Is there a particular size ballast you like to use on 45mm track

collectors

collectors

Registered
Country flag
Hi, is there a particular size ballast you like to use on 45mm track. IE: 2-4mm. I am possibly lucky or not as my local area has a lot of quarries for silica sand used for glassworks & cast iron mouldings, & some go down 100met plus. So i am sure there must be something suable in the area if I take a sieve with me.
 
Anything that looks right! Too big it'll foul your wheels, too small it'll disappear when the wind blows, and clog up your moving parts. Check out the track and ballast threads.
 
Depends on if it is indoors, or outdoors.
Real ballast is crushed stone, the more angular the better. Haven't got the spec with me, but around 70-100mm is about right. Scaled down, that's around 4-6mm or so.
There is a grading system called All Pass, that means when sieved, everything below a certain size passes through. AP 6 is a nice looking size to go for. But, here's the catch, that will represent 'dirty' ballast, looks nice, but will wash away over time.... all the fines sink into the earth, leaving you will a severe shortage of ballast.
Outdoors, for the past 22 years, I have used 10mm angular chip. Well oversize, but it does what ballast is supposed to do, that is hold the track in line, support it, and allow the rain to drain away.
Do NOT use round pebbles, pretty nice to look at, but pretty useless because the roundy bits roll over each other, and will not hold any shape.

DSC_0049.JPG

Random shot from my railway... but not my train, that was taken at a group running day that I hosted.
 
My choice is 2-3mm granite. Picture should speak for itself, held in place with glue. Not loose as pidgeons tend to nick it for their crop as may our other large feathered friends.
49F2CEAF-5649-4163-A2E0-A42DE4BCD216.jpeg2E08257D-43ED-40A5-A479-4C68A683C217.jpeg
 
Gavin Sowry said:
Depends on if it is indoors, or outdoors.
Real ballast is crushed stone, the more angular the better. Haven't got the spec with me, but around 70-100mm is about right. Scaled down, that's around 4-6mm or so.
There is a grading system called All Pass, that means when sieved, everything below a certain size passes through. AP 6 is a nice looking size to go for. But, here's the catch, that will represent 'dirty' ballast, looks nice, but will wash away over time.... all the fines sink into the earth, leaving you will a severe shortage of ballast.
Outdoors, for the past 22 years, I have used 10mm angular chip. Well oversize, but it does what ballast is supposed to do, that is hold the track in line, support it, and allow the rain to drain away.
Do NOT use round pebbles, pretty nice to look at, but pretty useless because the roundy bits roll over each other, and will not hold any shape.

View attachment 297931

Random shot from my railway... but not my train, that was taken at a group running day that I hosted.
Click to expand...
An odd thing the other day, i was watching the TV on real train track maintenance & they was saying about the importance of the right size granite angular chip to hold the sleepers & good drainage. They try to get at least 5-7 sided chips for a good lock as round won't lock together.
 
Last edited:
collectors said:
An odd thing the other day, i was watching the TV on real train track maintenance & they was saying about the importance of the right size granite angular chip to hold the sleepers & good drainage. They try to get at least 5-7 sided chips for a good lock as round won't lock together.
Click to expand...

I've been 'treading' ballast for over 50 years, in fact, still do, though mainly office bound these days.
 
I use 2 - 5 mm and it has to be course, (I enjoy my ballast abusing me ;))
 
Gavin Sowry said:
Depends on if it is indoors, or outdoors.
Real ballast is crushed stone, the more angular the better. Haven't got the spec with me, but around 70-100mm is about right. Scaled down, that's around 4-6mm or so.
There is a grading system called All Pass, that means when sieved, everything below a certain size passes through. AP 6 is a nice looking size to go for. But, here's the catch, that will represent 'dirty' ballast, looks nice, but will wash away over time.... all the fines sink into the earth, leaving you will a severe shortage of ballast.
Outdoors, for the past 22 years, I have used 10mm angular chip. Well oversize, but it does what ballast is supposed to do, that is hold the track in line, support it, and allow the rain to drain away.
Do NOT use round pebbles, pretty nice to look at, but pretty useless because the roundy bits roll over each other, and will not hold any shape.

View attachment 297931

Random shot from my railway... but not my train, that was taken at a group running day that I hosted.
Click to expand...
Same for me here in Perth. That size holds the track well and I can walk over it without it moving.
 
I do what Gavin does, larger than scale, but our raindrops and water from a hose are also larger than scale. Finer ballast takes a lot more maintenance and washes away easily.

I can "clean track" with a hose and maybe re-ballast a little every 6 months. That suite me, I want to run trains!

Greg
 
Horticultural Grit is what I use, up to 4mm. I have some 6 mm sharp gravel, but I think it looks too big, so I tend to use it under the finer stuff....

thumbnail_20210329_122241.jpg
 
JimmyB said:
Angular is good, but on my very small run of about 50 ft, I have used somewhere around 6 large (25 kg) bags, been done over time so not really kept count.
Click to expand...
Now admittedly i may use less ???. But I am building an off ground set-up using guttering. But this is also around 60met's like image.

track20.JPG
 
A lot of this is around whether you want loose or scale. Loose is better with somewhat larger ballast as gizzy has used, smaller if you glue it down for the finer scale look. Certainly the 2-3mm I use would be a pain if not glued down as it would get thrown all over the place when it is raining, plus get nicked as already said by pigeons. Larger horticultural grit around 4mm tends to stay in place better with rain. Horses for courses, you make up yer mind what size you like and go for it.
 
I go to the local "farm Store" & buy "Chicken Scratch" also known as "Chicken Grit". For those who are not familiar it is sold to give to chickens so they can digest their food. Since they do not have teeth, they ingest small rocks that stay in their gizzard and grind hard food like grains.
I am not sure what the size grade is, but it works nicely. It is by nature of its intended purpose jagged and locks together nicely.
 
Technocrat said:
I go to the local "farm Store" & buy "Chicken Scratch" also known as "Chicken Grit". For those who are not familiar it is sold to give to chickens so they can digest their food. Since they do not have teeth, they ingest small rocks that stay in their gizzard and grind hard food like grains.
I am not sure what the size grade is, but it works nicely. It is by nature of its intended purpose jagged and locks together nicely.
Click to expand...
The first picture in my post #4 is of a Chicken Grit. But in Uk you have to be very careful as a lot of Chicken Grit is actually broken Shells, not what you want as it just looks so wrong. The stuff I used is somewhat round and too yellow for my liking but at the time all I could get, hence it has been lightly sprayed black.
 
dunnyrail said:
The first picture in my post #4 is of a Chicken Grit. But in Uk you have to be very careful as a lot of Chicken Grit is actually broken Shells, not what you want as it just looks so wrong. The stuff I used is somewhat round and too yellow for my liking but at the time all I could get, hence it has been lightly sprayed black.
Click to expand...
Shells? Egads! o_O
Those do not even sound good for the birds as sharp as the edges are. I've only bought them in Kansas and Oklahoma. Both were made from crusher files from the stone quarried in the area.
In Kansas it was limestone, what I found in Oklahoma was sandstone.
I hope they do not use shells on the here gulf coast. I will have to be careful.:rolleyes:;)
 
Another vote here for horticultural grit but a lot depends on the sort of finish you want. As my railway represents a neglected rural narrow gauge line, I'm not looking for neatly manicured shoulders. I dry mix my grit with cement, brush it into place and then give it a wetting with a mister spray. The cement keeps it in place.
IMG_7517 (1).JPG

Rik
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom