Good source of Ballast

Nothing beats kitty litter for low cost. Get the cheap stuff if you decide to go that route.

+1 on kitty litter.  Sift it in a colander first for uniformity. You can dye it with I/A if you like. People disparage this tried-and-true technique, but I would use it even if it wasn't 1/10th the cost of the commercial alternatives.

Cheers,

"Kitty litter.  You can dye it with I/A if you like."

I agree but what is I/A? 

Ink/alcohol.  Try a very dilute brown ink mixture for this purpose.

I have had good luck with roofing granules. You can buy these in several colors at a local roofing supply company. 5 gal bucket or a fair price.

Kitty litter is made of clay, which is hygroscopic. It will attract and hold moisture, and cause your tracks to rust and organic scenery items to get moldy. I suspect that this question and answer have been posted at least a hundred times.

 

Inert mineral particles, such as sand, gravel, or roofing granules are the best choices. Sand is cheap. The beaches are full of it.

 

I've had my kitty litter down for years, and no signs of rust. It is bone dry, but so is my basement. The glue mixture must have sealed it. 

 

I've used roofing granules too, but that was back when I knew someone who worked at 3M. I didn't know they were so readily available these days. 

Scenic Express has high quality ballast in 5 gallon buckets

The hygroscopic thing HAS been discussed a hundred times.  The problem is that, with all due respect, the claim makes no sense. Hygroscopic materials *absorb* water, they don't emit it.   In sealed containers, they work as desiccants--they isolate the water and thus keep the container's other contents dry.

 

But your train room is not a sealed container [at least mine isn't  ]. It is the moisture in the air that matters--the kitty litter and all the many other hygroscopic materials on your layout quickly come into balance with the humidity of their environment, and in practice make no difference whatsoever.  If you are worried about rust, your only real choice is to get a dehumidifier. If your air is dry, so will be your ballast.

Check out 'Chick Starter' at a feed store. They have several different sizes and its appears to be made of crushed granite or similar. Price is great @ about $15 for a 50# bag!

We put some into a box and use rattle can black to darken it somewhat and it looks very good.

Couldn't locate a closeup but this should give you an idea of its appearance...  Right click and open in new window where you can zoom in.

Brennan's Better Ballast has worked well for me.

I'm with you Dewey. Dennis Brennans ballast is a quality product and worth the cost. This is a photo of his Rail Yard Black as I have used it on my RR.

 

Bob

Same here with the Brennan black Bob. I sunk my Yard ties down to ground level but haven't completed the surrounding groundscape yet. Mainline running on his gray rock.

The feed store "chick starter" comes in different size grades and is a product that many of my friends use...especially those that model outside.

 

I opted to go with roofing granules since they are available in many different colors, are about right scale-wise, and are inexpensive.  Some folks have even marketed roofing granules as ballast selling it to model railroaders and making a nice profit doing so....wish I would have thought of it!!

 

Alan

$5,  my 0-5-0 Better Ballast Machine at work.

Dewey, I am currently doing the samre thing with my yard tracks.  Raising the ground level up to the ties.  I also recommend Brennan's Better Ballast.  Bo 

 

Visit my website Bo's Trains at http://www.bostrains.com  

Interesting suggestions and thanks for the pics.  I have lots to consider.

I used a combo of Brennan's Better Ballast and the Woodland Scenics ballast. Why does this topic always go down the road of being too expensive? The track work is the foundation to the layout, after the bench work of course. If you go to the trouble and time involved to ballast your track, use the good stuff, take your time, and do it right. Just say NO to kitty litter!

 

 

what place sells roofing granules? please..... be specific with your answer. would that be a home depot or lowes ? any area "roofing supply stores"?-jim

Roofing contractors as well as the big box stores like Lowes and Home Depot in our area have roofing granules.  It sort of sounds that for some reason folks have strong feelings about what to use as ballast....  In my case, I looked at some of the products offered by those referenced above and while they are all fine products and look great, the roofing granules looked identical to my eye as the "good stuff".  I haven't started putting down ballast yet on this layout but when I do, I will be using roofing granules...

 

Alan

There is a problem with using kitty litter....

 

 

 

I'm just sayin...

 

George

Roofing granules are not the same as the limestone ballast that Brennan sells. 

 

Roofing granules may look the same but they are not the same. If you are spending the money to make your track work look as nice as the rest of your layout why go with a substitute material that was not intended to be used that way.

 

I'm all for least expensive alternatives, in this or any economy but the extra cost allows you to use a scale material that was made to be used as ballast and will look like ballast.

