I got this brainstorm to add more realism to my layout, by adding ballast beside my tracks. I've considered this idea before but dismissed it as unnecessary at the time. But in retrospect, I thought maybe I would give it a try. I got myself a bag of very fine grey ballast that closely matched the MTL roadbed and using a squeeze bottle with a long spout, I started applying it along a couple of stretches of track to see how it would look. Before that, I applied a very thin coat of scenic cement with a shringe on both sides of the track right at the base. Then slowly squeezed on the ballast. It took a bit of trial and error to figure out how to get the ballast to flow through the spout of the squeeze bottle and the right pressure to use on the bottle with my fingers, but after a few false starts, I got the hang of it. Actually it helped a great deal to rest the top rim of the bottle on the track and tilt it downward and to the right or left just enough to create a realistic looking effect. As I gently squeezed out the ballast, I moved the bottle backward covering one section of track at a time on the right, and then return to the starting point and do the left side in the same fashion. After I had done about 4 to 5 sections, I let the ballast sit for a bit, and then applied some wet water with another shringe in the same fashion as the first application of SC. I let this dry and continued on with a few more sections, repeating the steps until I had comleted one line of track on this module. Where I have turnouts, I have not applied any ballast at all. I know this will make the whole effect look off kilter, but I reasoned that if I had to replace a turnout, I wouldn't have to disturb the ballast at all and then redo it again afterwards. However, I realized that if I had to replace a turnout, I'd have to rip up the track for at least a half dozen sections to get the turnout free, so I'd be no further ahead. So it wasn't such a good idea in the first place. But now back to the ballast on the rest of the track. After letting it all dry overnight, I checked on it the next day and found that in some places, the ballast had dried hard and solid, and in other places I was still able to move the top most layer with my fingers. This I found most disturbing. The part that was solid, was actully not too bad of an effect as it widened out the simulated ballast on MTL track. It's the part that still seems to be lose that bothers me. Can anyone suggeest a way or a substance I can use to get the ballast to come out uniformly hard and solid all over? I was thinking mixing water and clear Elmer's School Glue 50/50 and applying that with and eye dropper but I want to be sure I'm going in the right direction so as not to waste time and effort. I'm open to anything anyone can suggest at this point.
I use white glue and water, but you have to wet the ballast with alcohol first so it doesn't all wash away with the 50/50 mix of water and glue. I did have mixed success mixing 33/33/33 glue water and alcohol. It seems to dry hard. I also believe David K. Smith has a good primer on ballasting roadbed track on one of his blogs I think. Zac
I use the 50/50 or close to that ratio of white glue and water. Perhaps you have not added enough of the mixture to get it all to stick. When laying flex track I drown the ballast and when it dries, everything is down solid. I think you may have skimped in some areas. The glue/water mixture works very well when applied correctly and adequately.
Zak, you must have posted seconds sooner than I did, but we do use the same technique. I vary that a little. I lay my ballast for several feet and then carefully spritz the surface with pure alcohol until it is thoroughly wet. I follow up with my glue/water mixture, drowning it as I told Ken. I do not disturb the ballast until I am sure it is thoroughly dry, usually at least a full 24 hours or so.
If you use water and white glue 50/50, don't forget to add a few drops of normal dishwash soap. The soap will let the solution flow much better. The alcohol will also help for the same.
Thanks Guys. I did use a glue to water mix 50/50 or what I thought was the right mixture, but I never considered the alcohol aspect. I used that strictly for track cleaning after everything is dry. I've gotta try that, Once everthing is dry it holds the track in place so glueing track isn't necessary. However, as I stated in my original post, I'm not starting to have concerns about having to replace track at some point down the road. I hope that won't ever happen, but if a turnout goes down, then at least 18 inches to 2 feet of track on either side will have to be ripped up in order to get enough flexibility to replace the turnout. This will mean destroying all the work I've done with the ballasting. Is there perhaps an easier method?
One thought I have on your problem is that there is still mold release agent on the MTL roadbed making your results inconsistent. You might want to try washing/wiping the roadbed with alcohol or any of the cleaning liquids that have been recommended here for cleaning plastic prior to painting and try the ballast again with the 50/50 solution with a wetting agent. As far as turnout replacement, I haven't had much of a need to replace them, except when I get careless with the ballast glue around them. I used a power tool to cut the track about 6" either side of the side out the turnout, removed the turnout and the track sections on either side and replace the turnout and the track sections as one unit, bowing it to get it into the layout. If your fear is regarding the lifetime of the solenoid on the turnout, you might want to consider using an under-the-table switch machine. Hope this helps, Mark
Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. I'm not so much concerned about the solenoid on the turnout as I am jamming up the slider under the turnout while trying to apply ballast. I ran into this problem already but was able to solve it by sliding a couple of strips of thin card stock cut just wide enough to go from edge to edge of the roadbed, but before and after the slider. As I add more turnouts down the line, no pun intended, I'm going to make a very slight indent in the roadbed under the turnout. That way the slider will have a free area to function without being bothered by solutions to hold the ballast in place.
Mark, you don't need to 'bow' the track actually. I cut the new rail so it fits almost exactly, (just a little shy at best). Removing one tie on the ends of both tracks to be joined, I then cut a rail joiner in half so I am inserting a shorter joiner on the end of the track already in place, placing the new track in place and then carefully sliding the shortened rail joiner onto the new track. I solder the joiner to both pieces if you want a permanent track joint or leave it alone and secure with the glue/water mixture. This method of replacing only the minimum amount of track saves all the track further away from the offending section. Hope that was easier to understand than it was to write it.
