Ahhhhhh Ballast the eternal topic

[tramcar trev]

I have managed to rip up my ballast which was laid with dry cement mixed in and the dampened with a water mist. It set OK and held together for a while but it soon cracked and split up... Came up rather easier than I thought too in big lumps.  One of the section bonds was broken in the exercise so that was resoldered. This also solved another problem; I had a voltage drop on the balloon loop where the ballast is laid.

Minimum jack hammering required!!

I relayed it; and this time used a mixture of 50/50 water and exterior grade Aquadhere with a small amount of dishwasher rinse aid to act as a wetting agent.... Of course I made a test coupon first on a bit of 3 ply allowed it to dry and then twisted it every way and it stayed in place, more flexible than being held by cement.  This is a departure for me testing things out before I jump in to the deep end, I may be learning. The other thing I noticed is that the earlier ballast (aka crusher dust) had particles in it that are magnetic and this played havoc with the magnets under the trams for the signalling system. The ballast that I’m using now has no magnetic particles in it yet still looks like your everyday crusher dust; a different source or the magnetic particles were bits of the crusher….

I used a very technical piece of apparatus to place the ballast. I got it for Xmas; it’s called a disposable teaspoon but I found that the shape of it allowed me to ensure that no ballast encroached on the flange ways especially around the 2 sets of points. Then apply the adhesive mixture with a trigger bottle until it runs off. When it dries it can’t be seen. Next task is to get out the pseudo Dremel and an abrasive mop and clean up the track to allow conductivity. A far more realistic and “flexible” solution to the problem of the moving ballast.

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[Beddhist]

That looks really good, but shouldn't the sleepers be partially visible?

What is this Aquadhere?

Regards,
Peter.

 

[beavercreek]

That looks really good, but shouldn't the sleepers be partially visible?

What is this Aquadhere?

Regards,
Peter.

Ahhh Tramcar Trev, he be of the tramway leaning. No sleepers showing for trams, well in cities and towns ...usually....

 

[Beddhist]

Thanks guys and excuse my ignorance on the subject of trams. I seem to remember having seen tram tracks with sleepers and ballast, but most trams run on roads, of course. Under the road surface there must be some other kind of fixture to hold the rails, I guess steel plates and bolts. Anyway, if there are no sleepers, what is the ballast for?

Cheers,
Peter.

 

[tramcar trev]

Thanks Ross, I should have included a URL for Aquadhere, a 1000 lashes with a wet tram ticket....

Under roads in towns there are still sleepers holding tram tracks, that is traditionally, that is in the era of wooden sleepers. These days they lay a concrete base all nicely laser aligned and hold the tram tracks to that with various patented systems that essentially are steel plates bolted to the concrete...
Unlike a railway most tramlines that ran in open ballast track, usually on their own right of way had the sleepers covered with ballast. I knew a chap who actually worked on the track in Sydney and I asked him why several years ago, it seemed a waste of ballast to me but he said it preserved the sleepers meaning that they did not break down as the UV didn`t get to them... I have seen tram tracks, for example form Ballarat to  Sebastopol where the tramlines ran along the side of the road and were covered in dirt but they still had old world wooden sleepers holding them together.
Lets not further confuse the situation and add `"light Rail" into the mix with LR55 track; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tramway_track

I tender as evidence the pictures below;