Can ballast be temporary?

I have a Christmastime-only layout and I ballast my track most years.  Yes, I just lay it in place.  It's stays in place pretty darn well too.  It's kind of a pain putting it down but it makes the look of the track a lot better.

I wouldn't say that it helps at all with sound though.  Please note: the lower outer loop is full 'O' and I don't ballast that track ever for nostalgic reasons.  On the upper loop I purposely didn't ballast the track that is near the edge.  Just some anomalies from that year's layout.  Normally I ballast it all except the full 'O'.

Came back to edit my response to include a picture.

-walt

Sounds like a plan to me.

If there ever was an authority on temporary layouts, Walt would be it! 

- Greg

Oh boy, that would require a LOT of patience, at least for me. On my former layout I ballasted ~ 100 feet of track and it was tedious, but rewarding, however it was all glued in place. Putting it down without gluing and taking it back up would require some time. Ballast gets everywhere, and if you sneeze or bump into it will spread out like crazy.

Another idea is to glue it down on top of moveable modules - maybe sheets of cork or thin plywood - and then you can re-assemble as needed.

Sure, My father in law did just that. he would ballast the right of way and leave the ballast loose. when time came for adjustments, he would simple use a clean vacumm container, suck up the loose ballast and reuse it on the new right of way.

Only one point, make sure its NON magnetic material or you will end up with a mess in your magnatraction locomotives

clean out the vacuum first, vacuum  it up and re-use it.

Thanks for the information so far, so at least I know that it is feasible.  Paul, I like your idea about the modules.  As the layout is only 4x8, it shouldn't be difficult.

Any thoughts about using the larger fish aquarium gravel?

Kevin - I used aquarium gravel on my permanent layout. Pretty much stays put unless I have a derailment but goes back in place easy. 

O-gauger posted:

Kevin - I used aquarium gravel on my permanent layout. Pretty much stays put unless I have a derailment but goes back in place easy. 

Aquarium gravel it shall be!

one of those ballast cars I saw at York would make quick work of it. the one with the brushes on the sides.

Why not. As long as it is in place and not disturbed. If its' temporary, you can vacuum it and save it for next time.

I have never glued down ballast and have never had a problem. I used chicken grit spread with two different paint brushes. No problem and no hassle when it's time to move the track. I just don't understand why people glue their ballast.

Paul

Amfleet25124 posted:

O-gauger posted:

Kevin - I used aquarium gravel on my permanent layout. Pretty much stays put unless I have a derailment but goes back in place easy. 

Aquarium gravel it shall be!

The stuff that you see in my photo above is chicken grit, cleaned and oversprayed (outside of the layout of course) with black spray paint to soften the whiteness of it.  As I recall, it comes in various sizes.  The stuff that I have is smaller than aquarium gravel.

- walt

A hint I learned years ago is that if you have a relatively small area to change / vacuum up (whether it be sawdust or ballast) is to obtain some old pantyhose or stockings. Cut off a foot (the appendage, not length), and stuff it into the vacuum nozzle. Secure it well with strong tape or rubber bands, and vacuum away. Hold the nozzle over a bowl, turn off the vacuum, and it falls right into the bowl.

As noted, it's good for about a cup or so of material, so either do it several times or just use it for small jobs. Makes it easier than having to clean out the vac for a small area. A full layout? yeah, clean out the vac and do the whole job.

I don't have much of an issue cleaning up my temporarily laid ballast after the Christmas layout comes down.  I'm talking about an 11'x14' layout with a LOT of track, aka, ballast.

After removing as much of the scenery and wiring as I can, I then take up the track leaving the ballast in place.  I use a small hand dust broom to just brush it up and put the ballast in a container.  Probably doesn't take me more than 2 hours to do it all.

It does leave a slight "dust" behind which is somewhat impossible to get all of.  But since I vacuum the Homasote every year before lifting it, the "dust" is just one other thing that I need to vacuum up.

- walt

Everything is temporary if you wait long enough.

Walt that's an awesome Christmas layout! 

I have used parakeet gravel, sold at pet shops for several temporary layouts with tubular track. This is great, for a toy train layout & it will not get caught up in the locomotives. Over the years this process has been demonstrated in model train magazines.  No glue required.

Hope this helps.

To echo MWB, above: "Everything is temporary if you wait long enough" - yes, believe me, my "permanent" ballast has gotten more and more "temporary" as time has passed.

Heck, we're all temporary, eventually. Pretty dark, but I just "invested" $220 in a traffic ticket, and I'm not happy. That's the price of a decent second-hand O-scale diesel. Don't these people understand priorities?

I remember there once was an outfit that offered granulated rubber as ballast, mostly for larger gauges, supposedly to better deaden sound. Unfortunately, I don't recall their name, or if they are still around. Gluing any ballast would likely make it noisier.

(edit 2:45pm) From December 2003 NASG Dispatch: Ballast King, 2721 Trinity Ct., Avon, Ohio 44011, phone (440)-937-6771

Bill in FtL

This is an example of what works for the temporary layout and my old permanent layout. The photo shows wooden ties made from luan sub flooring wood, spray painted black. The pre washed parakeet gravel, from a pet shop. Sold in different sizes.  The wooden ties slid under the tubular track. In the sample the parakeet gravel is glued to the homasote, White glue 25% and water 75%. This glue mixture will keep the gravel from turning into concrete.

This video will show my layout as it stands today. Tubular track on a cork road bed, spray painted gray. This process will allow for track repairs. This means I can take out and service a motorized switch with no track chaos. The track is K-line shadow rail, hard to find now. I purchased a lot of extra track. I like tubular track, because it is the only way to get the Classic Lionel Rail Sounds, with no computer chips in the locomotive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1IqzW9IL7U