Type of Ballast on Portable Railways?

FatherMcD

FatherMcD

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I have certainly enjoyed the pictures of the Peterborough show. But, it has raised a question about the ballast used. I noted that some modules seemed to have loose laid gravel, others fastened down gravel and some seemed to used something like ground cork? for a portable layout, weight would seem to be a major concern. Would anyone care to comment on their recommendations for ballast on portable modules from observation or their experience.
 
I have tried allsorts. I had a go with catlit glued down with pva. A week later it was still soggy so I washed it off with a hose pipe. I tried Greenscene ballast (ground up coconut shells) it looked good but it seemed to get lost in transit.
My last layouts have used ballast paper, designed for smaller layouts. Glue it down to the baseboard & screw the track on top. Not authentic as it doesn't come up the sides of the sleepers but it stays on in transit. If I can find a bit I will add a photo.
 
On our ”Pop Up” layout we used fine grit, loosely laid. At the end of the show it was swept up and bagged ready for the next show.EADDD352-B9F7-432D-A766-BF2A3630CF61.jpeg
 
Many moons back (in the late 70’s) I had a small 0 gauge exhibition layout. As this was a Col Stephens type light railway I used sifted ash from an old coal mine near where I lived at the time. Over the years the layout went to 30 odd shows, had extra buts built and the ballast has always stayed in place. It was glued on with my normal mixture of 50/50 Pva and Water with a small drop of washing up liquid. Ballast will stay in place in our scale with the same method if it is a suitable size. Noting what Casey shows in the post above, this would likely fall off in transit if glued my suggested way. No you need a smaller sized ballast, I have been banging on about ballast for some time now and the 2-3mm granite that I obtained in Suffolk near Ioswich would be near perfect for a show line. Yes there would be some loss in transit as there was on my 0 Gauge layout, for this reason I had a small supply with me to freshen up any loss but also to use on baseboard joints to make the gep between boards go away. I also had some scenic flock and blue tack to do the same thing on the other scenic parts of the line at joints.
 
Photos attached of my ballast.
It came in rollsballast2 (Medium).jpgballast1 (Medium).jpg
 
casey jones snr said:
On our ”Pop Up” layout we used fine grit, loosely laid. At the end of the show it was swept up and bagged ready for the next show.View attachment 287078
Click to expand...
That may have been one of the layouts I noted. It looks like you also loose laid some soil, rocks and plants? Nothing like the real thing! Is the track fastened to the baseboards or is everything attached on site? Perhaps it would be better to ask what is permanently fastened?
 
FatherMcD said:
That may have been one of the layouts I noted. It looks like you also loose laid some soil, rocks and plants? Nothing like the real thing! Is the track fastened to the baseboards or is everything attached on site? Perhaps it would be better to ask what is permanently fastened?
Click to expand...
Ken, It took eight people six hours to set up the Pop Up layout the day before the show. Only the track was screwed to the base boards.. At the end of the show everything was removed, the ballast, soil and rocks were bagged. The plants were taken home for planting in the gardens. All the track and points were boxed up ready for storage until the next show. The buildings were returned to their respective garden railways.
 
On my trailer layout, when I had to fit the end boards once the the trailer was opened up, I painted a grey "route" and then stipled (with a rubber grooming brush) various colours to represent the ballast. I still have that finish today!

Baseboards (1).JPG

It all stemmed from my first attempt at building a portable railway and the baseboards were stored like a pack of cards in a little, 6 x 4, trailer!
 
I used O scale 'Modeller's Mate' ballast on Hardyard.

www.gscalecentral.net

HARDYARD - A G Scale Indoor Layout

Recently I was asked by Beancounter, if I would like a G Scale Display layout that he had started building, for the East Anglian Group of the G Scale Society. He had put it up for sale on GSC, but there were no takers. As the 'Group Captain', I accepted his generous offer, and we met...
www.gscalecentral.net www.gscalecentral.net


It is ready mixed with a Casimite glue.

It takes an age but it does set solid after a week....
 
Vermiculite is a poor choice because it is hydroscopic when bought in bulk, untreated. You might be able to seal it somewhat by treating it, but you are fighting it's basic nature.

You don't want anything that can store moisture. This would end the same way as people who tried kitty litter for ballast, the first rain and oh my!

(I know it can be treated, but then the cost would skyrocket, and make it cost ineffective).

Granite based materials are usually the best. Here in the Eastern USA, there are more limestones and marbles, and they eventually dissolve in water, and/or produce an acidic result. Again not good long term outdoors unless you live in the desert.

Greg
 
Greg Elmassian said:
Vermiculite is a poor choice because it is hydroscopic when bought in bulk, untreated. You might be able to seal it somewhat by treating it, but you are fighting it's basic nature.

You don't want anything that can store moisture. This would end the same way as people who tried kitty litter for ballast, the first rain and oh my!
Click to expand...

This is for a portable layout, so unlikely for outside!
 
Yes indoors it ought to be fine, but finding it the right size can be tricky. The last lot I got was too large a d very white, not at all the right colour. But the stuff that Igor shows looks good. But sourced in Holland, not a lot of good for us in UK!
 
I'm firmly in the Casey & Co. camp when it comes to show time.
I use a ballast coloured carpet (carpet tile type texture), spread it out on the floor at the exhibit hall, lay track, then 'scenic' with bark chips. The carpet represents the ballast.
Wriggle in some structures, and a few pot plants, presto, instant layout.... 1 man, 20 mins.
I considered granite fines for ballast, but, as I know now, cleaning up after the show is tedious, hence no ballast.

1625171344452.png
 
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Vermiculite is not hydroscopic of itself. Becous it is so small water/moisture will be trapped between those pellets.
Vermiculite itself will not absorb any moister.
 
google "is vermiculite hydroscopic"

here is text from the first 2 hits... you figure out who is right, one person or the rest of the internet...

granted, you can have expanded and not expanded, treated or not... if you are an expert, and know more than the rest of the internet that is great...



Expanded vermiculite is hygroscopic, which adapts it for use under vacuum conditions. In evacuated condition it gives better thermal performance. Apparent thermal conductivity of this mixture is found by using boil off calorimeter method, to get optimum mixture composition.

Vermiculite insluation itself does not burn: it is non-combustible, though contaminants and debris, if mixed with any insulating material at enough volume, might burn. When wet, vermiculite can hold a lot of water, as much as 220-325% by weight, and as much as 20-50% by volume.
 
It is also useful for pot planting seeds - plenty of moisture!
 
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