Easy Ballasting Step By Step (30)

[@UneducatedEngineer444]

I used your method on my coffee table layout I am building and it turned out excellent. Thank you Larry.

[@monham5041]

Yeah. Nice finish. There is an alternative to stop the cracking and last step. Tap on the side ballast gently with your finger while it is dry. This compacts the ballast up against the Cork underlay and avoids the cracking. You soon learn how much pressure to use. In my experience you can also tap the wet ballast as a final shaping. This causes the same as liquifaction with the glue paste. A few tries and you can master it. This will save the last step. I've seen so many KZbinrs say, "don't touch the wet ballast", but honestly, it can be done successfully if you are gentle. Trial and error saves time. 👍 Monsville Railways

[@christiedecker2724]

Hello, found you today, 5-15-2022. Thank you for this demo. I do not do railroad miniatures, I create flowers from air-dried clay. I try to put them in arrangements that mimic their natural habitat. I have an order for some cacti upcoming, and wondered how to 'glue' the sand in place. Now I know! Thank you kindly! Blessings.

[@StevieWonder737]

Doing a large layout. Ballasting is the single biggest pain in the rear. My issue is mostly with ballast floating with the glue application and putting a lot more "residue" on the ties than is easily removed

[@TheDCCGuy]

I agree but have a tip. There are different types of ballast some of which are less likely to float. I was told that Woodland Scenics makes theirs out of crushed walnut shells which explains why they float. I had a big bag of an old brand (forgot the name) that was made of real crushed rock and it is less likely to float. Also by wetting the ballast with alcohol and then using diluted glue it tends to flow into the ballast with less floating.

[@StevieWonder737]

@@TheDCCGuy Thanks. I'm using Arizona Minerals as my primary ballast material now and it is real crushed rock and, as you noted, does not float nearly as much. I also found that mixing less water with the glue helps in reducing the floating. BTW, I am using alcohol as my wetting agent which does help too. THANKS for the many, many great tips and techniques.

[@jhoodfysh]

Thanks for the alternate ideas Larry.

[@CDOES]

A very helpful series! Thank you!

[@mgamga9476]

Thanks for posting. Very helpful technic. Just wish i knew the glue mix you use.

[@JoeG-firehousewhiskey]

I have never seen the technique of adding thicker glue to fill in the areas that were missed, thats a very nice and easy way to fill in those gaps.

[@bobevansIW]

Thank you for posting this series

[@MRR_Shadowolf]

Great ballasting series,thanks!

[@peterjhillier7659]

What a great Video, thank you Larry, mind you must have the patience of Job.

[@gerlandkent6377]

[thank, you for youre great helpful video]👍

[@klbird]

Cork roadbed has "brow" on one side when you tear it in half and it must be removed before laying it or applying ballast as it looks bad when ballast is applied. I use a rasp for this. Also its is difficult to adhere the ballast to the side of the roadbed and you can end up with the brown showing through. I solved this by first selecting a flat latex paint that matched the ballast to be used then paint the roadbed before laying track. It looks better and hides any missed spots. Your techniques are right on and thanks for the rubber band on the spreader. I will apply same to mine.

[@TheDCCGuy]

I have also used wood rasps and a razor knife to trim off that little brow.

[@klbird]

@@TheDCCGuy I know as I did not see any on your layout. Most people don't realize until it's down. You have a great channel. I learned a lot about DCC from it and now all my remaining Atheran Blue Box Locos are now DCC. Thanks.

[@denniswilson2690]

well done

[@Palanthon]

Love the vids Larry! Keep 'em coming! Is it possible that you will be doing any LCC videos?

[@TheDCCGuy]

I'll see what I can do but right now it is still mainly vaporware. From what I have seen only RR-CirKits is maki g anything.

[@joeanderson5825]

How do you clean off the glue from the track so your train makes contact to the rails?

[@TheDCCGuy]

First, I put the glue on the ballast not the rails. Howerver if I do get a splash it can be removed using a damp cloth to clean the rails before it dries. If some gets missed and dries then a swipe with a Brite Boy will get it off.

[@UFO4X]

Nice ballasting job! What brand and code of track do you use? Happy Modeling! 🚂

[@TheDCCGuy]

I mostly use MicroEngineering track, but also have some Peco, all code 83.

[@UFO4X]

@@TheDCCGuy Cool! That’s what I want to use on my new layout. Do you ever have any derailment issues or problems with it? As I know that the rails are lower in height.

[@TheDCCGuy]

I have never had any issues with code 83, but code 70 can be different if you have any cars with slightly oversized flanges. The only issue I know of with ME track is the gaging can be a bit tight at the frog and steam locos seem to have occasional problems with the bronze frog insert but not diesels. So you might test one with your locos before investing in a bunch. If I run into a problem I just give it a few swipes with a small flat file and move on.

[@UFO4X]

@@TheDCCGuy That’s good! Thank you very much for the helpful input and information. Happy Modeling! 🚂

[@dondyer8388]

What is the stuff you are putting on with the straw

[@TheDCCGuy]

I assume you mean with the pipette? As I said in the video and in the description it is alcohol.

[@rickhemker3049]

Even using fine ballast, i couldn't get it to spread with the Bachman spreader.

[@TheDCCGuy]

Rick, wow, sorry to hear that. I must be using a very fine ballast as it does work for me. Mine is Woodland Scenics fine gray ballast. I’ll have to dig around and see what other sizes I have on hand to try out. Thanks for pointing this out before a lot of folks invest in these, they are a bit pricey. In the end the good old plastic spoon method will never let you down and I guarantee it will spread any size “model” ballast. Ok, I just tested it with Scenic Express #40 light gray limetstone ballast and some of my home made stuff that I sifted to 0.5-1 mm size and both worked fine. My home made stuff is a lot bigger than the fine ballast and is a little coarser than I really liked so I don’t use it anymore favoring the fine grade. Just what kind of problems are you having, does the ballast not come out of the spreader at all?

[@rickhemker3049]

Actually, did a bit more investigating and found the ballast I was using was not fine but medium. The spreader I have is not Bachman but is a Proses. Also, one of the holes that opens to spread the ballast on the side is a tiny bit smaller than the other one. This makes for an uneven spread to one side. I think the medium ballast should spread OK as it's not that much bigger than the fine ballast. Can't figure out why it does not spread though. Perhaps the age of the ballast I'm using has something to do with it but not sure. I've ordered new ballast and will try it and see how that works.

[@TheDCCGuy]

I hope you can get it to work for you, it does make a tedious process go much faster. I do recommend doing it in about 1’ sections as the ballast can build up and needs to be spread onto empty track. This also is about all you can do before needing a refill. Good luck!

[@sandrahiss988]

Do you use n scale ballast on the HO track?

[@TheDCCGuy]

I think it was Woodland Scenics fine gray ballast.