Q: Has anyone ever used gravel purchased from an aquarium store for their layout’s track ballast? They seem to have several sizes and of course colors.[?][?]
My Answer: I haven’t.
[:)]
I started my layout with white aquarium gravel. Actually, it was too stark white for ballast and a little large for 0 guage. At least, I thought so. I switched to fine chicken grit, which had multiple colored stones.
I will use the aquarium gravel for places on the mountains.
Chuck
Buckeye,
I looked into this also. What I did not like was the aquarium gravel was too homogenous, too bright (primary colors) and it is very shiney.
What you might look into is the aggregate that is used on roofs. If you look at a typical asphalt roofing shingle, note the gravel aggregate is a perfect size for O scale trains! I use what comes off my roof and settles into the gutters. I got one big load due to the last hailstorm that destroyed my roof. I got another big load withthe loose stuff that washed off the new roof.
Up nawth - folks that do a built up (residential) tarred roof can actually buy the aggregate in bulk (1mm size, 50 lb bags) and compared to commercial ballast it is “dirt” cheap.
The material goes by the names: roofing granules, fine roofing agregate, etc.
It is nearly impossible to find it down here.
Regards,
Roy
In the book, “Realistic Scenery for Toy Trains,” Dave Frary used aquarium gravel for ballast. The size looked right, but I thought it looked a little too smooth and shiny, even with weathering.
I did use it on a layout a long time ago. The price was right and it glued ok with my white glue and water solution. It looked too fake, even after crushing it up with a hammer to make the bits more diverse and spraying flat black on it to cover the gloss.
Here kitty kitty. [swg]
I just started ballasting with kitty litter. Right after I bought the stuff, I didn’t think it was going to work. But once I got a small section glued down, I thought it looked pretty good. There are some rather large granules in the cheap brand I bought, but they aren’t really a problem, and can be crushed easily if I find them to be too obnoxious.
The slightly darker area on the upper track is the section that has been glued. I actually added a little black paint to my glue and water mix.
By the way, just under 5 gallons for just over $5.
Me too for the Kitty Litter. [tup] It should be the Clay Base.[;)]
The only two places it doesn’t work is
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if you have a cat [}:)]
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out side on a GR.[^]
I used kitty littter on my previous layout and it was a little big but not to bad. On the layout I’m building now I’m using chicken grit. I like it much better then the litter and it’s only about $5 for 50 pounds.
I start to use this product.
Looks ok. the color match and if you drop oil look better.
Andre.
Oil Dry is made of clay, just like kitty litter is. (It’s really one in the same)
Not to be asking dumb questions, but what is chicken grit?
Also, I had been told to avoid the kitty litter because it attracts water and moisture and can rust the track. Does that only apply to litter made of shredded paper, or is it an issue with clay-based? Also, I’ve heard that the clay can get up into the engines. I don’t know, I’m not trying to be critical, I am just repeating what hobby shop employees have told me over the last year or two.
Reading,
Chicken grit is fine crushed and washed gravel, usually granite. Chickens and many fowl need the grit in their digestive sysytem to help break down food. A typical size is about the same as quartz sand, so it is a bit small for O scale. There are several grades available at feed stores, so maybe one is large enough for O scale. If you try it make sure you get granite grit and not ground oyster shells, which is sometimes called chicken grit, but is used as a calcium supplement for chickens.
Regards,
Roy
Roy, How come you know so much about chickens? [%-)][%-)]
We have a product here in Columbus that they call Gold Dust that can be used for ballast. I had never heard of it until the other day.
Buckeye - not that much. Spent a few summers on my Aunt and Uncle’s farm out near Brenham, TX. Spent way too much time on a small tractor pulling a mower. At least my uncle (cabinet maker) had a neat shop to mess around in. No air conditioning. Just window fans. At least the house was on a hill. Everyone sat on the front porch drinking ice tea and shooting the breeze until about 30 minutes after the sun went down and then went to bed. Of course we were all up at dawn. I didn’t say my getting up was voluntary.
I actually like the gray color of the kitty litter better, it is more like the local rock than the tan.
Another thing that I’ve just discovered about the kitty litter is that because it is clay, it can be disolved. This becomes an advantage over more solid stone based ballasts when working around switches. The stones tend to get lodged in the points and under the throw bar, leaving a real mess that has to be cleaned up afterword. The clay cleans up very quickly and easily, and if necessary, water can disolve it completely.
thanks for explaining the chicken grit thing. I think crushed granite is probably the best if I can get the right size for O gauge. Has anyone used the commercially available ballast before? I see ads in the back of CTT and OGR.
Stone dust, sold at home centers, is also made from crushed granite and looks good too. I had planned to use it on my layout, but after seeing the kitty litter used by Tom and Elliot, I might go that route. It looks just a little more scale in size than the dust, and is most likely easier to reduce.
Jim
I have had it on my layout for 6 years now and have not found any rust on the track. I use Lionel tube track, 0-27. I haven’t noticed it collecting any moisture, but then again I have central A/C. [8D]
Normal ballast like Woodland Scenics, is just fine. The big difference is cost. The one nice thing is it is very uniform, both in color and size.
Buckeye should know about chickens. Saw a couple of dozen running around in his yard when I visited him. [;)][:D][:D] [along with two old hound dogs. could not figure out that little wooden building with the moon shaped cutout on the door]