Glued Ballast and Landscape

[John Carmichael]

See: Glued Ballast & Landscape:

This might be one of the most useful and practical “How to” garden railroad videos you’ll ever watch. Glued stone material has great potential for new and existing garden railroads, because it is so good, but rarely used. It drastically improves realism and durability, while decreasing maintenance time and costs. When you learn how to glue sand & gravel, you can use this technique all over your railroad for many things including track ballast, terrain and even mountains covered by different sizes of real rocks, gravel, sand and live plants. Its realistic appearance and low maintenance is why the most asked question at Cholla Patch Garden Railroad is: “How do you make your ballast”? This video is my detailed answer to such a great question.

Produced by John Carmichael: Email questions to: jlcarmichael@comcast.net Cholla Patch Garden Railroad, Tucson AZ on 6/28/26. Feel free to copy, use and modify any of the images or video clips you see here. Please help us spread this useful video with your Garden Railroading friends and organizations.

See more of my Design Construction Video Series at: Cholla Patch Garden Railroad: Cholla Patch Garden Railroad

And this: The Ultimate Guide to Glued Track Ballast for Garden Railroads

 

[Gerard]

Fantastic video!

 

[John Carmichael]

Well thank you Gerard!
I was worried that it might be too long for most people. But I didn't want to exclude important content to shorten it. My thinking was that if somebody was really interested and wanted to learn as much as possible before trying it, that they would watch it from beginning to end.

 

[Gerard]

John ,
There is one subject i like to rsise: what is the performance related to moss? I have a track on concrete slabs and the only problem is growth of moss every 4-5 year period. I solve it by lifting the track and shift all moss easy aside. How will your system respond to moss growth??

 

[John Carmichael]

John ,
There is one subject i like to rsise: what is the performance related to moss? I have a track on concrete slabs and the only problem is growth of moss every 4-5 year period. I solve it by lifting the track and shift all moss easy aside. How will your system respond to moss growth??

Hi Gerard:

Now that is another great question. You asked the right guy. My degree was in ornamental horticulture and I managed greenhouses for 25 years. Moss would have been big problem if it wasn't so easy to control. It will grow quickly on anything if conditions are right.

Mix a diluted solution of liquid Clorox with water and carefully spray it on moss or algae with a spray bottle so it doesn't fall on nearby plants. It kills on contact and will burn them. It works almost instantly and the moss will be dead in five minutes or less. Grok recommends this dilution ratio: "A common effective dilution for liquid Clorox (Clorox Disinfecting Bleach, typically ~5-6% sodium hypochlorite) to kill moss, algae, mold, or mildew on exterior surfaces is ⅓ cup of bleach per 1 gallon of water."

I haven't tested this on glued ballast, but I'm 99% sure that diluted Clorox will kill the moss and not affect Ballast glue. It evaporates completely very quickly leaving no residuals (except for the dead moss). You probably could hose off the dead moss ten minutes after application.

You could use it as a moss preventative if you spray it on regularly every few weeks as needed before it grows so large

p.s. Also works great on shower floors with algae.

Great Question.

Thanks!- John Carmichael

 

[dunnyrail]

John ,
There is one subject i like to rsise: what is the performance related to moss? I have a track on concrete slabs and the only problem is growth of moss every 4-5 year period. I solve it by lifting the track and shift all moss easy aside. How will your system respond to moss growth??

Moss does not like tap water so regular application should get rid of it, a spray with a little washing up liquid added will help.

 

[John Carmichael]

Yes, I agree. A drop of dish soap would be a good surfactant- just like the dluted Titebond has. Back in the nursery, we put surfactants in all the solutions we sprayed. It really helps coverage. Excuse me for not mentioning it.

 

[PhilP]

Many people like a little moss growth..

To clear it from the PW, you can just use the kettle.. Tap water, but hotter, will clear it without use of chemicals.

PhilP.

 

[trammayo]

Chlorine is usually the chemical in tap water!

 

[Paul M]

If you really think about saving water, use the water from your washing up. It's warm and soapy and saves it going down the drain

 

[John Carmichael]

See: Glued Ballast & Landscape:

This might be one of the most useful and practical “How to” garden railroad videos you’ll ever watch. Glued stone material has great potential for new and existing garden railroads, because it is so good, but rarely used. It drastically improves realism and durability, while decreasing maintenance time and costs. When you learn how to glue sand & gravel, you can use this technique all over your railroad for many things including track ballast, terrain and even mountains covered by different sizes of real rocks, gravel, sand and live plants. Its realistic appearance and low maintenance is why the most asked question at Cholla Patch Garden Railroad is: “How do you make your ballast”? This video is my detailed answer to such a great question.

Produced by John Carmichael: Email questions to: jlcarmichael@comcast.net Cholla Patch Garden Railroad, Tucson AZ on 6/28/26. Feel free to copy, use and modify any of the images or video clips you see here. Please help us spread this useful video with your Garden Railroading friends and organizations.

See more of my Design Construction Video Series at: Cholla Patch Garden Railroad: Cholla Patch Garden Railroad

And this: The Ultimate Guide to Glued Track Ballast for Garden Railroads

Hello All:
I forgot to mention how easy it is to remove glued ballast without damaging ties or switch points or anything else.
To Remove glued ballast Do This:
1) In the evening, wet ballast with hose and lay a wet bath towel on top overnight.

2)The next morning using a small hammer and small old screwdriver as a chisel, tap the screwdriver and the ballast breaks up easily.

3) Use a Shop Vac to vacuum up the loose ballast.

This works like a charm. Sometimes I'm in a hurry to remove ballast and don't have time to pre-wet and soak it, so I wet it with a spray bottle with diluted alcohol. as I'm chiseling. You can still remove the unwanted ballast, but you need to chisel tap it a little more.