Ballast.....What are folks using.....

I use cheap, clay kitty litter, held down with diluted white glue.  On the tracks near the rear of my layout, I only ballast on the side visible from the aisle.   One bag will do a LARGE layout with some left over....JOHN A

Also, the kitty litter looks great!  

Dave, I used the roofing granules and you can buy them in a variety of colors. The problem is finding a local source. If you have access to buying a bucket that you can go to the outlet and pick up, it is very cost effective. If not, shipping costs nullify and prohibit any benefit. Here are a couple of pictures using a gray/black mix bucket of roofing granules. I forget what the name of the mix was, but it has probably changed by now anyway. It appears to me to be the right size.

Dave, I was lucky enough to get roofing granules from a local quarry. They also produce ballast for the real railroads. Doesn't get more prototypical than that. Normally they don't sell that product to the public, but for a nominal donation to their "coffee fund" I was able to get sample bags with almost a half ton of it.

Originally, I had planned to go the kitty litter route, and even did a section of the layout. It wasn't bad. The particles can be a bit oversized, but the overall effect works, and it is cheap.

Dave, you will get a lot of suggestions because there are numerous types of ballast out there. I use Brummy's rubber ballast. It is not exactly scale but I have used it on my layouts for more them twenty years. In other posts I mentioned that I only do the sides of the cork and I do not use and ballast inside the tracks or switches. Here is a pic of the ballast against Gar Graves track. Look at all the choices and their prices and decide. ............Paul

I use chicken feed grit for baby chickens.  It's small rock.  I add water base paint to my 50/50 glue mix as needed.

Hello Dave, I bought several bags from Dennis Brennan's Model Railroading, one black to be mixed with the gray for the yards, and the rest gray for the main lines. It looks great on my New England based railroad.

CBS072 posted:

I use chicken feed grit for baby chickens.  It's small rock.  I add water base paint to my 50/50 glue mix as needed.

I use the same stuff as well. This brand in particular: http://www.ncgranite.com/crush...ucts/62-starter.html

A 50lb bag is less than $10 locally. 

Art Howes posted:

Hello Dave, I bought several bags from Dennis Brennan's Model Railroading, one black to be mixed with the gray for the yards, and the rest gray for the main lines. It looks great on my New England based railroad.

TW TrainWorx also uses ballast from Dennis Brennan's Model Railroading. We usually pick up gallon containers from him at York

TrainDame aka Dorcie Farkash
TW TrainWorx
(214) 634-2965
www.blog.traindame.com 

I would suggest chicken grit, roof granules or go to a local quarry and sift some yourself with sifting screens.

The subject of kitty litter always comes up in these ballast threads and I can't stress enough that this is the worst option. Sure it's cheap but what is the purpose of kitty litter? It's an absorbant and if used in a damp or humid environment like a basement you'll end up with track and feeder problems down the road. Even in a glued state it will still absorb moisture from the air.

Thanks for all the input.

My wife's hobby is cats. She had Manx show cats....so at times we had 7-8 cats under roof. So I have a lot of liter experiences.  I do not see using it....seems it turns to mush and is absorbent.  Roofing granules look great.....but HUGE minimum orders make it hard to get. I'm going down to town in a bit to look at chicken grit. Thanks!!

For me and my new layout, I use ballast from Dennis Brennan's Model Railroading supplies. Natural stone, excellent stuff.

On my old layout, I used the rubber products in (2) different sizes with appropriate weathering to "tone it down" and eliminate the solid looking gray color.

Donald

Regarding Rustyrails opinion on kitty litter:   My train room is dry.  My layout has been ballasted for 20 years.  I have had no issues.  For me, it has been a good choice.   John A (thinking outside the (litter) box!!).  

Dave- I found several gravels for floral arranging that work well for me. I found the larger track ballast at a local discount store. The smaller stuff came from Michaels Arts and Crafts Supply and is available in several colors.

Bob

I use a coarse sand from large ant hills found here in Western Colorado.  The Ants are great at sorting.  I scoop up the sand into buckets and take it home and run it through a kitchen sifter to get rid if the fine stuff and pick out the pieces that look too big.  When ballasting the track I use tweezers to pick out the junk that doesn't look good.  Use a brushes to shape the ballast between the ties and along the side of the track.  Next spray on a water/isopropyl alcohol mix, then using a medicine dropper apply water/white glue mix.    Don't have a picture of an ant hill but here are pictures of my ballast in place on my Layout.

Steve

I used the roofing granules and you can buy them in a variety of colors.  Mixed different colors

until I found one I liked before I did 300 plus feet of it. Good luck Dave.

Larry

AMCDave posted:

Thanks for all the input.

My wife's hobby is cats. She had Manx show cats....so at times we had 7-8 cats under roof. So I have a lot of liter experiences.  I do not see using it....seems it turns to mush and is absorbent.  Roofing granules look great.....but HUGE minimum orders make it hard to get. I'm going down to town in a bit to look at chicken grit. Thanks!!

Actually Dave, the kitty litter doesn't get mushy at all because you are hitting it with a glue mixture, as opposed to its intended purpose. Just leave it alone until it dries. It retains its shape and texture quite well.

Hurray!

It's the semi-periodic ballast thread and debate.......without which it's just not the OGR forum.

mwb posted:

Hurray!

It's the semi-periodic ballast thread and debate.......without which it's just not the OGR forum.

I  wanted to draw attention away from 'what track', 'Giant German RR', 'Lionel vs MTH', 'Want a model railroad video' etc etc

I just bought 50 pounds of chicken grit for $8. Not the perfect color but the price!!! I'll fix the color as shown by Rich Batista in his videos. Pure stone and easy to get all I need locally.....and I can't buy anything local!!

