I ask this question , because I plan to do a ON30 layout !
I gave up the idea of a Mixed On30 & Ho Layout . I would be moving on & off the buildings . Plus the roads would be to small or too big .
Do you use ballast by the track for your Narrow Gauge layout?
Thanks in Advance !
Just like any other railroad, narrow gauge lines ballasted their track, even if they used simply dirt. The idea behind ballasting is to prevent any horizontal movement of the track.
So the answer to your question is definitively yes, you should ballast your track. I did!
Hi there. I think it depends what you are modeling. I think the answer is generally yes, but some logging operations were pretty light in the ballast department. I suggest you look at historical pictures to see what was used in your era and area of interest.
Simon
The Rio Grande had some pretty sketchy ballast in many places and it wasn’t ony the early days. The Mears lines out of Silverton were even less inlcined to spend on ballast. But something is always in between the ties, whether crushed highe grade stone or just plain ol’ dirt. I try to vary to represent the intensity of use, but here’s a back in the hills looks at my track profile on the Silverton Northern…’
Meanwhile, closer to a much busier than rwal life Durango, it looks more like this.
I have been using dirt from the street out front. It works well as most narrow gauge lines weren’t ballasted.
That may have been correct for logging lines and their temporary track into the logging camps, but regular NG railroads always had some sort of ballast between the ties to prevent the track from horizontal movement. Few used crushed rock, many just any dirt they found on site.
Depends. While hunting in western Pa, I walked old logging lines through the woods. The ties were still there surrounded by dirt.
But the East Broad Top narrow gauge had gravel ballast. Of course, it’s been neglected for so long it is starting to look like all dirt.
The ballast provides resistance to movement of the rails, but it also provides drainage to get the water away from the ties.
I guess the permanence of the railroad could be the deciding factor.
The current issue of Classic Trains magazine is al about short lines, several of the articles state how is was common and accepted practice for short lines to ballast their track with dirt.
Lots of pics of East Broad Top, a PA narrow gauge line:
https://www.steamphotos.com/Railroad-Photos/East-Broad-Top-Railroad-Photos/
I wouldn’t call it heavily ballasted, but for the most part it doesn’t look like dirt to me.
Exactly.
Ulrich, you and the others who’ve noted this in various ways are correct. Unless a line was of a very temporrary measure, there almost always was some ballast used.
Many think of ballast as only crushed stone, but it’s really whatever materials are spread in between the ties to limit their movement. Cinders were another common material used, along with whatever dirt was available. It wasn’t pretty, but it was necessary for reliable operation.