Arto, that ballast work looks pretty good to me! Now just add some cinders (earlier era) or heavier crushed stone, post 1970s or so, to the edges and between the ballast edge and the retaining wall and you’re good to go!
I have some coarser cinders here between the main and secondary track.
Ouch! I just noticed the ballast on the base of the rail ahead of Amtrak 375! Time to get out the toothbrush…
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Nice work! Ed
Ballasting is fast and easy. It is a multi step process though. First I use white glue and a small brush to outline the outer limits of the ballast and sprinle on the ballast, I also use white glue around the throw bar area and add ballast (this will stop the matt medium from creeping in and sticking the turnout. I let this dry and vacum the area with a dedicated bag for ballast (you can reuse this). Next I spoon on the ballast and use a finger to rub the ballast off the ties on the outsides, next I use a foam brush to do the same between the ties (must fit between the rails). I then wet water the areas and pipet the matt medium on the ballast. When dry I vacum again. then I go back and fix anything that needs it, sometimes extending the shoulder. It take only 5min. a foot or less when all done.
Ballasting isn’t terribly difficult, nor is it very time consuming (I can do a 2’ stretch of track in under 5 minutes, not counting drying time). But I have to say that I still consider it one of the most tedious and boring tasks in model railroading.
It is tedious but it does not take that long I use undiluted white glue on the slopes first then sprinkle the ballast on. Once that dries I follow with another coat but using the typical wet water and diluted glue method to fill in any gaps as well as the center. I just did a section on Thursday and then took a road trip up to Boston for a long weekend with the wife. Now back I will see how dried and do any touch up tonight.
To get the top of the ballast even with the tops of the ties (and ends of the ties, and then to form the prototype slope away from the track which is not the same slope angle as is built into regular cork roadbed) I use a short piece of cork roadbed as a sort of bulldozer – first tamping the ballast down into the ties with a series of light taps, and then running it back and forth over the length of track being ballasted.
The cork is wider than the gauge so it runs between the rails at an angle, perhaps 30 degrees.
I usually try to confine my ballasting to about 3 to 6 feet of track at a time. The bulldozer method creates surplus ballast at the end of the work which I gather up with simple piece of paper and a brush, and reuse.
I then “wet” and cement the ballast in place using methods already discussed. One difference is I add a bit of india ink to my wetting spray bottle to tone down and slightly vary the ballast color.
I tried the foam paint brush but it tended to fling the ballast and left some on the tops of the ties; it did not seem stiff enough to push the ballast down and then scrape it off the tops of the ties. The cork roadbed “bulldozer” does not make the ballast fly around - it is flexible but stiff enough to really scrape off the ballast from the tops of the ties. It is also surprisingly durable and I have been using the same piece of cork (about three inches long, and I use the flat edge as a bottom for the bulldozer) for some time.
Dave Nelson
I’ve resigned myself to the fact that “for me”, ballasting is going to take a considerable amount of time because of the kind of results I want to achieve.
Not to down anyone else’s methods or results, IMO the biggest issues that detracts from realistic looking model track ballast are the (lack of) range of size & color tones that are present compared to real world. The other issue is the level of ballast between and at the outside edges of the ties.
On almost all model ballast work I see, the ballast size and color range is much too consistent. There’s not enough variation and not enough variation in the right places (like along the rail or the middle of the ties). In most pictures of railroad tracks it’s clear that the ballast most often comes right up to the top of the ties. There is very little if any “falling off” from the top-of-tie edges. Under the rails the ballast tends to get tamped down from the weight of the trains flexing the rails & pushing the ties down into the roadbed as it passes over the rails.
So far the best way I’ve found to achieve the above described conditions is use many different ballast, rustier colors near the rails, more fine cinder in/near tunnels, tamping the ballast flat into the ties with the end of a wood dowel, carefully brushing off any ballast from the top of the ties and "weeding"out the ballast particles from under the rails and with a medium stiff #5/0 round tip artist brush, and repeating this until everything is filled in to the top of the ties.
The pictures I posted above are not the finished result. I’ll post pictures of it again when I’m done with that section of track.
EDIT: The other thing I’m doing is using a 250 watt quartz “work lamp” shining at a very shallow angle across the length of the track. This makes it very easy to see any discrepancies in the ballast compared to the top of the ties as well as spot any extraneous balla
Another little thing I’ve discovered. The wood handle on those foam paint brushes is even better than regular wood dowels for tamping the ballast flat between the ties. It seems the wood on those handles is a little softer and the handle end has a bevel around it’s edge, both of which seem to prevent as much ballast “popping” out from around the ties producing a more even “finish” to the ballast.
Ballast is time consuming but so important (as important as trackwork, In My Opinion) so I take my time because it’s so visible…forever.
My first layout (when I was 3) used AMI Instant roadbed, a sticky rubbery tape-like product. Lay the AMI down on the sketched track centerline (it’s sticky so no glue needed), then press the track onto it (no glue needed, since it’s sticky on both sides), then pour on ballast (mound it on, press it into the sticky tape then brush off or vacuum up the excess); you ended up with a perfect layer of ballast covering the black rubber with no fuss over wet water or glue or anything like that.
On my last layout and my FreeMo modules, I used Woodland Scenics ballast (the Fine size for my HO scale layouts…I think it looks best) and the diluted glue mixtures. That somehow feels more ‘professional’ than using AMI roadbed. I’d like to try Arizona Rock and Mineral ballast, but I can’t bring myself to buy it without seeing it in person (colors and texture aren’t always accurate on a computer monitor)…they have so many different colors to choose from! I have used paving sand (sifted through panty hose so just the finest stuff gets used) for scale industrial gravel driveways and wondered if it could be effective (and cheap) ballast…I think it could, but my prototype typically uses a slightly darker color.
Ballast may be tedious, but so is weathering freight cars…if you want a prototypical appearance (I’m aware of basic weathering techniques, but if you’re after a specific look, it can take a while); for that matter, building a structure so everything looks realistic and to scale, it takes time too. This is a hobby to enjoy and take pride in the finished result, not necessarily just a train set.