Laying and Ballasting Track and Points at Chadwick Model Railway | 93. 

Now finish it, and build a micro railway on it!! :-D I think the bull head track is awesome! Definitely using this stuff for my next layout. :-) Also, one of the things I tend to do, is to always ballast the points and crossovers first, so that I'm moving any access ballast away from the point. And when gluing the point, to have a bit more water/washing up liquid sprayed over a few times after main gluing, just to free up the top fine surface of glue around the blades. Also, because ballasting can be quite a tedious task, to get the more delicate areas done while my attention is 100% seams to work for me. :-)

You know you've been in lockdown too long when Charlie on the spoons passes for entertainment! ;-) ;-)

Charlie ! I finally had some time to watch this video! WOW ! I have watched this one more than once. You did a great job ballasting thru the point and the gluing too ! I never knew how to do the gluing of the turn out . The metal spoon trick is a real game changer for me !! Thanks a million Charlie !

I used to work on the railway in the Divisional Civil Engineers Office and had many opportunities to level and survey old railway lines that still had bullhead track laid down. This was way back in the 70's before most track was replaced with long welded track, anchored with Pandrol Clips. The bull head from Peco looks absolutely beautiful and, with the ballast, also looks authentic. I prefer to model GWR steam era models but as yet don't have a layout. After seeing this video, I will be using Peco bullhead rail. Thanks for yet another brilliant video Charlie.

Such a good video. Thanks Charlie. I learnt that streamline track can be closer to an adjacent parallel track than 67mm. Vital for me as I am designing a new layout in a tight space. I googled that 51mm is in fact the standard for streamline track - and what the handy Pico gauge provides.

Had a good laugh with you choosing the 'appropriate' words, LOL

I have a trick I use for protecting points while ballasting, I use a 60-70/40-30 mix of paraffin and crisco shortening, cast it into some thin sheets and layer it in the areas where you want clearance and do not want any ballast or pva to get to. You do have to be gentle with it, but the glue does not stick to it and it keeps the ballast away from where you do not want it. It also makes sure there is enough clearance to ensure good action. When everything is all dry and set, simply use a hairdryer on low heat to melt it out. I have not used Peco track or points yet, but have had no problem with heat deforming the ties since it is such a low melting point (104F 40C)

Hi Charlie, some 60 odd years ago I was introduced to model trains aset of stream Loco 2335 a pacific. Life was such that alth interest stated life pressures dictated nothing more. No I am near 73 and physically challenged I have the time but now to physically challenged to crawl under base boards etc. I cannot begin to explain the sheer joy of watching your Chanel & Everard. They have in a way become "my" layouts. I thank you for the joy you provide me. You are a blessing.

Dear Charlie, Greeting from the USA! Thank-you so much for all your videos! I am new to the hobby and am finding your videos absolutely perfect for getting myself educated enough to being assembling my first model railroad layout. Your explainations are so well spoken and carefree it has made it wasier for me to get enjoyment out of the hobby. Thanks again! Rob

Always great videos Thanks.

Charlie, Full size ballast circa 50's to 70's has approx 8 chunks of ballast between each sleeper; this is very close to 'fine' ballast. It also makes the incorrect spacing of sleepers (HO) look much better. Really enjoy the series. Rob

Woodland Scenics makes ballast to, generally, follow US practice. Where coarser material is used to build up a base, or to protect embankments and the like. This will be seen in places where a low area, say 1-1.5m needs spanning, and a headwall of timber is laid athwart the track line at about the height of the break. Trestles will follow after the head wall, but behind it, will be fills of coarse roack, then a intermediate size, and then the road ballast atop all that. Some US roads also used some sketchy material as ballast, from as fine as shingle to coarse as rip-rap, and the colors sometimes reflected the nearby geology. Some roads, east of the Mississippi, used different kinds of ballast based on the use of the line. So a main line might be in a crushes white limestone, and secondary track, into a lay-by siding, or off to a yard, might be in a dark granite, or even coal mining spoil.

