Chris and Chuck, I am also a 100% tubular track guy, 1st with 027 track and switches (now in boxes possibly for grandchildren down the road), and currently O Gauge track and 022 switches.
My love for O Gauge track and switches stems from the trains I admired that an older cousin and an uncle of mine had in the 1950s and early 1960s, similar to the trains Chris admired that his grandparents had.
I gathered my ballast in a similar way that Chuck did. On other threads I previously shared the photos below:
Those little pebbles are mainly ground up asphalt I found along local roads during long athletic walks, and filled my pockets with. There is also some kitty litter sprinkled in. I was told that kitty litter absorbs liquid, so I only put it outside of, not in between, the rails.
My ballast didn't cost me anything. It was fun finding and getting in.
The pebbles are way too large, but so are the high rails of the O Gauge track, so I think it works. Arnold
