How to - Episode 11 - Ballasting a Point 

I'm 55 and I am finally coming to plan and build my first and possibly only layout. It's a simple Bredon style on a 7ft X 4ft board from Peco's trackplans book; heavy on scenics, light, as possible on the overly technical stuff! But your How To vids are absolutely brilliant for showing a complete novice railway modeller like me, how to get on and start building my railway. Thank you indeed for sharing your knowledge in a friendly and highly informative way. I really enjoy your beautiful layout.

One more techinique you might add, especially where you don't want ballast by the points, simply paint the cork roadbed. I took some ballast I was to be using to Home Depot (here in the US, but any paint store can do this), and after picking some likely color sample cards, sprinkled ballast on them, picked the particular sample cards that best matched the two colors of ballast I would be using, and had the store mix a quart (approximately a litre) of each in latex flat paint. After ballasting, if there were any "holidays" they just didn't show. But especially around points I could minimize the amount of ballast being used and still look good.

Just in midst of laying own an n gauge track at the ripe old age of 70! Your confident, informative and pleasant style of presentation is exceptional? I was a barrister for 40 years and know something about presenting a case in court! Keep up the good work!

Just getting started in the hobby but this video is exceptional. Your narrative of actions being taken is very easy to follow.

Thank you for taking the time in preparing this video. It was well done and I learned a lot from watching.

Thanks for this. I paint the glue on the sides of the track and put ballast on and then leave it. No need to pull it off of the tops of the ties as there is no glue there. I even tape off the road bed where I don't want ballast and it gives a good line. Then in the morning (next day or when ever you get back to the layout) yoi can brush the loose ballast up on the rail and basically spread it. Adding more where it needs it and then I wet the area with wet water and with a very small bottle I drip very delute glue on the track and around the turnouts. The extra ballast will fall out over the taped area and make it look softer as the real RR would look.

I’ve been ballasting track today but left out the points for another day , basically through being a tad worried. But I definitely like your way . Thank you .

Just starting again after a few decades break. That was so well done and helpful. Thank-you.

Thanks for showing how to ballast a point. So few people show this process. I will keep this for future reference when I start to ballast my own layout Thanks for sharing. Randy

Good video Richard. I'll certainly remember your techniques of track laying. Thanks 👍

note if your ballasting points keep the glue away from the control rods only do the sides,the sleepers, behind the points, and the frogs keep the glue 1 cm (2 feet in the International system 1 Centimeter is the Brit system) away from the points or they will be welded shut and you have to start from scratch with a new turnout. if ballast gets near the points or in the flangeways use a micro brush to remove it or vacuum it out. when your done assemble a MOW train in the yard and have one car with a cleaning block underneath to remove grit from the railheads.

So life like it even has that sound where each wheel hits the gap between the two sections much like i hear when a train crosses the kingsferry bridge near where i live :). I have to say your attention to detail is amazing throughout!

This was the best thing I could have ever found for my model Railway thank goddess I'm just starting to lay track

Totally agree with your remark about the mainline point, tight turns bug me too.

You're braver than me...I would have to leave quite a gap around the tie bar. Wouldn't want ballast dropping down into the point motor. But your railway does look great.

Excellant video, just ready to start the ballasting now. Thank you.

Excellent video I'm now ready to try on my layout an l of a layout 12' x 12'. this series has been very helpful to me but i am in my second childhood.