Never looked at a point and thought ‘sexy’ 😆😆😆 until now 👀😂 great video Charlie 👍🙌🏻

Hi Charlie - I had the problem you identified concerning the lifting and relaying of the bullhead track when glued down with Copy Dex. It is is indeed quite fragile compared to bog standard track and I needed to lift and relay a pair of points. After a bit of headscratching and several failed attempts, I tried using a 2" decorating scraper - the one with the sharp / bevelled edge. I carefully inserted it under an end edge of the point and with very careful and gradual pressure both longitudinal and laterally, the tool lifted the point without too much fuss. If you have wire connected to the frog or rails on the underside, be careful you don't contact it and cut the insulation or indeed cut right though the wire. I suppose you can get decorators scrapers from many sources, but I got mine from B&Q Yeovil, a favourite venue of yours I believe. Love your channel and be assured that you were the trigger to me getting back into the hobby, so when Chris, my wife, starts moaning I just blame you!

Good demo. I would not have expected the glue to seep thru the cork. Glad you mentioned it.

Hi Charlie...Apologies for earlier gobbledegook...The item I was referring to was on Andy,s website at MODEL RAILWAY ENGINEER and the title is : HOW TO EASILY FIT RAIL JOINERS PERFECTLY, EVERYTIME.. Good luck with everything and I very much appreciate your wonderfully clear explanations + the comedy...Lol

@ 31.30 remember in Scotland we have red ballast 😂😂

I love your comments on gluing the cork with the books! They are so British. A true pleasure.

I think the redeeming feature of the smaller fishplates being that you don't need to butcher the chairs on the end sleeper to get them on far enough.

I gotta say this Peco bullhead track is gorgeous stuff. I have a small shunting layout built with it and love it.

Very good tip to pin track on the outside of the rails not in the centre of the sleepers. Still have to be careful not to pull the chairs off the rail though. I like to use an archimedes drill for drilling with such fine bits: could never get the hang of pin vices - I'm always prone to putting too much pressure on. I've never used the bullhead track: looks so much better than regular Streamline. Didn't realise the fishplates were so tiny! Compared to regular model railway fishplates, they certainly are sexy! :D

Another well made instruction video charlie for those that are new to the hobby.

Hi Charlie I have watched every one of your highly enlightening and educational videos; being new blood at Scale Railway building I needed serious education. I am starting at 70 years old a 3mtr x 4mrt split level layout, 1960s to 1970s era so it will involve steam and early desiels. Most of what I will require such as base boards will be pre-made. One thing I heard you mention was the noise issues with layouts; I belive I have found a remedy of major noise reduction, it involves a x2 layer method using 1" honeycombs twin sided cardboard sheeting topped with a 6mm insulation foam sheeting. Both are easy to cut, glue and are solid stable base for gluing the track to without corking. I have photos and videos of the difference is noise but have no idea how to put these on RU-vid. My past modelling history is the scratch and kit building of both RC Scale ships and helos; needless to say I am clued up on electronic control and will be automating 50% of my layout using arduino micro-controllers based on the NEC Dcc system. If you want photos and videos of the noise reduction method please let me know. You are ex navy I am ex army read between the lines when I request info on the following parts: Hornby R6202 R4769 R470 reverse switch points are good. I know I cannot give my contact details but "it is what it is".

I agree with your comments on the set track, I have only used it where I took the track down to the storage yard, stuck for space and where I could not afford to take a chance of having a sharper radius than 438 mm.

Great video Charlie. I feel your pain with the fish plates. It's even worse if you cut the yard lengths into scale 60 foot lengths. Lots more fish plates. I like the uni frog points too but I discovered that if you lay it unmodified like you have both directions are live regardless of the way the blades are set. Discovered that the hard way when I tried to park a loco switched the blades aganste it and it still moved. Mabey a sign I should use DCC lol

Important tip - please remember to make sure that your various bottles of Mod Podge have something in them or their ability to act as weights may be effected. Another great video Mr Bishop. Hope you and your loved ones are well.

Really excellent presentation on the virtues of flextrack. Thank You.

Well done Charlie thank you for another excellent video...like many others loved the comment on the sexy points , I cant wait for your video on seductive signal boxes and dirty diesels ...

Very interesting to watch Charlie, thank you.

Thank you for posting these videos. I have thoroughly enjoyed them.

