Ballast

[Dennis]

Can someone give me some advice on how to ballast track with a cork roadbed? I have put together a new layout but have never used ballast before as my old layout was with EZ track. I have put some ballast in the center of the track, but is there a trick to the outside edges? I have started with medium ballast, hope that is right.

Thanks
Dennis

[Bill Baker]

Dennis,

If you get a chance pick up last month's issue of Model Railroader at a hobby shop near you.  There are many articles in past issues about ballast and scenery you would enjoy reading.  Basically you need to mix some white glue, water and a drop of liquid detergent in a spray bottle.  Place your ballast on your track in between the rails and on the shoulders while dry.....smooth it out with your finger or a soft brush and lightly spray the mixture on your track. Wipe off the mixture from the top of your rails. LET IT DRY!  If you find some bare spots then go back and repeat the procedure again.  Be sure and clean the tops of your rails after you spray the mixture on and also clean out the track webbing on the inside of your track.  This will prevent derailments. If you have any switches (turnouts) make sure none of the ballast has imbedded itself into the points.

[THB-DAVE]

Hi Dennis; first paint full strenght glue on the road bed then sprinkle the ballast on then spray the dilluted mixture on. Before you put the ballast on round off the edge of the cork with sand paper. This will help the ballast stick to the edge. I like to use Artist Matte Medium cut 50% with water and add alcohol to break the water adhesion rather than detergent. I then drip it on with an eye dropper, rather than spray it, for better control.

[JM]

I'm not sure what ''round off the edge of the cork  with sandpaper'' means, Midwest brand cork roadbed is cut down the middle so you can seperate it easily...once it's apart you'll see that the edges are beveled, no need to sand anything, and the two seperate pieces allow you to make fluid curves without kinking.  I don't know what type of cork dave is using that doesn't come pre-cut and beveled.

[THB-DAVE]

Dennis the beveled edge has a sharp edge and if you sand it round the ballast will stick to it better.  I have layed a lot of cork road bed in 30 years and know of what I speak. Use 60 grit paper and one or two passes will do it. It makes the roadbed look more natural as the profile is more rounded.

David

[Chris R]

Rounding the edges creates a drop-off, and the ballast will take its own, natural bevel.  Leaving the pre-cut bevel will show through and look bad, because the rock just slides down the smooth angled surface.  Pelle Soeborg has an article on laying track perfectly in a previous Model Railroader issue, though it concentrates on modelling well-maintained track, there's some good information applicable to all types of track-work.

The most recent Model Railroader's article shows the fine ballast coming up even with the ties, which to me looks more like a paved surface.  Using a coarser (but not too coarse) ballast and leaving a very small distance between the tops of the ties and ballast, looks much better.

[Craig]

Of the 100 yards of Midwest Products cork roadbed I've installed in the last 20 months there were quite a few pieces that had sharp angles on the slopes. I always sand cork before laying track and putting something of a "bull nose" on those sharp angles is part of the process. The cork looks much more realistic when ballasted if that angle is eased slightly. Most pieces I used did not require it.

Dennis, you've gotten some good advice on ballasting. I think most of us use similar techniques. I shape/position the ballast with a paint brush and then spray it with wet water (water plus a drop or two of detergent) until it is slightly moist. Then I dribble diluted white glue between the ties with an eyedropper. The glue seeps into the ballast along the sides. A second spray of wet water ensures that the glue is distributed uniformly, as indicted by subtle pudding at the outermost edges of the ballast.

I airbrush the ties before ballasting.


Craig

[Craig]

Chris, I agree with you. Fine ballast at the surface of the ties just looks like paste to me. I prefer medium ballast and at varying levels, including on top of the ties here and there.

Craig

[Bill Baker]

A neat effect I did a while back was to use N scale cork roadbed. After seperating the strip, I ran the strips in the direction I wanted and glued them down.  This left a gap about a quarter of an inch wide between the two sections.  I filled the gap with dirt right out of my back yard and smoothed it out.  I then came back with white glue to secure the dirt, added my track and then sprinkled on the ballast.  What this gives you is a roadbed with a very low profile and the edge of the cork extends only a slight distance from the edges of the ties not like the HO scale cork that seems to wide for branchline use. I used this section as an old spur and when finished out with ground cover and sifted dirt, looks like an old abandoned line.  Give it a try...you'll be surprised.

[Chris R]

You could also use the gap to run feeder wires underneath the track, so they're easily accessible.

[Bill Baker]

Chris,

Absolutely a great idea...that never ocurred to me.  This is what makes this forum so great!