How To Make Your Own Ballast

[@jawharp1992]

In regards to the walnut shell method, you can also purchase ground walnut shell that is sold as "reptile bedding" for fairly cheap. Bags are usually $5 - $10 USD for about 5 liters worth. I havent tried it myself but have looked into it for my next layout.

[@Gaz3801]

G'day Gormo, Nice one mate. 👌 As we spoke many years ago about the gutter/road side gravel for ballast use, always run a magnet over the top to pull out any metallic material that may cause harm to motors and such. A good way of pulling the organic matter out is to slowly tip the sieved rock ballast into a bowl of water. The organic matter will float to the surface. 😉 I have also read elsewhere that some model railway/railroad suppliers use the nut husks for ballast. This I think was one of the first sources of scaled down ballast ! Cheers, Gary. ps, nice shirt !

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Gary and thanks, I like the water filtering suggestion and will give that go Yes I wish I could remember where I heard about the nut ballast.....anyhow not to worry.?? Cheers Gormo

[@frankwhittle4364]

Love the "rivet counters" sign, probably save a few bob after that video. Cheers Frank

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Frank, Yeah the sign is a bit direct but hey !!!!.....better to warn the rivet counters before they pay their money to see the show...😅😅😅 Cheers Gormo

[@tyastyke]

Hi Gormo, another great tutorial, thanks for sharing your skills and for finding the time to share them with us. I do like the look of the walnut and almond shells and will def be giving it a go. Just one further sugestion when using the road base gravel is to run a magnet over the final ballast, I've done this in the past when using this method and was amazed at the small particles of metal that is in the crush. Not something that you want your locos to pick up. Cheers mate.......

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day tyastyke and thank you for your comments. I also appreciate the tip about the magnet, my mate Gary also picked me up on that and it`s worth doing Thank you Cheers Gormo

[@tankmicr00man]

Hi Gormo, I've used both methods and can agree they are both successful. I also have boxes of various grades of coal produced the same way!

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day and thanks for the coal tip......might give that a go. Cheers Gormo

[@paull2613]

Brilliant I'm pleased your still making films mate. Thank you for the inspiration all the best for 24' regards from Blighty

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

Yep still here Paul All the best to you too for the coming year Cheers Gormo

[@petertownsend8276]

Gormo. Excellent ideas. The finer particles would be great for smaller scales, 2mm etc. Pete.

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Pete, Thank you and yes the finer particles would be well used for smaller scales. I coloured some of it green for ground cover........it`s not 100% successful because the paint didn`t reach every bit of it. Possibly a watered down version of the paint may work better......I`ll keep working on that one. Cheers Gormo

[@davidwilliams1060]

Thanks. Walnut shells are available as a tumbling medium (not sure if that’s more cost effective than eating the walnuts and saving the shells). Everybody calls them rulers, just like we say one dice instead of die.

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day David, Yes...not sure about the cost factor, however one has the pleasure of consuming the nuts first with my method. The ruler debate will go on forever, and there are other examples of misuse, some of them cringe worthy, but who cares as long as we all know what we are talking about. I think that is the point of the whole exercise.....LOL Cheers Gormo

[@tonypetts6663]

I love walnuts and almonds, but it may take me a few years to eat enough to ballast a layout 😂. Excellent results from both methods and as others have said the brown colour of the nuts does match up with ballasting in places on the old gwr.

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

Thanks Tony, Glad you found it interesting All the best Gormo

[@musoseven8218]

More fascinating insights👍😊 I always estimate that mainline ballast is about the size of a man's fist. Whilst things don't always scale well, it looks quite good if that rule is remembered. I've also - for O gauge - got a huge bag of chick-grit, virtually free, as it was largely complete but already opened. Ballast, as you imply, is different for different parts of a railway, even down to a sand type textures. As I always weather my ballast, painting isn't a problem. The other adage of using N scale ballast for OO and OO ballast for O, is also useful to remember when sizing etc.🤔👍 I'm considering experimenting with Copydex atop of cork/rubber track bed - reduces noise to merely wheel beats etc✌️🤞🤞

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Muso and thanks for sharing your experiences It seems a lot of people are using whatever is to hand and making a success of ballasting. Stay safe Cheers Gormo

[@pauljames9626]

Another great video from the engineering department. Jewellers use ground walnut shells as a polishing agent for gemstones, and it is possible to get hold of already ground shells which are sold for this purpose online (pricey, though.) I did see an article some time ago which suggested that the average size of a piece of track ballast in the UK is about an inch - which works out at about 1/3 of a millimetre at 4 mm scale. I'm tempted to give this a go, since the colour matches the brown ballast used on parts of the GWR, but would use a finer grit. Glad to see you're over the Covid.

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Paul, Thanks for your comments and the info.....good to know. Give it a go mate...nothing to lose Cheers Gormo

[@garydoc]

¡Hola buenas tardes Gormo! Another, very useful, money-saving idea for those new modellers who, not wanting to feel worried about wasting expensive brand ballast when laying down the rail bed for the first time, can practice with a smaller batch first. As to the nut pun - don’t give up the day job just yet😂. All the best for thee coming year Gormo. Un saludo. Gary

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Gary, Thanks for your comments and don`t worry mate.....my comedy career is over. Cheers and stay safe Gormo

[@martinhinsley6198]

Nice little video Gormo. I liked the straw blow off of excess ballast. You cant beat a good blow off. All the best.

