Ballast questions

Yes lots of ways to do this, I started using Hartz Mountain bird gravel when a kid a lot of decades ago. The stuff has changed over the years from fine river stone about the size of course sand but rounded like large river rocks to something that is more crushed and blended. A good friend of mine buys bags of decomposed granite and sifts it for the finer grains.

Bogie

Thanks a lot for the quick reply. Will look into stuff like that.

Jerry

I forgot to add that some cat litters (clumping) are dried and ground clay, when wetted for adhesion with water and glue mix they turn to goo.

Bogie

The article I rad I said only to use cats pride unscented and it is available at Walmart. Have you heard anything like this?

Jerry

I used "chicken grit" from a local farm store, a 5 lb. bag was only $4.99 & the perfect size & color.   TRAIN NERD

If you haven't laid the track yet, you might want to use granular rolled roofing for a base.

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/t...now-of-a-ballast-mat

There is some info here about using sand for ballast.

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/t...g-to-sand-before-use

I use screening, commonly know as moon dust, or concrete sand. I screen it through a window screen. I keep the fine dust, but that can be screened through a flour sieve, leaving just the fine stone. Look at the ballast in the area you plan to model, and see what the colors are.

Don

Jerry.

How big is your layout? 

I used  stone dust from the same rock crushing plant that CSX  got theirs from.

About 16 paper grocery sacks (doubled for strength)(heavy stuff required two trips with the Volvo wagon) of it yielded over 100 coffee cans of ballast. Enough for over 500 feet of Gargraves track laid on Homabed.

Step 1 wash it with a garden hose to get rid of excess dirt and dust.

Step 2 pick out any obviously over-sized stones.

Step 3 bake in throw away aluminum pans for about an hour at 250-275 degrees.

Step 4 sift through a homemade screening box to a uniform size.

Step 5 store in coffee cans until ready for use.

Cost? The guard at the plant gate said "help yourself"; i gave him a $5 tip each trip as a way of saying "thanks". He said, "Come back anytime".

jackson

NOTE: You can't say this stuff isn't prototypical!

Hi jerry,

Follow modeltrainsparts lead... visit Acme Stone Co.near you. Here's a look at what Elliot is going to use on his layout. See the bottom of page 7 of this saga: My Dream\Nightmare Layout

Reading what the real train guys have posted, the mainline ballast is 2"-3" and difficult to walk on. The yard ballast and service area ballast is more like 1/2". Easier to walk on. So, scale that down and sift the bags of crushed granite.

I would not recommend the use of litter products or anything that absorbs moisture.

I have always preferred kitty litter. Can't be beat. You definitely want to buy the inexpensive stuff without additives or special formulations.  Get the cheapest big bag from Walmart.  You should sift it for size.  I use a colander.

And, to anticipate the posts that will surely follow:  It will not "absorb water" any more than many other materials on your layout.  I have used it under a very wide variety of conditions and have never, ever had mold (or any other moisture-related) problems.

The monthly ballast discussion thread.....another weighty topic,

Avanti's experience notwithstanding, Kitty litter is designed to absorb moisture. 

http://www.ehow.com/info_8486610_kitty-litter-absorb-moisture-room.html 

Whether roof granules,fowl grit,feline litter or shredded rubber, all of which I have tried over the years, I much prefer granite, the real McCoy.  Ballasting track is a ornery job but I believe adds much to the layout appearance.

Photos show the exciting experience[an experience at times somewhat akin to a dental implant or prostate biopsy].  

Dewey,

Is the yellow 'Jordan spreader' still available?

Thanks.

Dewey, is the yellow ballast blade something commercially available, or did you make your own?  I am a bit ways from ballasting but that looks like a huge labor saving device and keeps it uniform.

Thanks

Folks, I bought the yellow spreader while shopping at a New Jersey LHS during the early 1980s. He just had a few at his cashiers counter--no brand or markings to ID it.

Photo below shows a dark shade of rubber ballast I experimented with on a hi-speed crossover during the early '90s on a partly built layout that unfortunately was demolished before completion.

It was more difficult for me to handle the rubber---had Mexican jumping Bean characteristics.

I will mail the the yellow spreader to anyone who wants to make a template of it[as soon as I can find it].

I would gladly borrow the spreader to make a template from Dewey, much appreciated.

Ron

Ron

Email me your postal address and I will try to find it this p.m. You can pass it along to anyone else who is interested.

Dewey, the email listed for you came back undeliverable, mine is Ddeviljr@aol.com.

If the blade is near to Auto body bondo spreaders, I'll make a few and see how it works, thanks, Ron

Ron or dewey, just trace it and scan it so you don't lose scale. Then post the outline.

I think Ingenerio No.1 made one for his layout. Thread research time.

Come on, guys!  What's so difficult about transferring some simple measurements from the track you're using onto a bondo slicker?  A few well placed cuts with a box knife and you're good to go.

Bruce

I had no luck finding my yellow plastic spreader last night. Now I don't recall who used it last and whether it was returned. However I will continue looking for it today Ron.

As regards tracing one it is indeed simple. Just place a piece of cardboard up against the end of a track section and use a sharp pencil to trace. If you want a profile for ballast slope use a piece of cork underneath or whatever you use for your particular roadbed.

Back in the day Chuck Anderson of "Inside Track" LHS used to make them [tracing a tubular profile] out of layered/glued cracker box cardboard and scotch tape reinforcing.

Holy cow,

You guys are incredible with all your answers. I hope I have enough room on my computer memory. Much much thanks for all the great responses.

Best, Jerry

Chicken Grit is crushed granite and is cheap. It is what I used. $5.99 at Tractor Supply. 

thanks ken!!!!!

Please advise about what size of ballast would be used on my lionel o guage layout, about the half size of a pea or what?

Thanks, Jerry

1/8"  equals 6 O scale inches which seems a little large; i'd suggest 1/16" to 3/32" with some very occasional 1/8" pieces.

jackson

Ms. Gittins needs a refresher course in high school physics. Lots of materials can act as desiccants, including kitty litter, and, yes, you can use them to remove water from air, but only in a closed environment. In an open environment, any material will come into equilibrium with whatever level of humidity is in the air. It is true that desiccants hold more water than the air around them (that is how they work), but the key word here is hold.  Once the system is in equilibrium, the kitty litter will not be any more or less a source of moisture than the air in your train room.  The whole "kitty litter causes mold" thing is a myth. Indeed, desiccants are often used to prevent mold.

https://www.sorbentsystems.com...nts_terminology.html

Brennan's Ballast for me.  It may work fine, but i just can't see myself putting kitty litter on my layout.  Although I will say I've used some crushed nutshells for rooftop gravel on top of some industrial buildings.