Just made a great find regarding ballast for tracks. As I started my process using the Ballast King car I discovered that with the amount of track I have on my layout that the constant replentishing of ballast in the long term becomes costly at most of the going rates. The largest quantity I found was a gallon of ballast which I believe was near 25lbs. I started thinking ( and that can be dangerous ) about where I could find a suitable alternative. I explored the building supplies stores and found a site for roofing supplies. And behold, I found that GAF based out of Wayne, NJ makes shingles and supplies various roofing companies with 5 gal pails of the gravel that must be used within the roofing business. If you can visualize the covering of a typical shingle you will notice the granules. These are an absolute match to the ballast I purchased in a small bag. There are only a few color choices which may be a drawback for some , but I selected the antique slate color. My pail arrived today and the site indicates 60lb weight in the 5gal pail. My cost was $28 for the pail, but I will tell you that the shipping cost was a little pricey. So, if you explore your local roofing companies you may find something that will fit your ballasting needs. If you go on GAF.com you will find the shingles they manufacture which does include the color . On another note, I also discovered by accident that if you need a track covering when applying ballast glue, or simply doing otherwork around tracks that you prefer not to get anything on, I went to my local fish tank supply ( this case at WalMart ) and purchased 25ft of air tubing which I slit down one side and it fits perfectly over my tubular rails. It will probably work as well on any "o"gauge rail. Off to ballast!
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