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

Thank you Martin, I guess here in Oz, we would call it a blow job.....😁 Cheers Gormo Let`s see if the censors pick up on that one.?

[@TATICMOOR]

Nice one, Gormo, both ballasts laid down on the tracks look the part. Your methods for making your own products always amaze me when I see them.

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

Thank you Yes I like the both of them too, but at least with the nut shells, I got to eat the nuts as well.....lol Cheers Gormo

[@dougevans54]

Hi We have so many pot holes in the UK roads now we have an unlimited supply of gravel

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Doug, That`s unfortunate but also fortunate for you Get yourself a little spade and a supply of zip lock bags and you`re in business mate Happy Days Cheers Gromo

[@unclefranko2452]

G,day Gormo, great video as always ill be definitely using that idea mate all the best uncle Franko ❤️ 👍

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Franko and thanks for your comments Stay safe Cheers Gormo

[@gernaneering]

Your always so irresistibly practical and economical, with low costs but perhaps rich in time, i think that is a great exchange when you can,t stretch the money any further. i like your method of making gravel especially using the nut shells which as look by far the most convincing of the two. Its another gem towards making a highly detailed model railway Thank you so much.......

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

Hello there, Glad you enjoyed the video and yes, all these little home made products go a long way to helping the budget when building the railway Stay safe Cheers Gormo

[@andrewstevenson5449]

Brilliant ideas. The advantage of the nut shells would be that if you think they look a bit coarse, then you can just grind them up a bit further - which would not be a good idea with the stone ballast!

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Andrew, Yes that`s right. I have also put them ( nut shells ) in the grinder with some Black acrylic paint and made my own coal....it looks pretty good and would make good wagon loads Cheers Gormo

[@PaulSmith-pl7fo]

Well done, Gormo. The nut ballast looked very good.

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Paul and thank you. Yes I think it will pass muster.......it even seems to settle into the track a little easier than the gravel does??? Maybe it`s my imagination..?? Cheers Gormo

[@delphjunction1168]

Hi ya Gormo. Brilliant tutorial buddy. Just don't know where you get all your fantastic ideas from. Ballast looks really good. You can spend a lot of money buying the ready made from woodland scenics etc. Thanks again buddy, been following your channel for a long time and you never fail to impress. Stay safe and have a great new year 🍾🍾 DELPH JUNCTION (Pete)

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day Pete and thanks for your comments. All the best for the new year ahead Cheers Gormo

[@gerlandkent6377]

[thank, you for you're great helpful video]👍

[@johnodonoghue7381]

Well done Gormo , I'll be trying both the grit and the nut thing anything to sa ve a few bob

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

Thanks John, Yes both work very well......I guess there`s a bit more work required to scrounge up the gravel from somewhere, but other than that, it`s a piece of cake Cheers Gormo

[@gerlandkent6377]

[looks, great]👍

[@MichelletheMiniatureMisfit]

This is certifiable genuis!

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

Thank you MiniatureMisfit, You are too kind.....this process is very easy and within the reach of most folks. Cheers Gormo

[@mikeseba7817]

👍👍👍

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

Thanks Mike Cheers Gormo

[@mgamga9476]

I love the color. This is the color of ballast in N.Y.C. Just think from the size that would be more suitable for "O" scale. I have this gravel in my driveway. Gonna try to sift it down for N scale. Do not think I can get it that fine.

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

G`day MGA, Glad you like the colour of the ballast, however colour can be altered with a paint job if required. Size is the thing and I think it will be difficult to sift down to N scale, however, there must be a way to do it because the commercial guys can make it. All the best Gormo

[@stewartclark1847]

I believe that proprietary ballast is made from walnut shells then coloured. I use the gravel method and very pleased with results. One comment though you use a rule not ruler. A Ruler is the head of state of a country. Enjoy your videos .

[@prc789]

Woodland Scenics uses ground walnut shells, which is why their ballast doesn't take washes very well.

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

Thanks Stewart, Yes the gravel works well I do know about the rule / ruler business, but even though it`s wrong, it`s in common use these days, especially when searching the internet for a rule. You know what happens with common use, it eventually becomes accepted as the norm. Anyhow it`s in the system here in Oz, so I will continue to call a rule a ruler, except when I`m talking about a slide rule or a carpenters rule. People here seem to know what I`m talking about........God help us if the correct language police catch onto us and tell us to stop breaking the rules about rules and rulers. Happy days Stay safe Cheers Gormo

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

Thanks for the info Cheers Gormo

[@michaeldavies9600]

Hey there i stopped watching your videos as i am sure you said you were going to stop making videos or something like that ? Anyway i have watched this one and it is excellent! I still have my cheap grinder when you did that excellent video on how to make bushes etc out of old sponges and acrylic paints.Being a tight wad i save all my old ballast if i am doing something to my track,grind that right down and it makes excellent dirt or soil for gardens.Thanks for the tips and now i know you are still about i will look out for you more.

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

Thanks Michael, All I did was stop making the Gormo`s Shed series and instead kept doing videos more focused on my railway build called " Great Chesterford Junction Model Railway " Occasionally I`ll happen upon some new method or technique that I will pass on through GCJ So I`m still here Cheers Gormo

[@michaeldavies9600]

@@greatchesterfordjunction Oh right i'm pleased you are still about and thank you for the reply :)

[@anfieldroadlayoutintheloft5204]

good vid thanks lee

[@greatchesterfordjunction]

Thank you Lee Stay safe Cheers Gormo