Thanks, I need to order a couple other things from amazon anyway.
Mike
The ballast is now glued down. Here are some pics.
Here are the pics of the second application of weathering.
Here are the pics from the final application of weathering. It is hard to see, but inside the rails and just outside the rails between the ties have been wethered some more. I may try and get more detailed in the future, but for now, this is how the track is going to be ballasted.
Thanks to Dennis at Brennan’s Better Ballast for taking the time to talk to me and for providing a great product at a great price with very fast shipping!
Very nice Mike. I like it a lot.
Kev.
Thanks! 
Making your own ties is a labor of love Mike. i did something very similar. I used 1/8 x 1/2 basswood since it is sturdier than balsa. My wife helped me spray paint the ties black since I used O gauge track. About 3 months after I finished all of the ties I went to a train show and saw a whole bag of ties on sale for $10.00. It would have been easier to buy the bag of finished ties but not as fun.
It is alot easier to buy the ties, but as you said, not as fun. You can see in my pictures that my son helped make the ties. There is no amount of money that can buy that fun time! [:)]