Thank you so much for your excellent and entertaining videos. Wading in on the subject of "settrack vs streamline/flextrack", I would say it's not what you use, it's how you use it. I have seen excellent railway models build with settrack, with ballasted permanent way, cuttings and embankments grassed and landscaped, beautiful buildings, even cityscapes. That said, I am using code 75 bullhead on the layout I am starting now, inspired by Chadwick, Everard and Dean Park. Here in Canada, almost every home has a basement, and half of ours is "unfinished", just begging for a railway! My chosen era is one based on a dim memory from my childhood - watching one of the last regular steam trains pull out of Lincoln St Marks in the early 60s - era 5. I am not going to model an actual prototype, but base my locations on chosen prototypes as best I can within the limitations of my space. finances and capabilities.

Tip Bend a piece of rail and use this to put one side of the fish plate onto, then it makes it a lot easier to locate the other end onto the rail. Then pull off the bent rail, leaves it located.

"Sexy unifrog points" something i thought i would never hear coming from someone with such experience

nice one charlie I've said before i like the way you show up any mistakes you may have made well done mate.

nice video thanks for the instruction and suggestions...

Beautiful! Thank you for the video :)

Charlie, it is always a pleasure to watch your videos. I always seem to learn something. Please keep em coming.

Like the fishplates, yes they are small and look to be a bit more work but they look great....thanks for showing them. I like useing school glue for holding cork and track too, this is easy with a little water and time it come up easy and clean....thanks for sharing....Jack it's nice to see how others handle track laying & ballesting, as I always learn something👍

Nice one. I think one of the most beneficial aspects of flexitrack is the ability to use transition curves. Start off shallow and get tighter into the curve so you don't get an abrupt change of direction. I would always tape over the tie bar area so there is no risk of anything getting into that area. One thing you might think about in respect to track noise. If you use foam underlay to reduce the noise, then ballast the track and fix with PVA, you will bridge the foam underlay with a rigid adhesive. I use ferobond which is a flexible PVA used in the building trade. The expectation is that although the foam will be bridged, the adhesive will not transmit noise because it remains flexible. I wonder how many complains Mary Whitehouse got about your lack of PC. Agricultural indeed. Lovely job. Thanks. Bob

Brilliant video Charlie, nothing wrong with going back to basics. Even though I have watched loads of these sort of videos, before I start laying ballast for the first time I will watch this again as a refresher. Keep them coming. Regards Chris

Charlie,excellent video on laying track and ballast. Thank you for clearing up the first radius issue for me. The Bullhead track looks great along with the points. Learned that time and patience is needed with ballasting. Thanks for sharing. Ken

Always a pleasure to watch...thanks Charlie, regards, Chris

Thanks, Some great advice to try out on my layout.

Great work! Very impressive....

It’s hard to believe British Rail put cork under all the railway lines up and down the country and I never noticed. 😆 Only kidding Charlie. I enjoy your videos and appreciate all the good work that goes into producing such amazing and convincing layouts. 👍🏻 from me! Keep them coming! 🇬🇧

Entertaining as always Charlie. Nice way to wind down after a long week at work and enjoy a cup of coffee, donut and a Chadwick classic video. Cheers Euan

Looks nice at this point. Thank you.

Another great video, thanks Charlie looking forward to next Friday already.

Very informative as I an still at the planning stage lots of ideas to think about thank you.

Fantastic tip about pinning track on the outside edges rather than in the middle of the sleeper - I'd never thought of that! When it comes to gluing, I tend to use a smallish PVA bottle, as the nozzle is as fine as a pipette but with a much larger reservoir of liquid. Same precision, fewer refills. Each to their own!

Fine job and clear explanations... thank youCharlie!

Just in time for me. I started ballasting my rails and I left out the points as unsure on how to do. Now then, ready to complete the task! Thank you Charlie!

Awesome video really great tips there I will try this out in my layout

Quick, yet thorough and clear. Quite educational. Excellent class, Charlie! Cheers!

Thanks for explaining the different spacings for set track vs streamline, I had been wondering why.

Good video Charlie, covers all the basics which can be difficcult for beginners Best regards Andrew

Flower potting pumice is much cheaper by weight and works for ballast once the grain sizes are separated out from one another.

Another simple to follow tutorial Charlie. Hope you're staying well during this time!

Great video Charlie.. Cheers

Well done avoiding the use of the "P" word. Loving the Bullhead rail and those points look so "authentic". Keep up the great work I really enjoy your videos.

Thanks Charlie. I use a 50/50 mix of medium and fine ballast. I also use a small bottle that comes with my wife’s hair colour to spread the glue. The spout is about the same diameter as the pippett (?) you use, but because it’s attached to a bottle, it saves having to constantly reload.

Excellent video for a newcomer to the hobby, like me! Thank you so much

This looks so beautiful! Im going to use this technique. I need to redo my whole tracks that were glued on my board cause the trains were not running.

Thanks Charlie! that Y point scene looks nice. the good thing is you got all the supply's lying around in this difficult situation.

Great video again Charlie! I saved it for later use. Cheers Onno.

Ballasting... now it's getting intresting.

Thanks Charlie for another excellent video

Smashed it again Charlie

"Need to get out more. . . ." Charlie, you're a riot! Another outstanding video! Really great info here. That set of Peco Tracksetter templates is one of the best investments I ever made; glad to see you showing how they are used. Also, great explanation of the new Peco Unifrog turnouts (points). You might, in a future video, actually go through wiring one of those up for DCC, and show the options you discussed in this video. I must also say, you are fearless with ballasting; you were absolutely correct when you said there were probably some people "cringing" while you laid the glue inside the turnout points! You always get that right, though! Charlie, thoroughly enjoyed this one! Keep up the good work!

Another two cup informative video! Sometimes I wonder where the day goes when I’m in lockdown doing nothing! I have painted my layout track ,next step is cleaning the railhead. I always thought that buying a ballast spreader was unnecessary but after watching this demo I think I will order one so many thanks !Cheers stay safe .

Excellent video Charlie and that is very useful for me as ballasting is a job I still have to do......…...Cheers Kev

Fantastic result after all that work. Well done David. Keith. :-)

Hi Charlie, another entertaining and informative video. I am always amused by us modellers struggling to avoid using "prototype" when describing aspects of our layout, but then struggle even more to come up with an alternative. I favour the ambiguous "realistic". It can look realistic but also suggest what is possible given the many factors the individual modeller has to contend with. As the great C.J.Freezer remarked " if layouts were prototypical, then the distant signal would be a quarter of a mile away"

Well done as always. What I do like about your videos, is even though I have done ballasting before and know how to do it, you make your videos not only interesting, but enjoyable to watch. It was a nice way to today to start my Sunday morning. Have a fun Sunday Charlie modeling your layout and greetings from the US......... Philip

good job Charlie

It's these wee nuggets that keep me coming back: pin the *ends* of the sleepers !! Genius.👌 It's so bloomin' obvious when you think about it but for nearly 50 years ...... I haven't. The new track system looks a lot better, especially the points; I hope the N-gauge stuff is as good as that. I still think there's a beakthrough invention about due; something *between* the teaspoon and the ballast hopper. The spoon takes forever but the hopper lacks a wee bit of control. Thanks for another hour's entertainment Charlie.👍 Cheers for now, Dougie.

Thank you for a very informative track laying video, I'm thinking of doing my first layout so found your explanation very helpful.

Excellent yet again. Concise, factual and informative. Good pace. FYI I have a hopper but its dispensing rate seems more suited to code 100 with deeper sleepers. On code 75 it seems to dispense too much, but your vacuum cleaner trick with ladies attire attachment works a treat to remove excess with careful positioning of the vacuum nozzle. That Bullhead looks fab, I'd have loved to use it but sadly Peco have so few point variants yet in bullhead. Hope you got the link on the other video thread for the 3mm foam. Love watching your videos, no nonsense tutorials that are waffle free.

Good demo, thanks....for showing all the mistakes I’ve been making!😯

Hi Charlie. An excellent video for both the enthusiast and the amateur (me 😉!). Really enjoyed watching this + having a cuppa and some Hobnobs 👍! Once I get started with the ballasting on my layout, I shall certainly be referring to this video again. Stay safe mate, GWR

Charlie thank you so much for recomending WS foam track bed. I bought a couple of rolls to try out and I've just come down from the loft after running my noisiest loco a bachmann split chassis 57XX. my baseboard is 12mm ply on 3x1 frames with legs to 18mm ply floor so the sound transmission was very high. After laing in a six foot section the loco in question was whispering along. I'm sold,thanks again Charlie for the heads up!

Wow Charlie, you've made mincemeat out of ballasting that track! It took me ages to do mine,I wish those little hoppers were available when I did my track-super little gadget! Take care now, Terry.

I'm glad I watched this video. I now looks like I have a lot of trimming to do on my caul. (spelling not my best subject). I'm doing n gauge layout. Thanks Charlie for help.

great video Charlie, I especially love the bit with the fish-plates, welcome to the world of 009 :-)

Oh Charlie where have the last 2 vids been.. wish they were on earlier, as now retired and of course catching with my lost youth down here in oz. Your right about consists go one way and not the other. Keep up the great work mate.

¡Hola buenas tardes Charlie! As ever, a video worth watching and, so much gained from it. The time is drawing close for me to start ballasting the layout here. You answered a query regarding OO gauge ballast (fine) and also your mixes of water and glue, perfect. The jury’s still out as to the ‘sexiness’ of the new points however, the finished work was extremely ‘handsome’! As always, thanks and looking forward to next week. Stay safe and well. Un Salud. Gary

Another important track geometry aspect, often ignored, is ‘transition’ into curves. Impossible without flexi track and produces such beautiful running characteristics. And yes.... I was one of the ‘cringers’ when the glue dropper arrived at the points..... ‘Oh me of little faith’ 😉 Excellent result though !

Saved me getting a special order in just to review it Charlie, thanks

Gorilla glue is awesome. I even brush my teeth with it! It works very well for gluing foam to foam and foam to wood.

Hello Charlie, Thanks verry math great video good explane. HC Treintje Belgium Herman. Keep safe and stay at home.

A very helpful video. I have some flexible track but when using it on my last layout it was glued down. Hence not in best of conditions now. We live and learn and shall buy more and do it like this!

Hi Charlie, another great video. Think I'm becoming addicted to them lol. Building a layout in my son's bedroom while he's not living with us. Got to the stage of either relaying the track or continue to paint the paper mache. I think with the amount of water you need to spray before ballasting that laying the track first would be my best choice. Keep up the good work, thanks, Dale

Was an excellent tuto.

I don't have a Honda CB 250 G5 valve since I have a Honda CB 700. My Stanley nail set seems to work pretty good. Gorilla glue expands as it dries but it holds better than anything else. I tend to use construction adhesive.

Interesting video Charlie. I used the Bullhead track on my last project and it set it off well. I found the points very fragile and great care had to be taken with them. Chris

It's a great track. I found it so much easier to ballast than my re-spaced flat bottom code 75. Funny enough I ballasted all my points exactly how you did yours as I had around 9 points at Exeter north end. Out of them all only 1 needed abit of easing. So much easier and quicker than faffing around to glue each little bit around 9 points! A nice touch for sleepers is either a wash or a dry brush of white. That will make the detail of the sleepers pop and places some cracking tones down in ready for further weathering of the ballast which I do by soaking paint or pigments down through the ballast. My last video shows some how to do examples of heavy oil in full detail Mail ratch paints are good by the way 😆 Tim.

Hi Charlie loved the authenticity of your video 🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂

Fab! Just the video I needed. Being a noob, I'm getting overloaded with the jargon. Finally got my head around insulfrog and electrofrog. Turns out I needn't have bothered... ;-) I do like the look of that Bullhead track. Planning the mother of all spending spree's when the lockdown eases... P.S. like the spoon thing - and you avoided a 'My old man's a dustman' rendition, so that was nice.. :-)

Got to admit I only power the track at 3 4 or even 5 length distances, 5 Lengths being 15 feet of course, I use the Digitrax system and its useful as you have an option(as you know) to test for good conductivity using a coin to short out the track and the system advises if you have a problem. As up to now its always shown it to pass and I've never had any problems, I've run consists over these as well and the extra current drawn hasn't presented any problems.

Well done Charlie.