Ballasting model railroad tracks EASY - Detailed guide DIY

[@bboomer1948]

I like your painting Tamiya Color Earth, on the roadbed , rails and track. Had not seen that done by other modelers and I've been following Model RR for sixty years. Great touch !

[@akv2002]

Thanks Martin and congratulations for this amd other tutorial videos!!!! Really a great job!!!!

[@denassdidu]

Beautiful work and , great info that we do not have here in America. Thank you for being a real trainer, and not a wantabe.

[@redbarnz]

My friend, you are an inspiration to us all!

[@mickspillane6016]

Excellent video! Thank you!

[@danielhensley2597]

Love the 💕 tutorials! Half German in Alaska modeling in Spur 0 and Ho epoch lI

[@abdonhernandez3177]

All your videos are excelent. Greatings from Venezuela

[@marklinofsweden]

Thank you Abdon! Venezuela? Wow! Cool! Greetings back from Sweden!

[@nhyardlimit]

I would NEVER be able to do anything like this!! Talk about dexterity!! wow

[@kennykenaz8340]

here's a few ideas for diy railroad layout construction Find a proven set of plans online Find a colleague who wants to build one too so you have another person to encourage you (I discovered these and why they work on Jareks Hobby Club website )

[@paulboes]

Your videos are very informative for new Marklin users. How do you lay down Marklin Flex track for large radius curves without kinks at the rail joiners?

[@TomCro2022]

Very nice video.......Best wishes for a happy, healthy and safe 2019 .

[@vidfreak727]

Question: wont the paint block electrical contact with the power pick up trucks of locomotives? Unless its easy to remove that is.

[@InterCity134]

Appreciate the comment about the cork being resistant to solvents. So with the foam bedding, what solvents must one worry about? Paint or glue solvents? The model spray paint solvent?

[@marklinofsweden]

+Minok1217 Thank you for this comment! Definately the glue. No solvent based glue goes for sure. But the paint is typically applied on top of both ballast and glue, so I don´t think solvents there would be a big issue. Best thing is Always to try the materials out on a small sample piece before starting in larger scale on your layout.

[@diedertspijkerboer]

I bought a role of 5 mm think 1mx1m cork and cut it into 4.5 mm strips. Then I cut these strips in half at an angle of 45 degrees. I found this to be the cheapest way to get a roadbed. But it is more laborious of course.

[@hovermotion]

fleischmann profi track is good if you do not like this process...great vid

[@christophbuchberger7469]

I tried the foam track bed for N scale with flex track - and had quite a hard time glueing the track to the bed. Wood glue didn't seem to stick well enough, especially since the flex track can be under tension in curves. It kept coming off, so I ended up using solvent free fast set glue, however that can ruin the ties. In the end I moved back to good old cork.

[@rodderss52]

Thanks for another brilliant Video Martin, you make things look so easy and better to do. Can you tell me which do you prefer... Cork or Foam. I have used Woodland Scenics on my 1st layout and it really did a good job of sound deadening. I have used cork now on my new layout but not entirely happy with it. The 1st layout was completely lifted off the board, but the new was is mainly on the board, do you think that is way it's not the same..... I am going to do my ballasting just like you have shown.... Thanks again.

[@marklinofsweden]

+rodderss52 Well.. Cork is more rigid and no fuzz.. I like that. In Sweden, where I live cork is a whole lot more expensive than the WS foam bed.. Strange!! But final result.. I'd go for the WS foam bed. They are not even paying me to write this. I'm such a looser! :D HAhaha!

[@FlyingArkwright]

@@marklinofsweden How much cork do you need? Bauhaus here in Finland has a cork roll 2mm thick, 500mm x 8000mm for 30€

[@jmhmkr104]

How do you remove the paint of the centre contacts?

[@csdeneen3]

on your curves, do you add anything to the outer rail to have it higher than the inner rail - simulate a real rail system - and if so, what do you use (or do you have a video that details this)

[@ericruthenberg4975]

Thanks for the video. Is it an option to paint the track first and after it dries to them put down the ballast. Thanks

[@marklinofsweden]

+Eric Ruthenberg Thank you for this comment! Yes, That´s what I did when I started out. Painted the rail sides in rust color with a brush and then glued the track on to the roadbed. Ballasting.. Then again painted the Ballast with first one lighter rust color and finishing with a darker. This was a very time consuming process and the result wasn´t that impressive I must admit. The method in the tutorial is much easier and gives the better result.

