Many people ask about the best way to apply ballast even
if they have done it before. They must not be satisfied
how theirs turned out so the very best way will be
presented here. I use several techniques and each one
has an advantage over the other as the desired effects
or the situations vary. A neat looking roadbed is a
major accomplishment and very satisfying to look at when
finished. The best rule of thumb is to apply it slowly
and carefully. Each step is very important to follow
because “now”, you will be in control of its finished
appearance. It takes extra work to “fix” areas where the
ballast is to thick and mounded up. This problem is
going to happen in places where we didn’t mean too
anyway. I’ll show you how to “re-groom” a disaster.
Study all the techniques we have introduced in the text
and then evaluate the various options presented.
Getting started:
Cut a corner off the package. Sprinkle it right from the
package directly to the roadbed. If you prefer, you can
use a commercial or home made ballasting tool. To
use the MLR ballast tool,
Set the ballast spreader on the track with bottom
indicator facing in the direction you are going to
ballast. Twist tube right or left until holes
close. Fill the tube with your preferred ballast,
align bottom and top indicator dots and slide spreader
along track,
moving slowly until you become accustomed to the speed
ballast comes out.
When you reach a place you want to stop, turn spreader
1/4 turn to the left or right.
To remove spreader from track, lift by bottom ring to
insure spreader does not come apart. See my hints and tips page for an idea on how to
make your own ballast tool. You can always add some more later and you
will have to anyway because of random bare spots after
wetting and gluing. If you get to much on the ties,
(knuckle head), stop!
Grooming around the ties:
Use a stiff brush to move the extra down the line. There
will still be a few grains on the ties and rail flanges.
Tap the rail tops with the brush handle to bounce these
stubborn particles away. Your can then wipe the tie tops
with your finger tip to remove the rest.
For track without roadbed:
This applies to all track without roadbed such as
industrial sidings, yards or even mainlines. If you want
the ballast to be perfectly flat beyond the ties, lift
the package up a little higher while sprinkling. This
will disperse the grains further and help eliminate
mounds. A piece of paper can be used as a guard where
the ballast line stops against other scenery.
Fixes:
A big mound of ballast maybe to big too feather out so,
just scoop it up with a spoon and remove it. Those
little unwanted mounds occur in places where I don’t
want them. I use a small piece of news paper and drag it
over the mound back and forth to feather it out. What
ever you use, it will leave a mark. Your fingers will
leave prints and a brush will leave furrows. The best
way to erase these marks is by tapping the bench work
from below with a hammer to flatten them out.
Ballasting with roadbed:
Split cork roadbed always has a rough burr that needs to
be sanded smooth. Other roadbeds such as Homosote need
to have the sharp edges sanded round. If the track is
not centered on the roadbed, plan on using more ballast
to make it even from side to side.
Start ballasting from the bench work up to the top of
the roadbed first. This allows the lower grains to
become a foundation for the grains that pile up on top.
If you ballast from the top down, the rocks pick up
speed on the sloped roadbed and make a mess as they
bounce all over. Now you can ballast around the ties as
we mentioned before.
Grooming:
Wherever the ballast is uneven along the sloped bank,
drag a piece of news paper over it to grade it. You may
even have to drag material from bottom to the top.
Sprinkle more ballast only to even out your repair
marks.
Ballasting with two or more colors:
Western railroads are notorious for re-ballasting with
different colors over the years. You can see different
color bands in the roadbed as a result of this. Begin by
applying an earth product on the bench work up to both
sides of the roadbed. Start applying the lowest color
along the base of the roadbed and cover it up to the top
edge of the slope. Apply the second color around the
ties but don’t let it spill down the slope and mix into
the other ballast. Three colors can be done the same
way, however a taller roadbed such as Homosote makes it
easier.
Wetting:
All dry scenery material should be wetted before
bonding. We add a few drops of liquid dish soap to a
spray bottle of water as a dispersant. This helps the
water flow thought the material evenly and thoroughly.
The material needs to get wet right down to the base.
The wetting operation prepares the material for
accepting the bonding material. Some modelers prefer to use rubbing alcohol or photo
flow as a wetting agent because they are of a lower
viscosity than water. This means that it’s less likely
to leave “pot holes” in the dry ballast.
How to wet ballast:
Eye dropper method. It is very easy to disturb the
ballast with even a drop of water.
1. Start wetting the ballast by dropping water on
the ties. The water will slowly run off them and
into the ballast. You will see the water spread out
into the dry ballast; and
2. Now you can drop water where ever the ballast is
already wet. Do about a foot of track until all the
ballast is wet.
Spray bottle:
1. Use a spray bottle that gives the finest mist
possible. Large droplets of water can damage
the pre glued ballast. Hold
the nozzle about 30cm away and start spraying in a
sweeping motion. The 30cm distance allows the
sprayer to disperse the water into a mist without
blasting the dry ballast.
2. Some nozzles will sputter water drops just as you
pull the trigger. Start the spray action where the
ballast is already wet and then move it over the dry
ballast.
3. Continue spraying until the ballast is soaked.
Before you bond your ballast:
Take a good look at the wet ballast. If you are not
satisfied with the neatness of it, stop! Allow it to dry
out and then “fix it” while you can.
BONDING MATERIALS:
White glue:
One part white glue and three parts water is the most
economical type of bonding agent. I mix up a batch in a
pint bottle and use it for all scenery work. It sets up
very hard and will even amplify the train wheel sounds
to the bench work. Have you ever heard a quiet train?
White glue can be softened by wetting the area with
water. Now you can make any changes with the track work
if necessary later on.
Matte Medium:
Matte Medium can be purchased at your local hobby supply
store. It is more water resistant that white glue,
however, the cost can be several times more. Some
modelers use it because they want less “sound board”
effect while running trains.
Granular glue:
Some modelers like to pre-mix dry glue into the ballast.
All you have to do is spread it in place and then wet
it. “Weldwood” powdered glue will cure “water proof”.
One disadvantage is that the ballast may leave
depressions as the glue dissolves while wetting. The
major problem is that once you “wet” it, you can’t fix
it anymore.
Bonding Ballast:
The same bonding method is used for “white glue” or
“matte medium”. Wet ballast is fairly stable and is not
disturbed like dry ballast during the bonding process.
Spray bottles get glue on the rails and make clean up
more difficult. I have found that an eye dropper is a
safer tool to use for “N” & “HO” Fine ballast. Start out
by dripping over the ties and then out to the edges of
the roadbed. You can see the milky color from the glue
seep into the wetted ballast. This is how you can tell
where you need to apply more bonding agent.
HO Mainline and Large Scale ballast is bigger rock so
you can apply the bonding agent faster. An eye dropper
is still the safer tool to avoid making those “pot
holes.” You can use a 6 or 12 oz. bottle with a small
extended tip and just stream the glue on between the
ties. Now you can finish the sloped area the same way.
Touching up Ballast:
Once the ballast is wet, look at it for excessive
mounds. They will still be there when it dries and hard
to fix. Use your finger to pat it smooth and then leave
it alone to dry. Hopefully this problem exist in only a
few places at the most because you don’t want the
finished job appearing with a lot of finger prints. Let
it dry and then lightly scrape away the loose grains
sticking out and then re-ballast the area lightly and
re-bond.
Please watch the following series of videos to
learn more about track ballasting. Please be advised that this is
an example only and there are various methods to ballast track, these
videos are intended to provide additional information:
