I’m ready to start ballasting our HO layout this weekend. Got the ballast (Arizona Rock & Mineral), glue, etc… all set to go.
This will be somewhat tricky do do since the layout is already built and somewhat finished but never ballasted. My dad never got around to doing it back when he first built it in 1973.
I’ve read multiple sources, and even watched a few YouTube videos to get a feel of what I’m getting into.
So other then the obviously important wetting agent before gluing, are there any other important tips some of the more experienced HO ballasters have to share?
How about ballasting on an already somewhat finished layout?
Below is a picture of one of the areas I’ve been working on lately, a desert military base with two loading tracks. In the picture, the mainline (bottom two tracks) will get ATSF pink ballast while the siding tracks (upper two) will get a black/gray colored ballast mixed in with some desert sand.
First make sure the ballast is the fine or medium stuff. Don’t use large with HO
Apply the ballast and use a foam pad or brush to even it out. Make sure it clears the rails
Next fill a spray bottle with water and a couple of drops of dish soap. This is called wet water.
Spray the ballast with the wet water dont be afraid to wet it down good.
Use an eye dropper to apply a 50% mixture of water and white glue. Woodland scenics Scenic cement is basically the same pre-mixed. The wet water will help the glue penetrate.
After the glue is dry (about a day or 2) clean the track of any residue.
If you have had it since 1973, your track may be using fiber ties. If it is, don’t use water diluted glue or any water or alcohol based products on it or the tie strips will warp and ruin all of your track. You may be better off leaving it as is.
Plastic ties will have cast on spike heads holding the rails in place.
Fiber ties will have staple looking metal clips holing the rails in place.
If the ties are plastic, you will be OK, so look real close at it.
I would recommend the advice of above but go out and buy yourself a piece of flex track and roadbed and doing a little practice run to get a feel for how it works and it will also give you a chance to try a few different techniques to find what works best for you.
Ballasting is not difficult. I would select a blend of ballast that is not all the same color or shade of color as that does not look realistic. Start with the space between the rails. Use a small brush about 1/2 inch wide. Keep the ballast off of the ties. Use either wet water (water with 2 drops of Dawn detergent). This will allow the scenery cement to spread evenly. I use an eye drop or a small pipette to apply the scenic cement. You will see the ballast “get wet” white material underneath it. If you use cork roadbed, use full strength Elmers glue and paint the sides. Apply a small amount of ballast. After that dries completely, put ballast on the ties (outside of the rails and on the shoulders with a small brush. Use the wet water (I use 70% rubbing alcohol instead). Then, apply the scenic cement (you can use a mixture of one part water to one part Elmers glue instead). After everything is dry, get the extra ballast off of the inside of the rails as this can cause derailments. I finish up with a mixture of rubbing alcohol and 2 teaspoons of India Ink. Using a pipette, I go along all of the ballast with the mixture. It gives great shadows. A lot of time, I will use black or dark brown powdered pastels and go down the middle of the track (like oil spills, etc).
Do a practice length first. Not the wetting and gluing…just the laying and grooming. Wetting and gluing is a no-brainer, but it takes time to get a good feel for grooming the ballast properly.
Be patient with yourself. Don’t go too long in one session. Leave, shut off the lights, and come back raring to go.
Don’t forget to wipe the rail tops before you have glued more than about a foot of the groomed ballast. Hardened glue does not a good conductor make.
Work hard at enjoying this. There is no reason to fear it, and no reason to make it a grind, or even to consider it that way. To help, review the first three points above and implement them.
This question pops up so often that I put my method into a Word document so that I could paste it in whenever needed. [swg] While this procedure is not the only way to do it, I found it very easy and enjoyable and got good results on my first try.
Wayne
I keep seeing comments about people dreading having to ballast their tracks, or, from people who’ve tried and not had success, about what a crummy task it is. What follows is my procedure for ballasting - there are others that work as well, but this one uses readily-available and cheap tools and materials.
The choice of ballast is up to you - I use Woodland Scenics Fine Ballast on my HO scale layout, but there are many other brands and sizes available, and plenty of colours. If you use natural materials, like sand, dirt, or decomposed rock, it’s best to use a magnet to remove any magnetic inclusions that might possibly damage the motors in your locos.
To ballast your track, I find that a small paper cup (such as those kitchen or bathroom Dixie cups) gives you great control over where the ballast goes. I usually move the cup along the centre of the track, tapping it as I go, to keep the ballast flowing. Less than you need is better than too much, although a soft 1/2" brush is useful for pushing around the excess or levelling what’s in place. Then go back and do both roadbed shoulders in turn. Use the brush to level and re-arrange things as required, making sure to keep the ballast away from the throwbar area and the flangeways of the guardrails. To remove stray ballast from the tie tops, lightly grasp the metal ferrule of the brush between the thumb and forefingers of one hand, laying the handle across the rail tops, then, as you move the brush along the tracks, lightly and rapidly tap the brush handle
Got some time this evening and tested the ballast colors a bit. I like them. Nothing glued down yet though.
The track has plastic ties. It’s Atlas code 100 (nickel silver). Probably about 25 years old. My dad originally started out with brass sectional. Then changed to Atlas nickel silver flex. It’s held up remarkably well all these years.
I painted the siding rails Testors rust and the mainline rails Polly Roof Brown. The ties were also painted, with the siding getting Polly D&RGW building brown and the mainline getting Floquil Rail Tie Brown (all paints were ones I had on hand). Man would this have been easier if the tracks were not already down [;)] After ballasting I’ll probably go over some of the ties with gray washes to randomize the “wooden” ties a bit.
Oops I also see from the photo that I still have to airbrush the loading ramp with a concrete color.
I’m one of those guys who hates to ballast track. Not that it’s hard. I just find it so darned tedious. I tolerate it, because it really improves a layout’s appearance, but I hate doing it. It makes my back and shoulders hurt, and I can only tolerate doing a couple of feet at a time.
But I suck it up, and it does get done. But I’d rather be making detailed scenery or building / painting a structure.
Don’t be afraid of ballasting an “already finished layout.” Since many of us do ballasting as the last step anyway, it’s basically the way it’s done. After all, the real railroads ballast an “already finished world.” The ballast should be on top of the scenery at the edge of the track anyway. If you can, remove any tall items that may get in your way. Turn off your cell phone. You don’t want to be disturbed.
I tried spraying. It made a mess. It blew the ballast away. Most of the water ended up where I didn’t want it. So, I gave up on that. Now, I take a bottle of isopropyl alcohol, 93%, straight from the drug store. I put a bit in a cup, and apply it with a pipette, which is the craft-and-hobby version of an eyedropper. You can see it soaking through the ballast. Apply glue (I use an Elmer’s bottle with the applicator top.) Use lots of alcohol and lots of glue. I do about 6-12 inches at a time.
LET IT DRY THOROUGHLY. It’s going to be at least 24 hours. In the middle of summer in a humid climate, I’ve had it take 3 days. Again, the alcohol is your friend. It evaporates much quicker than wet water. Then, go along the track and chip off the specks that ended up on top of the ties. Some will. It’s really hard to avoid, and it’s more work to prevent the occasional misplaced chunk than it is to clean it off later. Clean the rails thoroughly. Vacuum the track with one of those narrow nozzles to get up the loose pieces.
Well, it can be tedious for some, although I find it rather relaxing, and usually carry on well past my intended goal for a session. We both agree, though, that it’s a real visual improvement for any layout, and an especially good “bang for the buck” operation.
Another good return on your investment is painting the rail. I used a brush to do mine, as it keeps down the dust and dirt in the layout room. It also makes it easy to avoid overspray on nearby structures or scenery, something that requires masking or removal if you use an airbrush or rattle can. I use a 1/2" brush with fairly stiff bristles: the larger brush means you need to refill it less often and the stiff bristles make it easy to work the paint around cast-on spike heads and other detail. I use PollyScale paint, straight from the bottle - pick a suitable colour or mix one to suit. The lack of odour is a big plus for this job. While turnouts can be somewhat time-consuming, 12’ or 15’ of regular track can be painted, both sides of both rails, in 15 minutes or so. I then go back and wipe the tops of the rails with a dry rag over my fingertip - not yet cured, the paint comes off readily. I prefer to paint before ballasting. Another advantage of using a brush is that you can paint rails anytime you have a few minutes to spare - open the bottle, paint for five minutes, rinse out the brush and wipe the rails and
I’m thinking about using rubbing alcohol as the “wet water”. I’m worried the dish detergent will leave soap bubbles on the adjacent scenery. Alcohol likely won’t do anything but smell for a while.
I see you use a few drops of dish detergent with water in a spry bottle, but how much alcohol to use?
Do you dilute the alcohol in the water spray mix, or is it all alcohol with maybe a few drops of water?