[@finleyelder8252]

Amazing ! Subbed on my other channel and on this one Your amazing !

[@ronplucksstrings7112]

4:00 I'd be afraid of missing an area...because coverage by the drop is not as complete as coverage from a spray container...also, what about using a thinned out acrylic in the spray bottle before ballast glue is dry (I don't have an air-brush)...water based acrylic is compatible with ballast glue, so could be done as the final step... Thanks for great videos as always!

[@jockellis]

Ronplucksstrings Don’t worry, capillary action will spread out the glue with the added benefit that you don’t then have to clean the rails. Also, if you have enough wind to blow away the ballast then you probably need to get away from the hurricane or tornado.

[@livesteam]

Nice video, and beautiful reslt too ... question ... you show towards the end of the video a diesel railcar (DMU) ... who manufactures those ? ... It looks very much as the ones which used to be in service on the "SNCB" (Belgian Railways), which I am modelling ... Thanks for any information you coukd give ... Greetings from Guy

[@marklinofsweden]

Hi Guy! Thank you for the positive feedback! The model railcar is made by German manufacturer called ”Märklin”. I don’t know what company who made the ”real” railcar though..

[@scopex2749]

I have bought a OO gauge track tamper and employed tiny people to do my ballasting👍🏻 I have the Trolls to do the bridges 🤔

[@stevecoster322]

Hiya, very good video but why ballast with coffee?

[@alexandergifford1051]

Great video, very helpful

[@kimboutrup5174]

kan du bruge track-bed på c-skinner. eller har det ingen effekt med hansyn til støjdæpning.

[@marklinofsweden]

+Kim Boutrup Hei Kim, För C-skenor rekommenderar jag hellre en anti-slip mat från IKEA. Jag har en tutorial med måling av stöjdaempningen. Se kzbin.info/www/bejne/anStZoubbregY5o

[@_chp_]

Would this work with hornby/bachmann track?

[@stefflus08]

This makes me want to take up this hobby. But in the name of ultra realism I have a question. Why can't the track just be set in ballast like the real thing? Are the locomotives heavier than scale? Obviously precision hasn't been scaled as well, is it too jittery and jumpy? Something like a Cargonet di8 should weigh 82tons÷(87×87×87)= 125g. I suspect H0 locomotives are generally much heavier?

[@marklinofsweden]

Good to hear you like the videos and find them inspiring! 👍😊 H0-scale locomotives weigh typically between 500grams up to 2 kilos. Today many manufacturer mold in white metal to get maximum detail. Ballasting is not an issue. There are track with integrated roadbed if you don’t want to mess around with ballast. Check out Märklin c-track, or Roco Geoline for instance.

[@simonalexandercritchley439]

Fleischmann Profi-gleis (pro track) is another with integrated ballast,looks nice with lower profile and stainless rails for 2 rail system.Most of mine came from Germany on ebay.

[@jockellis]

What are the tabs in the middle of the ties?

[@marklinofsweden]

It’s a 3rd rail for power pickup. Meaning both rails are connected to (-) and the center rail to (+). It simplifies wiring and increases reliability, but the downside is of course realism.

[@filipthetrainguy4723]

It's only for Märklin (Lionel O-Gauge also uses the 3rd rail)

[@JTTheRailfan]

thanks for the tutorial

[@Tulle1234]

Vilken typ av märklin räls använder du där ?

[@marklinofsweden]

+Tulle1234 Hej! I denna video är det K-räls. På anläggningen är det annars en blandning av M- och K-räls.

[@marklinofsweden]

+Tulle1234 K-räls

[@kilo8horst]

Hallo nach Schweden, die Schrauben müssen aber wieder entfernt werden, sonst hat man ja wieder Verbindung mit dem Resonanzkörper. Woher ich das wohl weiß ha ha...... Gruß Horst

[@marklinofsweden]

+Horst Gemein Vielen Dank! Sehr gut. Die Schrauben müssen aber wieder entfernt werden, sonst hat man ja wieder Verbindung mit dem Resonanzkörper. Ich habe hinzugefügt jetzt deinen Kommentar zu diesem Video.

[@jpcbrother]

You need a regulator!!!