On the railway cribs with stretcher bars should have no ballast 50mm below the stretcher bar so the points move freely in snow conditions

i like the finish very much, and of course there is no right or wrong way this is art after all. I do find however from watching a few vids now on ballasting model rails, in my opinion, i prefer the ones where they apply the ballast dry, distribute it into the sleppers etc with a dry paint brush - then with a syrindge drop watered down wood glue into the ballast. but thats just what is appealing to me. everyone has there own way and i enjoyed your techniques also. wish i had the space for 00 im N

Time to learn how to hand build your own points? Before Concrete sleepered points, points were designed to fit the available space, so unlike the model world they didn't have small, medium & large. Each point was therefore a unique item. A handbuilt point of 5ft radius takes me 2 hours to build and costs around £4-£5 in parts (2020 prices). I don't use any complex tools , only copperclad sleeper strip and code 75 Bullhead rail, (from SMP Marcway in Sheffield) a fine, angled tip Antex XS25 modellers soldering iron. A couple of large but very fine files. 3 roll gauges (to hold rail in place while I solder it), and a number of my own "Tracksetta" tools as I make points between 5ft radii & 7ft 6in radii for exhibition layouts. Lastly a mini-drill with carbonundrum discs to cut the rail (NEVER use "rail cutting snipers" these items are blunt when you buy them and simply pinch the rail end). Building you own points basically means you can make any size you like, as per the real world, and save a fortune !

Some great ideas in this video and the production quality is excellent. Well done.

I must thin my glue a lot more than I see on the videos as the glue I use just is sucked up and does not stay on top. The dry ballast is like rock though. This is good and saves money. Woodland Scenic is good but thin Elmers glue is as good and is less money. I even sypray it and clean the sprayer good after.

Had a go today...waiting for it to dry...had an idea about how to get less glue on the sleepers etc when using neat pva...I used the little glue pipet you get with flat pack furniture to pop a dab in an then spread with a brush!

I have just ordered new tracks Peco code75.I´m glad that you are happy with yours tracks from Peco.I shall use Tortoise motor for my new turnouts.

Extremely good job of ballasting!

Great alternative to spraying loose ballast with glue mix. I'll give your method a try.

That's a very nice passenger train.

Thanks, I put a thin piece of cork under the track to give a slightly raised profile.

Brilliant how to! Shall be using it for my c&l finescale points

Thanks for sharing this, Ive always dreaded ballasting points!

And again an outstanding tut! Camera's always on the right spot, clear explanations & pleasant sonorous voice! It's prob. the best of ur vidz so far... 1c more I'm on t edge of my seat waitin' 4 the next one. =) Little drop of bitterness: After the new point (heading tow. the tunnel) where it is attached to the existing track it's little "bumpy" as u can see on the first drive by lookin' at the upper back of the waggons. Might be because of the connection to the already curved track!? ^^

Just done 1 point as a try out, yep bloody scary.Richard 🇳🇿

H. L. Wyatt Hello, I am fascinated by your superb weathering of rolling stock and scenery, I know that it would be a fiddly job in doing rails and points but rails even when new are rusty as are the chairs, the point check rails and wing rails are both not weathered, otherwise your layout is just great.

You make it look easy! I'm really not looking forward to this job but this does give me a bit more confidence to give it a go. One thing I wondered - would it be easier to water down the pva, so that it will flow into the sleeper gaps on its own? Might cut down the risk of getting glue on switch rails. Anyway thanks again for the vid, really helpful.

Rather than using a track rubber to clean the top of the track, try a piece of hardboard, matt side down, does not leave fine scratch marks that pick up dirt.

Very nice....liked the remnants of the Kay-dee couplings at 15:03

A very good and informative video very well done and videoed.

I usually paint the base plate grey, take some clear double sided sticky tape there, leaving a gap for the moving sleeper of course, put the turnout into position and sprinkle ballast on the tape. Faster, easier, safer. Fair to say though I have N gaube so the gaps between the sleepers are smaller and the ballast is finer. Might deliver not that satisfying results in 00.

That was great! The fast motion was very cool.

Might be an idea to trim the ends of the tie bar to remove the 'nodules' on the ends for better realism.

nice Howto tips. I will use this method when I do Mine. Thanks for shearing

Thank you. Best regards.

Another great video and good tips

love all your videos great work

A superb turorial as always, Liked and Faved 5*

Excellent video - well done

good video I am new to the hobby and I'm in the middle of buying all parts to build the hornby track mat

Requires a bit of patience and understanding how the switch works. Thanks for showing.

I solder wiring to it, but I don't solder it together as the track needs room to expand and contract as the temperature changes.

Mine is about 20mm, but it does change in a few places.

Great vid, helps a lot of first timers, cheers.

Excellent!

I have just nearly completed my n gauge railroad. and you have been very helpful. are you considering putting a video of your final layout.

Yes, cab lights can be turned off and on by the dcc controller.

Well done.

Very good this video. Do you have a video with the painting of the lines? Thanks.

another epic video , youre channel has actually got some of the best vids on youtube :D

An excellent video. like the "speeded up" bit on what would otherwise be a long drawn out process. did you find you had any problems with ballast falling in the hole where you store the stock under the board?

I use woodland scenics medium grey ballast.

Great Video

Just pva glue when i'm using the brush. I water it down when using the dropper.

Good job!

Yes, there are 3 vids called 'scenery' I made. I show how to make a hill in the first one.

The automatic captions are hilarious!! :)

I use woodland scenics medium blend.

I paint the roadbed in the same colour as the rest of the ballast, but I never ever ballast near the moving parts of the points, not a lot of people do.

Thanks so much. This will help me out a lot!

thanks for this video! my layout used to have nice ballasted areas then when there were points UGLY there was just these patches at points where is didnt ballast now i can thanks To you :)

Another useful how to.. Thanks a lot..

I spotted some lineside fencing you have used, what brand is it? Great vid, very helpful!

Awsome, best ballasting vid ever, Thanks

Theres an option in sony vegas that allows you to speed up clips of film. I use that rather than time lapse.

thanks for the idea mr everard! certainly useful for my tmd layout!

Excellent Job.

@ 14:42 i hope they put an ESR on due to the wet beds on those switches ! lol, really helpful video.

Brilliant video, i will be using the tutorial, do you use just PVA glue? not glue and water?

Thanks. A great tutorial.

I use a screwdriver to remove all the pins before lifting the track.

I think you need to use a little bit more glue. Some parts will go a little bit green, but weathering will fix that.

how did u get the glue off the rails and would it bother the loco if left on rails

All the tools you need can be seen in the video. Most hobby shops should have them.

good job mate.there are alot of people out there that are unsure how to do this but not any more. the curve in the new point is certainly not as noticeable as the last and its amazing how much difference a change this small makes to a layout. what are you doing with the gap in the base board in front of that point?

Did you gravel the point before you added in the point motor??

I use a panasonic HDC-SD60 for all my filming on the layout.

Hi Richard. What do you recommend to stop glue getting into the blades while spraying PVA? Actually While I am thinking about it, what do you recommend to get glue out of the blades to restore electrical contact on a DC layout?Many thanks

Nicely filmed!

I am surprised you didn't cut the ends off the throw rod and trim the two long sleepers back. Good video though. It is the scary bit for many.

can you do this method of ballasting to straights and curves?

Can do if you don't want to ballast it.

Excuse me, could you please tell me what the product name of the glue you used was and where can I get it from as it seems to do the job very nicely.

those trains sound so realistic. (to scale)

I use Peco code 100 which has been fantastic. Code 75 is very good, if I was to build another layout I would use code 75.

Hi... I'm just starting my ballasting. What make & colour is the ballast you are using? I like to look it gives.

Its woodland scenics medium grey. I get it from hobbycraft.

Yes, the moving parts mean you have to be more careful.

nail clippers work very well. It's what I use.

Fair enough, but bear in mind that the track will be uneven when pinned on top of a ballasted surface.

great video !, btw nice to see the slewing went well !

Is that the King's Ferry bridge onto Isle of Sheppey?

hey railroader! cool video and thx for showing HOW TO stuf fon youtube. how do you weather the rails without weathering the hole ballast? thx dude