Ballast - Masonry Sand

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cncproadwarrior

cncproadwarrior

North of the 49th
I'm still looking for a source of cheap ballast. I refuse to pay the inflated prices of HO ballast at hobby shops. It's rock for crying out loud. I will need enough for about 250-300' of track.

I've read several articles about using masonry sand as ballast. The caveat is to not use sand with iron in it. It's often suggested to bring a strong magnet with you before buying to make sure there is no iron in it.:D

Now, am I missing something here? Or are they suggesting I bring a magnet and run it along the side of the bag to see if it sticks to the bag or not? Or is there an easier way to tell if there is iron in the sand or not? Are the ingredients on the side of the bag?:rolleyes:
 
Bernie, that's the problem. Masonry sand is just ground up quarry waste so almost all of it has small bits of iron or iron oxide. You can run a magnet around the bag and nothing will happen. You have to spread it out on a counter in a thin layer and then run your magnet over it. That will pull out the little iron bits. Nothing wrong with masonry sand for ballast except for the tedious of task of making sure there's nothing magnetic in it.
 
Anybody try aquarium sand? Not live marine sand ( = $$$) but the coarse, cheap stuff? Just another random thought...
 


I got a lot of rock from the local quarry that was great for ballast but I found out it had metal in it when I ran the magnet over the rocks. All that was a waste as the time it takes to run through the rocks with the magnet isn't worth it to me. Thant’s just my opinion.
Dave
 
The local club used roofing grit for ballast on the HO layout, way too course for my tastes. You can get fine turkey grit from feed stores but that's pretty heavy and may be pricey these days.
Don't even think of using cat litter!
I do know a guy who used real ballast on his layout, he sifted it from a pile of ballast fines by the track.
As mentioned there is always the possibility of magnetic materials in that as well.
Fine aquarium sand may work.
I usually look for ballast in the bargain bin in stores or at train shows.
 
There must be a sand source wherever they manufacture deliberable concrete somewhere within 10 miles of where you live.
 
I use coarse sand blasting sand that you can get at any major paint or hardware store.
I mix other colors from the local Joann's ETC store. I don't use gray. As in the other thread, mine is lite to medium brown.
 
We have a diatomaceous earth mine and mill in our area, it's a gray color. Has any one ever looked at that? That stuff is free here in our area. And is the right size and color. All it takes is a bucket or take a truck and they will load you up. Hey, maybe I should go into the ballast market.
 
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A bargin is a bargin........ BUT time is money. All the time wasted looking for alternatives, sifting sand, crushing your own, running to pet supply stores, trips to the desert etc etc

Spend a few bucks and it's done! :D :D
 
leesheridan said:
We have a diatomaceous earth mine and mill in our area, it's a gray color. Has any one ever looked at that? That stuff is free here in our area. And is the right size and color. All it takes is a bucket or take a truck and they will load you up. Hey, maybe I should go into the ballast market.
Click to expand...

I think it's used in Swimming Pool Filters. I used it once years ago, but forgot all about it. Back then I use to get it at A Pinch-A-Penny pool supply store in 15 pound bags. It was cheap. I'll have to make a run to a major city & see if I can find some.
 


I don't think I'd want to use Diatomaceous earth. The chemical composition is is 86% silica, 5% sodium, 3% magnesium and 2% iron. In addition, the silica is highly abrasive and wouldn't be a good thing to get sucked up into train motors. I'm in agreement with LOS here. Ballast, even for a fairly large layout, is a small expense, especially if you factor in things like gas to go around and get this other stuff. I'd just buy the ballast. You can get 32 ounce shaker bottles of ballast at places like HobbyLinc for $8. 32 ounces will cover a lot of track.
 
ballest

Jim
It sounds like your right, for $8.32 I'll have to remember to go on line to get their web site. My wife and I drove 100 miles last weekend to go to a train fair and all they really had was junk. I looked for ballast then and there wasn't any that I could find.
 
Jim is correct on that... Diatomaceous earth is extremely abrasive. That's why ants won't crawl accross it, cuts them up pretty good if you sprinkle it around your house.
 
Laidoffsick said:
A bargin is a bargin........ BUT time is money. All the time wasted looking for alternatives, sifting sand, crushing your own, running to pet supply stores, trips to the desert etc etc

Spend a few bucks and it's done! :D :D
Click to expand...

True and point well taken, but I like to experiment with different "stuff" just for the fun of it.

I have a couple pounds of WS ballast left over from previous layouts that I'll most likely use but I'm always on the lookout for other scenery materials at Michael's, Home Depot, the side of the road, etc.
 
Brennan's Better Ballast is $15.95 for a 5lb bag and looks very good. I know his site say its for O scale but he does sell a fine, medium, and coarse grade depending on what scale you are modeling. It's not a lot cheaper than WS but does come in a 5lb bag. Compared to $8-$10 for 16oz, $15.95 for 5lbs is pretty good. His other scenic materials are awesome as well.
 
I always go with the smallest size I can find. A scale piece of ballast should fit into a scale sized palm, like the real thing would fit into yours.
I've seen lots of layouts where the ballast is bigger than a scale sized foot, that's like using cinder blocks for ballast in the real world!
 
ballest

That's part of my problem. The nearest model train store is 3 1/2 hours away so all of my purchases are over the net and there is no way I can do that test with the hand. But I still can remember throwing some of those rocks as a kid. And lining up the pinnies on the tracks.
 


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