Really like this guy and how he speaks and explains things. After watching this film 100 times I've just finished trying it on my layout following his instructions word by word. I'm praying I've done it right.
Nice job! Can't thank you enough for your videos. I'm just starting out with this hobby...and I've re-visited your videos many times as I start each step. Clear, practical instructions. Cheers!
Just used your method on my layout and it works perfectly. Found it a lot harder to remove ballast from the sleepers than it looked for you to do it but I'm sure I'll get better at it :) Thanks a lot.
Many thanks for this video. Clear, concise and easy to follow. Time taken to get the ballast "just right" prior to wetting and applying the glue mix is time well spent. Thanks for all the videos you have made. There is ALWAYS something to learn from them !
I went to East Lancashire Railway the other day and it's sparked my interest in building a model railway. In the last few days I have been watching your videos and it's given me the confidence to go ahead with it.
Take a tip from the prototype rail engineers and “tamp” your ballast while its dry. I used one of my wife’s vibrators, a Eroscillator because it vibrated at a high frequency. The vibration settles the ballast into place nice and evenly then you just need to trim up the sides
Anyone thinking of trying what Nik Morris suggest tread carefully. I followed his example to the letter and my ballast shook off the train table :(, I suggest putting it on too a lower setting. Oh another piece of advice, if your layout is in the garden shed at the bottom of the garden watch your neighbour's don't see you bringing your newly acquired track shaker (vibrator), they might think your running a den of iniquity, especially if you have a lot of friends hang out in the shed. I think my reputation is ruined with in my local community, so tread carefully with this new toy. Oh and don't let your wife know your using it in the loco shed, it can lead to all sorts of problem's with your marriage.
Subscribed!!! Have spent the last hour watching your how to videos as I would really love to build a fiddle 5ft by 2ft board. Found all the tutorials immensely useful. :)
Wow, 11 years old but still great. I wish I had watched it before mine, I tried to clean the track after putting PVA down and sadly the track decided to ping up off the cork as I had only stuck that down with PVA :) Live and learn.
Great vid, thanks. Because I had a fairly large layout to ballast and not the finances to use Wood Scenics I had to look for an alternative. I use beach sand (free). Colours vary depending on which beach I go to here in Western Australia. Using the same tech as in your video and it looks great. Also I buy black sand to make coal loads. Again, thanks.
Hey...when I was younger and had a model railroad like this, I mixed a lot less glue and mixed it in a spray bottle of some sort and just sprayed it...worked quite well! I like this method too though since you don't end up spraying onto the tracks and such :)
I modified several of my wagons to spread it over the track, and I only apply glue to the outside of the line, when a train goes over it it gives a nice affect, I re do the track every year
The stuff under the track is cork sheet which I use to give the track a raised profile. I have a video called "power and control" which shows you how the layout is wired up. I don't have any videos of progamming locos at the moment.
i did my very first ballast in N Gauge adopting this easy way.take your time and results show.everybody should watch this video before doing their own messy video's.
@EverardJunction , probably i would say as you stated earlier in one of your posts in that the track i had at the time was probably the steel type hornby did in the late 90's, most of the 1 st and 2nd radius curves i had were of the hornby type which were prone to accumilating this green film on the web of the rails, a great way to apply ballast, but on at least one of the layouts i have built over the last ten years i just left the ballast in the four foot loose and glued the cess or six foot
In the late 1980s when the layout is set, quite a lot of the railway network was still wooden sleeper. Upgrading to concrete sleepers took place mainly in the 80s and 90s.
@gtacrusher123 The method I use is the most used way of ballasting, I have tried the other method you mention and it does work. The problem is its very messy and uses a lot of glue.
@BlueberryJunction Basically I use the same method. However it is important the you cover up the switching part of the point as well as masking the point blades. I used insulating tape to do this. I might do a video about it but i can't promise anything because i've already recieved a number of other request.
@D335Media Unfortunatly I have now ballasted all points on the layout. I use the same method except i cover the moving bit with a piece of tape. Once the ballast is dry i remove the tape and add the ballast to that part and add the glue very carfully using an eye dropper.
@BMR5ify If you use very old hornby track from the 1980s or 1990s then it could rust as it used to be made from steel. These days Hornby, Bachmann and Peco track it nickel silver and doesn't rust. If track does rust when ballasted then simply remove the rust from the running surface with a track rubber or very fine sandpaper. I use Peco streamline code 100 track if you were wondering.
@Hartsock91 Cover the points up when you ballast the main part of the track. Ballast the point on their own using an eye dropper and don't spray the water on them.
I wondered if adding a bit of dark acryrllic paint to the "mix" for the bit that goes down the four foot, would take some of the pain out of the weathering. Ready made diesel staining so to speak. Great vids by the way,
great video as usual. I thought i could get it cheaper than Woodland Scenics at £10. Looked at the internet but postage was high. Then found roofing grit from a roofing supplier, grey and brown mixed, 2 kg, £2
New layout builder here, I ve got all my track and my cork board and before I use your great ballasting technique do I PVA glue the cork to my base board then pin track onto cork?? THANKS!!!! :D
Hey, great video, Just a quick question, when I finally ballast my track should I take the power clip out or leave it in? And how wide is your cork underlay?
thank you very informative strait forward and nik good tip on wifes vib's i was watching a guy last week [jnw ho] in the end it was like watching paint dry, but alas he didn't like my comments about the paint anyway informative keep it up
Hi i dont glue ballast just in case i need to get track up. Also i dont use cork it goes brittle. Dont use roll ballast it goes brittle quickly. interesting about Railmatch spray. I use a small paint brush to move ballast rather than a spoon. enjoyed it.
You ever bumped the table or had to lean on it to get way over the other side? The trains also agitate it slightly when they roll past, the glue keeps it all in place and off the conductive parts.
I've always used pva for ballasting, i've not seen ballast done with copydex. As long as it dries clear I guess it would look the same. I have track pins but they are from before the ballast was applied. Once the ballast is dry you don't really need the track pins anymore.
Hello there, handy video!, question, i have built layouts in the past using this method, however, when the glue dried although i ran a rail rubber on the running surface of the rails , i noticed that the glue got into the fishplates and caused the web of the rails to go a green colour and cause a slight rust, i did use to apply the glue a water sprayer like the one you used with water in it to begin with, but i filled this with a 50/50 mix of pva. water, and washing up liquid, still got rust.
