tracks evenly.
- Use the 8 oz glue bottle with nozzle to drizzle the glue mixture onto
the ballast. Try to avoid getting too much glue on the track. If
you do however, it wipes right off. I find that I can drip a few drops
of glue between each set of ties in the middle of the track and then
move to the next fairly quickly. I then run a long line of drizzle on
the outside.
- You pretty much cannot put too much glue on so don't worry.
Remember that these modules will get bounced around a lot being transported
to and from shows, so a little extra wont hurt.
- Allow glue mix to dry for a good 36 hours.
- Vacuum off excess with a shop vacuum.
- Patch up any areas needing it.
- Once your track is glued down with ballast you may optionally remove any
track screws holding it down. They are no longer needed.
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