# Ballast in bulk



## luvatenor (Apr 28, 2013)

Does anyone know where I can get a large supply of ballast for my layout- have several hundred feet of track and buying little bags would not be sensible- also what do you use to glue it down so it doesn't fly up and derail the trains-Thanks-Rolf


----------



## johnfl68 (Feb 1, 2015)

Woodland Scenics has 32oz containers, I think that is the largest I have seen.

Usually you "wet" the ballast first after you put it down. Water with a few drops of dish washing detergent. Use spray bottle, or a eye dropper, wet, but not soaked. This will help the glue get to all the ballast pieces. Some say that plain isopropyl alcohol works as well.

Then go back and glue, 50/50 mixture of Elmer's white glue and water. Here the eye dropper works best, thoroughly soak the ballast with the glue mixture, making sure all the ballast is coated. Then let dry.

John


----------



## wvgca (Jan 21, 2013)

i used sandblasting sand,less than ten bucks for fifty pond bag, and i used less than a quarter of that for around 300 feet of track plus scenery..i used diluted dap alex caulking , probably same cost, dries flexible and quieter than white glue


----------



## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

I have found Woodland Scenics ballast in container of about 64oz or there abouts. 
Avoid the ballast spreader items you might see on the internet or in stores. They aren't worth the cost.
There are quite a few videos on line that illustrate how to apply ballast. Be sure to use wet water though so the glue gets down into the ballast.


----------



## MtRR75 (Nov 27, 2013)

As far as spreading ballast, I recall seeing a video where a guy used a small piece of card stock to level off the ballast. It seems to me that it would be easy to use a 1/2" paint brush to scoop excess ballast onto the card stock for redistribution.


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I use a paint brush to smooth it and taper the sides.


----------



## Overkast (Jan 16, 2015)

wvgca said:


> i used sandblasting sand,less than ten bucks for fifty pond bag, and i used less than a quarter of that for around 300 feet of track plus scenery..i used diluted dap alex caulking , probably same cost, dries flexible and quieter than white glue


wvgca, this is a great idea. What grit sand would you use for N scale?


----------



## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

wvgca said:


> i used sandblasting sand,less than ten bucks for fifty pond bag, and i used less than a quarter of that for around 300 feet of track plus scenery.


The last time I bought white quartz sandblasting sand from Home Depot, it was around $6 for a 100# bag. You can get the same thing (although the dust has been washed off) from a pool&spa store at $15 for 50#.

Most of the track I see here has a white quartz plus some kind of purple rock used for the roadbeds. If you could also find that purple rock as a cheap sand, it would be perfect for modeling modern railroads.


----------



## wvgca (Jan 21, 2013)

The sand I used was an excellent size for HO, I'm guessing the same, but sifted to get more fines, would work for N scale .. I did get one of those round pipe ballast spreader, made it very quick work, 10 feet a minute to apply, and not much more time to spread with a brush...


----------



## johnfl68 (Feb 1, 2015)

The new April Issue of Model Railroader also has some good Ballasting tips on pages 24 and 26.

The "Seed Sower" tip is a great idea to use to pour out the ballast:
http://www.amazon.com/Dial-Seed-Sower-2-Pack/dp/B00EL273U8/

John


----------



## rrgrassi (May 3, 2012)

Use this. I have at it does work well and does not float away like the Woodland Scenic stuff does.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HO-SCALE-MODEL-RAILROAD-TRACK-BALLAST-GRAVEL-SCENERY-Real-River-Rock-3lbs-new-/161480338424?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2598fa6bf8


----------



## MtRR75 (Nov 27, 2013)

rrgrassi said:


> Use this. I have at it does work well and does not float away like the Woodland Scenic stuff does.[/URL]


This looks too coarse for HO. I actually measured the ballast on the CSX line near me. Most ranged from 2" to 6" in size -- 4" is a good average. Four inches translates into 1 mm in HO scale (or between 1/16" and 1/32").

The track in the ebay photo looks like Code 100, which is what I use. The individual "rocks" are nearly the size of the gap between the ties, which is about 3 mm (or about 5/32"), which converts to 11" at full scale. This means that these rocks are up to a scale foot in diameter.


----------



## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

I have to agree with MtRR75. That stuff is HUGE. Rock that big (and that rounded) would not function as ballast. Ballast should be 3/4" to 3" in diameter. Now perhaps you're one of those folks who don't care about such things, and that's fine, but don't throw something like that down and expect it to look realistic.

FWIW, I have used WS ballast exclusively on my layout. If you properly prewet it and apply glue from tie level, the bouyant characteristics of whatever they use (ground walnut shells?, pumice?) aren't a big deal.


----------

