Ballast Alternative ?
- Thread starter julienjj
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Larry
Long Winded Old Fart
If you have a Joanne's ETC. store in your area you can do what I am doing on my HO scale layout. I buy 4 diff. colors of hobby sand & mix them together for ballast. It's not gray & it's not brown or white. But, it looks good on my layout. I've used sand right out of the ground on my property. Also, I've used sawdust & real fine crushed granite.
There's all kinds of things you can use. Just have to make sure it's not magnetic & it has to be glued down w/a 50/50 mix of water & elmers glue.
There's all kinds of things you can use. Just have to make sure it's not magnetic & it has to be glued down w/a 50/50 mix of water & elmers glue.
Do you live close to a lake or ocean? On sandy beaches in the area where the wave action washes on shore the sand is coarse. Make a sieve of screen door material and find another different sized mesh (Dollar store or two different size screens from a hardware store) Using the two sieves you can get some natural looking ballast
Totally forgot I have that loco. The coloring in this case is quite close to the ballast that is used on the CB&CNS railway.
If you do use screened sand be sure you use a strong magnet to get all the metal particles if any out of it. IMHO natural color of the coarse sand is more realistic.
Cheers
Willis
Totally forgot I have that loco. The coloring in this case is quite close to the ballast that is used on the CB&CNS railway.
If you do use screened sand be sure you use a strong magnet to get all the metal particles if any out of it. IMHO natural color of the coarse sand is more realistic.
Cheers
Willis
Larry
Long Winded Old Fart
Model railroading isn't a fast & efficient hobby unless you take your time.
Just kidding!! For what you need, a 2 or 3 gal. bucket full of sand will do about 200 to 300 ft. of HO scale track. My layout took about 8 gals of sand & I've still got some to do.
Larry
Long Winded Old Fart
Beachbum
Member
Take a look at play sand, builders sand and / or paint texture additives at your local Home Depot or whatever. Silica sand is an inhalation hazard though so follow any and all safety warnings if the stuff contains silica.
BTW, Woodland Scenics ballast is supposedly made of crushed walnut shells.
I've used sifted Lake Michigan and Gulf of Mexico beach sand for N-scale. Prolly not conveniently located though...
BTW, Woodland Scenics ballast is supposedly made of crushed walnut shells.
I've used sifted Lake Michigan and Gulf of Mexico beach sand for N-scale. Prolly not conveniently located though...
Selector
Well-Known Member
Sand-blasting sand and fish-tank filter sand are two relatively inexpensive sources of sand. In my own case, I overlook a sandy beach on the Strait of Georgia on Canada's west coast. Nice grey beach sand is plentiful.
It bears repeating what was offered earlier, but one caveat to using any source except approved hobby materials sold commercially is that you must spread the material thinly on a sheet of newspaper and pass a fridge or other suitable magnet over it. You would be surprised to find that there will be some magnetic material involved which would not be salutary for the works in a toy locomotive.
-Crandell
It bears repeating what was offered earlier, but one caveat to using any source except approved hobby materials sold commercially is that you must spread the material thinly on a sheet of newspaper and pass a fridge or other suitable magnet over it. You would be surprised to find that there will be some magnetic material involved which would not be salutary for the works in a toy locomotive.
-Crandell
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Laidoffsick
3 Railer
You can buy ballast in bulk, not just the Woodland Scenics stuff....
Laidoffsick
3 Railer
I usually buy 5lb bags for $16, although it's pretty coarse as I model O Scale. I think they have different textures as well but not 100% sure if you are modeling HO scale.
I get the 5lb bags from Brennan's Model RRing.
I get the 5lb bags from Brennan's Model RRing.
ChevelleSSguy
Member
I heard Dave Frary mention once a while back on a Scott Mason podcast that he recommends using sand from those sandbags you put in the back of a pickup truck for traction in the winter. Its clean and free of contaminants as its packaged in a factory to begin with. Its also only a few bucks a bag.
ontario midland
Member
I have a few of them out in my barn, so the other day, I opened one up.
and put a screen from an old stormdoor,over a bucket. I just grabed a handful,right of the top. and what fell into the bucket, was almost a fine powder. so I not sure how that would work. maybe if I dug down more,it mite be better ?
Ron
One would think that you'd have problems. All the sandbags I've ever had used really fine sand. It's probably the type of sandbag that makes the difference.
You also might be able to water it down and freeze it for bigger clumps, but I don't think it'd stay that way long on a layout.
Beachbum
Member
Re: sanded grout - I've experimented with it and wouldn't use it except possibly for yard tracks that are almost buried in the ballast. I thought it was a pain to get off the rail webs and ties, even when wet. Maybe I wasn't using the right technique though.
You could try laying down some sanded grout and pressing the track into it, I suppose. But once it dries, that track is permanently in place.
Grout is caustic so wear gloves if you mess with it.
Just out of curiosity, I'm going to stop by a Michael's craft store either tonight or tomorrow just to see what kind of sand or fine gravel they have. If I find anything promising, I'll post it here.
You could try laying down some sanded grout and pressing the track into it, I suppose. But once it dries, that track is permanently in place.
Grout is caustic so wear gloves if you mess with it.
Just out of curiosity, I'm going to stop by a Michael's craft store either tonight or tomorrow just to see what kind of sand or fine gravel they have. If I find anything promising, I'll post it here.
You can get 32 ounces of ballast at http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/woo/woob1393.htm for eight bucks. That's probably enough to do 45-60 feet of track. If you had a really large layout, looking at the less costly alternatives might make sense but not for a small layout. Just spend the eight bucks and get to work. 
