Hi all, I've read a lot of posts here about using kitty litter for ballast. Last night I found yet another variation of this. My sister has some reptiles and last night I was examining one her snake tanks. At the bottom of the tank she had what appeared to ballast so I asked what it was. She told me that it was crushed and ground walnut shells! I believe that it is called lizrd litter and they sell this in 5 and 10 pound bags at most pet stores and can be had for almost the same price as kitty litter. The neat thing is that it is almost fine enough to be used with N scale and certainly with HO and O. Check it out! Russ Hoffman Valley RR
Russ, The Pasadena Model RR Club uses crushed walnut shells as ballast on their HO scale Sierra Pacific Lines. Their track is also handlaid, with thousands upon thousands of ties (the layout takes up what used to be a bowling alley). Pentrex has an awesome video on this club layout, and also does a railfan trip with a Tank Train, powered by DRGW SD40T-2s (listening, Slimjim?). If you don't have it, buy it- it's worth the money!!
Excellent! I think I will have to look for that video. I am glad that someone else has heard of using walnut shells as I did not want anyone to think that I was "nuts" (pun intended) Thanks friscobob! Happy railroading! Russ Hoffman Valley RR
There was a whole article on using ground walnut shells in Modle Railroad Craftsman (I think) as a "load" for hopper cars. The reasoning: It is light weight. Floats on water. Is an insulator. Can be dyed black like coal. His source was the rock polishing Hobby. They add the polishing grit to polish the semi-gem stones, and add the walnut shells to assist in keeping one rock from crashing into another causing chips. He suggested using a tea sifter/strainer to remove the nuts skimmed off the surface of the water to save for future use. It is also used to "bright" clean jewelery, such as removing the dark oxide from highly figured silver findings. Works well on fancy spoons etc. as well as brass detail parts. Can also be used dry in a tumbler or vibratory polisher to remove casting flash and dull glossy plastic surfaces. Pecan, and peanut shells are also available.
There is a danger to using kitty litter. Just the other day my friend told me he used it on his new O Scale Christmas layout he is building. He said when he sprayed it with water/glue mixture, it started to swell! He forgot how absorbent it is. (snicker, snicker. there's a joke there somewhere although he didn't think it was funny).
The shells are also used in ammunition reloading.... The empty cases are loaded into a tumbler to clean the brass.... I wonder if that media is small enuff for N..... Midsouth Shooter's Supply: Tumbler media Try that on for size...
Sorry for double... Also try the sporting goods stores, and Walmart, Kmart, and storwes that sell guns and ammo. They may have the stuff that you can try. The stuff I found on the internet are trated with rouge, or some chemical, prolly not what you want to ballast your track....
<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by rush2ny: [QB]......I did not want anyone to think that I was "nuts" (pun intended)....... [QB]<hr></blockquote> If you're not nuts, you won't fit in with the rest of us filberts! Glad to help, Russ........highball, y'all!
The source you buy these media from can advise if an abrasive grit has already been added or not. Pet supply would probably be the cleanest, but may have a deodorant added. Tumbling media comes in various grades with and without abrasive media added. They also carry a plastic media that will float yet will help carry the grit you add. Coffee grounds are usually used dry, and (as ballast) looks like cinders if left dull, and granit if lightle sprayed with gloss. Salt sprinkled lightly on top of your last wetted glue mix will appear to sparkle like quartz and some marble type rocks. Soda and cement mix looks like the soda-lime-ash spill where engines have been de-scaled. Usually found around the ash pit and some washing facilities where Oakite is used. But is not part of ordinary ballast. Remember that mountains and hills are made up of different kinds of rock of different colors from white to black. Where the civil engineer has designed a fill on either side of a cut or tunnel, the color of rock was laid down on the fills at the bottom as the cut is dug down from the top of the hill. So the color you see in the cut would match the color you see on the side of the fill in reverse order. (Just a detail some detail hound will stomp on your scenery about!) If you are trying to capture the look of a Prototype road, then it may be best to find out what color ballast that road actually did or does use, to avoid some remark that can hurt your feelings when visitors come.
<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by HemiAdda2d: The shells are also used in ammunition reloading...<hr></blockquote> You know, I completely forgot that you used shells to tumble shells! I used to help my bud reload some ammo but at that time I wasn't thinking trains I guess (Unless you count using the reloaded ammo to fire off at some of your old Bachmann/Model Power stuff!) Happy Railroading! Russ Hoffman Valley RR
I tried kitty litter for ballast, but it didn't work out. It was too much trouble straining the big clumps out and I couldn't keep my cats off the layout, Ba-Boom.
One guy bought the grey colored sandpaper and glued it to TrueScale wood roadbed, the one without milled on ties. Then he glued flex track on that. He had it all mounted to a polished black walnut 1 x 12 that was the top of a book case in his office. He would open a small door to operate the controls. It was very neat, and hospital clean. He had one engine and several cars that he would switch around in spare time. The whole thing was under a formed plexiglass dust cover. He enjoyed it, but then afterall he WAS the BOSS!
