Hello all, new to the TrainBoard. I am about to start my little N scale empire and to be honest do not look forward to ballasting the track. I worry about glue on the rail, in the switches and along the rails such that it would cause derailments. I am using Atlas C55 so all rolling stock is low profile wheels and not very forgiving. So, I was wondering if anyone had ever applied the ballast to the cork before the track goes down. I was thinking of gluing the ballast on the cork and rolling the track surface smooth with a roller. Then gluing the track on top of the ballast. I know the ballast would not come up between the ties but with the track being painted and weathered and the ties so thin I would think it would look okay. Anyone try this? Any comments? I also posted this in the layouts section. Thanks,
Hi there, and welcome aboard. There have been several discussions here on ballasting. It is not really as difficult as you may at first think, patience and practice are needed, and very soon it will seem very much easier For starters take a look at this recent thread http://www.trainboard.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=9;t=002776
Hey mods, I forgot who I e-mailed before, but the linked thread (above post) is exactly why there should be a "HOW TO..." forum - this type of advice applies to most/all scales other topics that are repeatedly addressed - soldering - molding rocks - trees - weathering - etc...etc...etc... oh yeah, I think it would help with the host costs too
When I ballasted my track, I followed the advice of an article in Model Railroader (Dec '96-Jan '97, "Build the N scale Carolina Central") it said to lay a bead of glue directly on the cork, (outside of rails only) spread it out with a cheap stiff brush, then apply ballast, (this helps the ballast stay where you want, also it won't come off or peel, it is there for good) go a little at a time. Spread the ballast out to desired look, use a brush to help. Spray the ballast well with 'wet' water (water with a little soap or alcohol), then dribble on the glue-water mix. They used 50:50 mix Matte Medium and water, glue will work) If you can find that article get it. It was the defining article for me to get into model railroading. Explains the basics from wiring to finishing touches. [ 26. September 2003, 21:23: Message edited by: espee2 ]
I was the one who posted the ballast "article" here. I also posted it at some other forums. Once common theme that came through was that "hardness of the water" could affect whether your water needs to be "wet" or not. That is, whether detergent should be added to the water, was the issue. Some felt that harder water could use some "wetting" agent. Being the cheap guy that I am and trained by a "master" who is also a cheap guy, I would recommend detergent if you feel your water is hard - for example: well water.
