anyone have an idea of how much ballast is used on 10 feet of let say Gargraves track?
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Trick question. Obviously, 10 feet of ballast, no matter what brand of track!
Do I win a prize? 
Ummm ounces of stone ballast per 10 feet? Obviously it is 10 feet of ballast. Trying to get an idea of how many bags of ballast to purchase.
Check out Dennis Brennan's web site. He has a lot of helpful information you may need.
I have used A LOT of his real granite stone ballast for my new railroad.
Donald
@Deere Lines posted:Ummm ounces of stone ballast per 10 feet? Obviously it is 10 feet of ballast. Trying to get an idea of how many bags of ballast to purchase.
If you would put down a generous layer of cheap sandbox sand (dried of course), you will use a LOT less of whatever brand of ballast you use. Spread a nice thin layer of the ballast over the sand (enough to fully cover the sand), then moisten it with cheap alcohol, then apply diluted Matt Medium. Works great.
A 5 pound bag of Brennan's Better Ballast will cover 22 feet of GarGraves or Atlas O ballasted even with the tie tops and with a gentle slope along each side. This assumes the track is laid directly on a flat tabletop . If you use roadbed, obviously, you'll get a little less cioverage--about 20-21 feet.
Too many variables to be precise; what is track attached to? cork roadbed, vinyl roadbed, Homa-Bed, no roadbed, other? If roadbed, how thick is it? What effect are you trying to achieve? class 1 railroad high speed mainline, branchline, etc.? My advice is buy more than you think you'll need.
Might also depend on whether you intend to level the ballast with the tops of the ties (like the prototype and the vast majority of HO layouts appearing in magazines and YouTube), or behave like a mystifying number of 3-railers who seem to place just enough ballast to have the track appear to be sitting on top of it rather than within it 
---PCJ
scenic express large containers say 16 linear feet for margraves or tubular track with cork road bed. I am not using cork and got about 20' per container.
Great beginning. Yeah roadbed but not normal off the shelf. 1/2 in thick for sound dedening. Like the idea of play sand too. Brownish preferably.... Like the site quoted. Good info guys!!
Thank You All!!
@Deere Lines posted:Great beginning. Yeah roadbed but not normal off the shelf. 1/2 in thick for sound dedening. Like the idea of play sand too. Brownish preferably....
Doesn't matter what color the sand is, as you are supposed to spread the ballast OVER the sand. Please go back and read carefully what I posted.
Like the site quoted. Good info guys!!
Thank You All!!
Hot water, yep I got that, but little is going to be play san white in the real world. So brown or darker would lend itself better. A good clean screened crusher run might work great too.
@Deere Lines posted:Hot water, yep I got that, but little is going to be play san white in the real world. So brown or darker would lend itself better. A good clean screened crusher run might work great too.
Buy whatever sand is the cheapest. The color simply DOES NOT MATTER! Your ballast will cover up the sand, if done properly. Our whole layout was done that way, with probably over 500 pounds of sand used, with ballast & scenery on top. Just make sure you dry the sand (we spread it out into coffee cans & buckets). Also, don't waste your time screening the sand. It doesn't matter.
My notes with gargraves half cup per foot or 1cuft per 240uft
