I decided to use Kato UNitrak on my curves...the Atlas sectional track was too unreliable and my flextrack skills are ...well...non-existant. How do people use "real" ballast on Unitrak and what would you N scale scholars suggest to do with the added "problem" of ballasting it so it matches and works well and looks good with the Atlas track? Ski [ 24 June 2001: Message edited by: Ski ]
I decided to ballast over a portion of my Unitrack when my favorite prototype ballasted the area I was modeling with mauve colored ballast. When I tried traditional methods of ballasting the track, the rocks just slid off the sides, so I ended up with mauve between the rails and gray on the edges. That wasn't acceptable so I tried plan B. I took straight matte medium and painted it onto the sides of the unitrack and then sprinkled the ballast on while it was still wet. Once that dried, I vacuumed up everything that wasn't attached and then mixed Woodland Scenics dry cement with the ballast a sprinkled it between the ties and on top of the stuff I glued on before. I arranged everything with a soft brush, and then wet it thoroughly with a spray bottle. Once it was dry, it looked great! Here's a photo: Paul Templar has a similar method on his web page where he mixes the ballast in with wallpaper paste and smears it between the ties. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks like it might work.
Thanks Ed! Your layout looks great! I went to your homepage to look for more photos of it, but couldn't find any. Ski
Sorry you won't find anymore photos of it. We're in the process of selling our house and the layout is packed up and waiting for the close of escrow. I'm looking forward to a fresh start.