 

 

Well.....regardless, those of us that have chosen to use another material other than the commercially available product have done so because of a variety of reasons.  As I stated above...there are some fine products available that represent ballast but if one is willing to factor in cost, appearance, etc. , I personally found that the roofing granules worked for me.  I have used the above referenced products on previous layouts and compared them with various roofing granules and found that I could achieve the same scale look with the granules. 

 

Part of the enjoyment and creativity of this hobby is how we use products that may have been intended to be used in another way.  Each of us makes choices in the way we model that may not be in agreement but to imply that one will not achieve nice scale looking ballast using something other than the commercially available products is simply uninformed. 

 

Gary....I suggest that you get samples of what is available, both commercially and the alternatives suggested above and compare them.  If you would like, I would be more than happy to send you a sample of what I am using.

 

Alan

I used aquarium gravel on my layout.

Woodland Scenics 3 parts gray and one part cinders.

 

 

Peter

I prefer stout benchwork, a scenic friendly foam base, wood tie Gargraves flextrack, Ross turnouts and Brennan's Better Ballast---all designed to get me ready to run trains. Am I biased and set in my ways? Of course not, I am merely being ornery and just like Dennis I am an "old pain in the butt".

I used stone dust from one of the same rock crushing plants that CSX used to get theirs from. Washed it outside with a garden hose and colander, picked out the really large pieces, baked the rest in throw away aluminum foil pans for 2 hours, sifted down to size in a homemade screening box. $10 and a little work got me just over 200 coffee cans of ballast. Very prototypical stuff. See the video below.

 

jackson, CEO of the Not-So-Great Eastern R.R., aka the Never Done Lines

          Division of the Southern Adirondack Railway Cartel

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...&feature=channel

George,

 

He looks very upset that you took his kitty litter away!

 

Joe

Pumpkin (she) isn't upset.  That's just her imperial look - "I own you". 

 

And she does.

 

George

modeltrainsparts - nice ballasting work.  Liked your video and layout very much.  Bo

 

 

Visit my website Bo's Trains at http://www.bostrains.com 

Laidoffsick - I agree with your philosophy regarding the importance of the trackwork.  It is fundamental to having a good operational layout.  Although I usually just use Brennan's Better Ballast for my mainline trackage.  I also use a combo of Brennan's Yard Ballast and Woodland Scenics cinders when working on yard trackage which I am in the process of doing right now.  Bo   

 

Visit my website Bo's Trains at http://www.bostrains.com    

I agree about not using kitty litter, yes it is cheap, and it looks it. I would go with Brennen's ballast, best on the market.

 

You spend hundreds if not thousands on your track and locomotives, why cheap out on the ballast? Use the good stuff and you won't be disappointed.

Well, the trouble is that not all of us agree that it "looks cheap" and we don't all believe that we are "cheaping out" by using it.   As I said in my original posting, I would use kitty litter for mainline ballast even if there were no price advantage. It is readily available, easy to work with, and it achieves exactly the look I am looking for:

 

 

 

 

You may or may not like my work, but I can assure you that it is the way it is due to my goals and my skill level, not because I have "cheaped out". 

 

People have many different opinions and strive for many different looks--that is what makes this hobby so interesting.  Hearing everybody's opinions is why we all come here. But, when someone enters a thread whose original poster specifically mentions cost as an issue, and posts "Just say NO to kitty litter!", well, I can't help feeling that that is perhaps just a tad closed-minded.

 

I put as much effort into my projects as anybody, and I am glad to pay extra if it actually contributes to the final product.  For example, Woodland Scenics ground foam and clump foliage are hard to beat. But frankly, some folks around here seem to believe that spending money for its own sake somehow produces better results.  I know this is a taboo topic, but spending two or five or ten times the money on adhesives or molding plaster or matte medium just to get the words "Model Railroad" on the box is NOT contributing to the quality of the work. To each his or her own, and if you don't like the look of kitty litter, then don't use it.  But I recommend making that judgement based on the result, not the price.

Couldn't agree with you more, Pete. That kitty litter BALLAST (note spelling, Gary) looks terrific. I like the color, size of the granules, even the shape. What brand did you use? 

Gosh, what ever works for oneself--its not a contest.

Fill the cat's litter box with Woodland Scenics, roofing granules, whatever, see if the cat won't use it.

 

Agreed, I will be looking into the many suggestions.  None are bad they are just a persons preferences

Hey Vulcan,

 

You don't understand.  Pumpkin rules this house.  We are just here to serve her.  You know the old saying "Dogs have owners; cats have staff"?  And if she doesn't get the right stuff for a toilet, look out! 

 

George