Ballasting Argo yard - finally!

 

Model railroad track, to look realistic, needs to have ballast between the ties. It's basically that simple. Unfortunately, the job is somewhat tedious and involves an attention to detail that I am somewhat lacking. In the case of Argo yard, it has remained bare for at least 15 years. Last week Scott, one of my regular operators volunteered to take it on, so we have some progress to report, at last.

I say at last because the yard has been in place and operating for at least ten or 15 years without ballast, waiting for us to "get around to it." Here is a photo of what the right side still looks like, waiting for us to finish the job. I painted some grey between the tracks to give the hint that someday we would get around to it.

Much less realistic, right?

The basic steps are: Paint the track and rails, apply the ballast to the track using a small brush, tap the brush handle on the rails to knock the ballast off the ties, spray with alcohol, apply a 2:1 or 3:1 mix of water and white glue, put a light oil like LaBelle #108 on the switch points and rail joiners, remove any errant pieces off the rail and ties within 8 hours or so, using a toothpick, and remove any glue that might have lingered on the tops of the rails. Polish the rails with a piece of wood and test with a locomotive to make sure everything is OK electrically. That's pretty much it. Here's a final shot of the finished product, showing that I forgot to mention removing and replacing any track labels:

Thanks to Scott for getting this going, and I hope this inspires you to finish any ballasting that you have been procrastinating on. Wait till we get the locos and cars moving on this track!! :)