ok, am new to all this and , am trying to learn from all the different great post that are here in this forum. i live in a border town that has nothnig to do with hobbies or anything ,or place for that matter to resarch,or anything ,so.
so, i am trying to use my head and start out small cheap get the knowledge i need buildup, seeing if i can do this before i start dumping tons of money into it. I bought a ho scale life like train set a ( freight hauler set) to be exact to start out ,to give me the error space i need to learn but i want to try and use some of you guys great ideas and incorporate then into it to learn.so with that said ,giving the margin of learnig here also, has the idea of using “cat litter” yees i said it “cat litter” as a ballast a idea that might be possible to use , the scoop away type since it is granuals.?
hope this doesnt seem to dumb a idea just trying to use some ideas and by not havnig much of a supply and demand where i live for hobbies the best place to shop is wal mart or sutherland LOL in this one horse town >
Thanks all for having patiance with me ,and thanks for all the great info about this hobby
Welcome to the forum and to MRR. There are lots of posts on this subject. Seems there are lots of new comers. Read them. Know what you want: size, style, long range plan, short range opportunities, etc. Having a hobby shop near by is nice, but hardly necesary. As you have gathered, we can be most helpful when you ask specific questions at the proper time in the construction process. LOL
thanks for the quick feedback, read my typing and am sorry for that. what about the ideas for what to use for ballast? I am trying to learn what would be the best to use , is my idea ,realistic or is it a stupid idea for using catlitter?
Yes, that has come up before. Even been jokes about it in MR magazine with the cat falling in love with the ballasted track.
It is a bit too course for HO scale. Size wise it looks better for O scale. The problems with it are many and various depending on the brand. Mostly if it gets wet. It may clump when moist but it can become mud if totally saturated. Since most people use wet water and water based glue of some sort to fasten it down, this can become a problem sooner than one thinks. I like “hard rock” ballast myself. I will leave it to others who have successfully used it to describe how the accomplished it.
thanks for the tip, thought about that ,but was thinknig the glue might keep the effect down . well, need to research more and try to come up with some info on a good ballast then to use.
Thanks again for the patiance:
Talon,
You can get really good prices for Woodlands Scenics ballast from a number of websites like Standard Hobby or TrainWorld. They are really good about getting the products delivered within a couple of days.
Just post your questions here. We would be glad to help.
RevMatt’s idea of ordering online for delivery to your house is a good one. Most of the big and small dealers have websites these days.
A brand of real stone ballast that is quite popular is ‘Arizona Rock & Mineral’. They have various colors and sizes.
http://www.rrscenery.com/
Regards
Ed
thanks for the great tips , thanks murphy for the site ,(did know they went as specific as what type goes with what rail. am going to have to look into these and see what happens. wish i lived in a bigger city tho or closer to one where i could go and look, fell, etc, everythnig that i see on here but am unclear on it in real life.would make it easier 
thanks again you all have been really helpful.
Just remember, cats know that smell (litter), and they know what to do when they smell it! If you use it for ballast, don’t own a cat.
guess that might not be a good obstruction for the train LOL , talked me out of it. ok, for a Ho scale train , i know everyone has different ideas , i would just like some good one and ,looking at everyone’s layout they posted on here makes me really hope that mine can come out as nice as theirs.
I use Garden Plus Patio/Paver Base which is available at Lowes. It costs less than $5.00 per bag. I sift out my ballast and use the leftovers for small boulders.
I used beach sand, washed and checked for magnetic material. If that had not worked, I would have looked for places with sandy soil and screened my own. A local quarry or gravel pit might be worth a look. Patio supply stores might have stuff to put between pavers, as suggested already.
thats what i am talking about thanks for the tips. going to look into both suggestions tommorow. am looking for cost effective ways to try this ,not break the budget and, come out with a great product. thanks again for all the suggestions i really appriciate them alot