The roofing granules looked good, great color but at $100 for 60 pounds I'll try the chicken first. 

Again....thanks!

edit

An alternative to clay litter is clay floor absorbent.  Both are made from the same clay, but the floor absorbent is heated to a much higher temperature during processing (calcined).  While it is very absorbent, it will not turn to mush no matter how much water you add.  The trick would be finding the appropriate particle size.

Since I work for a company that makes both, and I have the sieves at my disposal, I can get as much as I need from scrap, and sift it to scale size myself.

If you have a Tractor Supply Store, get their 25 pound bag of Chicken/poultry grit  It is $9 a 25lb bag and is crushed granite granules.

rustyrail o scale posted:

I can't stress enough that this is the worst option. Sure it's cheap but what is the purpose of kitty litter? It's an absorbant and if used in a damp or humid environment like a basement you'll end up with track and feeder problems down the road. Even in a glued state it will still absorb moisture from the air.

Respectfully, do you have the slightest evidence that this often-made claim is true?

Hydrophilic materials absorb moisture, they don't emit it. Moreover, like any other material they will come into equilibrium with their environment. If the humidity is falling, the immediate environment of a hydrophilic material will indeed be (slightly) more humid.  But, when it is rising, it will actually be lower.  They don't put those little hydrophilic packets in pill containers to make the pills wet!

Kitty litter will not rust your track.

Kreuz posted:

An alternative to clay litter is clay floor absorbent.  Both are made from the same clay, but the floor absorbent is heated to a much higher temperature during processing (calcined).  While it is very absorbent, it will not turn to mush no matter how much water you add.  The trick would be finding the appropriate particle size.

Yes.  It is often cheaper, too.

mwb posted:

It's the semi-periodic ballast thread and debate.......without which it's just not the OGR forum.

Yeah.  I can't resist "oil change" threads on car forums either.  They're like catnip.  

I'll say kitty litter is a no go for me....so no use telling how good it is. To attach the ballast to the roadbed I will use the tested method I used in N and HO scales. Wet water applied over the ballast until well wetted. Then matt medium applied to glue in place.....thus litter is not a option. Thanks for the info no matter!

A friend of mine owns a roofing supply company so I have a never ending free supply of black, dark gray, light gray and white granules.

I wonder if the cost of some methods is why so little of it appears to be used on so many hi-rail layouts.

I get to see a lot of HO and 2-rail O layouts as I add to my YouTube playlist of model cab-ride videos, and it's only hi-rail layouts (both on YouTube and in magazines) that consistently have so little ballast that the tie ends are left exposed, if not having the ties sitting completely on top of a token layer of ballast. And this is on reasonably complete-looking layouts making a credible attempt to look realistic, not "traditional style" ones. On the many 2-rail O and HO layouts I've seen, private and clubs, it's actually a challenge to find ballast jobs that leave the ends of the crossties out in the open.

Am I missing something, or is this a pattern?

---PCJ

A local landscaper here pulverizes granite to size and sells it in 5 lb bags which I thin mix with other commercial stuff that I but in 5 gallon drums.

I finally found a local yard that had the outdoor bins with everything from 2 inch gravel, down to crushed bluestone granite.  This company happened to be the excavating/construction business. 

I went in asked if I could bring in some 5 gallon pails and fill them up, they said sure,  $3.00 per pail...  Ran it through two different size screen sifters (roughly 1/32" and one around 1/16"), and I have really nice gray granite ballast, as well as "granite powder" which is great for roads, roofs etc...    I probably came home with 70 pounds of material for $6.00.

I was curious about all the criticisms of their being magnetic material in crushed granite,  ran a 3 inch diameter magnet and one of those super neodimite (probably spelled wrong) magnet over the sifted ballast and nothing came up...

Lots of good ideas here - thanks to everyone who contributed.  Much food for thought for next time.

I've used Brummy's rubber ballast last time.  Great guy to talk with - I hope he's still in business.  A little more expensive than some of the options, but not bad when bought in bulk.   It is recycled, making good use of a hard-to-dispose-of material.  Can be a little more challenging to glue down.  Other advantages include lighter weight on portable modules, it won't scratch a derailed piece of equipment as easily, less likely to get caught in gears and other mechanisms, and does less harm if it does find its way into somewhere it shouldn't be. 

mwb posted:

It's the semi-periodic ballast thread and debate.......without which it's just not the OGR forum.

But, it,s Dave and he is asking???

Larry

wild mary posted:

A friend of mine owns a roofing supply company so I have a never ending free supply of black, dark gray, light gray and white granules.

As I stated....roofing looks to be the best option....colors and sizes. And I found a supply on the net.....delivered in two days!!! But the difference of over $90 for almost the same amount,  makes it hard to go with the roofing. 

Count yourself as blessed!!!!

I used Dennis Brennan's ballast on the main lines and in the yard.  Here is a picture of Brennan's yard ballast...

I use Brennan's Better ballast " it isn't chicken grit"

Some chick grit painted and glued down.

Ed Kazarian

Looks great Ed....thx

Looks very nice!~

Chicken grit is a little on the large size depending on what you are modeling.  However they also make Chic grit which is slightly smaller.  Chicken or chick grit is actually decomposed granite or DG.  Russ

You might contact Dave Minarik at Mercer Junction Train Shop in Mercer,PA.  He is in the process of rolling out his own line of realistic ballast.  It very authentic, probably scale, and very easy to  install. You can see examples of it on many of his posted photos. His layout is incredible.