At $9.49 per 50-cu-in container, Woodland Scenics ballast just doesn’t seem very economical to me. I need to find something to cover my 200ft of HO right-of-way, and I was wondering if sandbox sand might work OK. Problem is, it is usually tan or yellowish colored - I’ve never seen any railroads here in the East with anything other than gray ballast.
Any ideas?
I know people have used sandbox sand but you probably want something a little bigger… One source I’ve seen suggested is Arizona Rock and Mineral… There’ use to be a place here in the midwest that sold ballast as well and you could buy 10 pounds of the stuff for something like $20… I’ll see if I can find the flyer that I had…
Jeff
edit: Link added
Second edit:
http://www.gatewaynmra.org/articles/moretricks.htm
http://www.raillinks.com/cgi-bin/modelrr/links/jump.cgi?ID=1900
Thanks for the link Jeff! I agree sandbox sand is probably too fine, but its color is closer to what I need (light gray). Masonry sand is probably the correct texture but has too much brown in it.
I agree Ken It can get costley my friend i know ive spent a bunch on W.S Ballast
Carl…
Can you get to a beach relatively quickly? Beach sand can be had cheaply, and if the colour is close, you’re in business. Just desalinate it and check it for magnetic material.
I dont know about back east there, but here the highway department cruses and grades balast for me, I go to the side of a highway just outside town and dig some out of the shoulder, thne sift out the different sizes of grains and use what is the right size.
I’ve heard of people using kitty litter, or whatever it’s called in the de US of A??? it’s ok as long as there aren’t any cats in the house!!! depends on the color of it… danny
For ground sources don’t forget to sterilise it unles you want plants starting in your track or wiggly things wiggling [:)]
There have been previous threads on this subject… also on what colours you might want and how to colour… look at Joe Fugate’s stuff.
Another source of (clean) material is aquaria… they have lots of sizes and colours of grit.
I’ve posted a tiny bit of stuff on ballast [}:)] (and fell over on it again at work last night[B)]
have fun!
Head to the local rock quarry. I bought like 200 pounds of stuff for like $2.00. Since this was all light colored, I mix in about 1/3 WS dark grey. Run a magnet over it to get out the magnetic material.
Brad
One has to be extremely careful when substituting any cheap non-commercial products for ballast. Typical sand, dirt, or finely crushed stone material may include a certain amount of tiny metallic/iron/magnetic fragments or particles. Run your locomotives, with their magnetic field motors over this stuff for a while and you may find out why it’s cheaper in the long run to go with commercial ballast. If you insist on going this route, always run a strong magnet over your non-commercial “ballast” at least several times before you attempt to apply it to the layout. If you pick up a lot of particles…don’t use the stuff!
CNJ831
If you glue sand down it will act like a giant amplifier because it causes sound of the locomotive and rolling stock wheels to be carried down to your sub-roadbed, causing it to vibrate.
I use Cat’s Pride litter, which is small cubes of kaolin clay. No other brand will work. The kaolin has more acoustic deadening qualities than sand or rock.
I’ve been looking at bird grit,available at pet stores.Its cheap and uniformly gray,although I’m not sure it’s small enough for HO.It’s really gravel,so bonding shoudn’t be a problem.
If you do choose to go the sand route, you can get colored craft sands at Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, Garden Ridge, and that sort of place. It’s a whole lot cheaper, and somewhat coarser than sandbox sand. If you can’t find the right color, you could color it by diluting acrylic paints in water and mixing it in then pour it out and let it dry.
Just my suggestion; never tried it, but it sounded good didn’t it?
Greg
Yeah. Dirt. It’s free, and comes in more colors than you can imagine.
Sometimes you gotta just bite the bullet and go with the higher priced option. You must be careful of some subsitutions. In the case of ballast, I went with WS cause its totally safe and almost ready to go right out of the bottle. Somthings I can’t take shortcuts on. Tiny rocks or sand will have metallic crap in it, no matter how much you magnet treat it.
WS stuff is made from crushed walnut shell. it absorbs color easily too, so you can tone it to whatever you like (I use washes of cheap acrylic paint). You can order it during a 10% off sale at Trainworld in NY. If you order enough canisters, it will be cheaper than full price + tax at the LHS.
[2c]
That’s why all your stuff looks so good, cause you dont cut corners. [tup]
Thanks everyone for your replies!
Magnetic particles huh?[:O] Wow, maybe I’ll just have to play it safe and go the ‘commercial’ route after all, I can’t afford new motors for all my locos.
Ballast is crushed walnut shells that have been coloured. I know International Paint sells it by the gallon to be used in non-skid floor paint applications. If you were able to source International Paint through a paint store or Ship’s Chandler you would be able to die the material to the right colours. Saying that, make sure you get the right grade as this stuff can come very fine and very coarse.
Fergie
“Something cheaper than WS for ballast?”
Tunnels.
Long tunnels.
Tunnels? How about modeling street cars??? At least that way you could still see your motive units and build scenery–all without ballasting…[:-^]