I am about ready to start ballasting my HO layout. Anyone know how far a shaker bottle (32 oz) of WS medium ballast will go? My track is on WS foam roadbed if that makes a lot of difference. Just need to know rough amount to purchase. Thanks
I have a 5x12 foot HO layout with a lot of track on it. I’m also using WS foam roadbed.
I’ve used about 1 1/2 of those WS shakers. It’s taken me 4 years.
It all depends on how much track you need to ballast. Chances are you’ll need a bit. My advise would be to get a small dirt devil, or a vac of some kind to be used strictly for ballast and ground foam. That will eliminate any waste. And you can re-use whats not glued down.
I have about 75 ft of track, but I was asking how far a shaker jar goes. Doesn’t need to be an exact figure down to the nearest half inch, but just asking for a fairly close estimate. Thanks for your replies.
There are too many variables to tell you. Why can one NASCAR driver need refueling after 40 laps and one can go 55 laps? Obviously you need to buy one container even if you don’ use it all. So start with one and then you will know how much more you need. You aren’t going to apply more than one at the same time so there is really no ned to buy it all at once any way.
I guess it was just a dumb question. Just was trying to keep from driving 20 miles to pick up more if I ran out. Suppose the oil companies need more money, so will help them out. Thanks again.
It doesn’t hurt to have some extra left over that’s handy for repairs and future modifications. Plus there’s always the question of future cost and availability, although I doubt ballast would be discontinued unless it’s a really funky color and / or size and the price probably won’t go up much.
I wish I had bought more turnouts though back in the day when they were 30% less than they are now…
I do plan on having some left over. Thanks for the reply. Also thank you mister b for the info.
Make sure you keep track of the kind/color your using so if and when you need more, you can get the exact same stuff. I learned the hard way. Also, something to think about… maybe buy the medium grey, as you mentioned, but then get some fine black, or fine grey, and mix it a little. I think the contrast looks good, if mixed at a good ratio.