How to Make a Model Railway: Part 1- Ballasting

[juslookn1010]

holy sh^t looks as if he's gonna start drywall'n ,. bud , ah never mind , nice video made me chuckle, iv yet to make my own so one up one you, ive been building a railroad in garage , 4*8 that monstered into a 5*9, but very professinal looking and more ,

[moodyblues41]

sorry but a waste of 4.28 mins, would have helped me more if you edited it and show more,but thanks for showing it

[TrainMaster24]

Wow, this looks much better for making smooth sides.

[mongoosekid14]

@Kmartfor3 wow wow easy tiger lmao

[UrMumisNum6er1]

temper, temper now ladies

[maverich999]

That looks a great technique, I was a bit worried at the start as I thought it was going to end real messy but I was wrong. I must try this one cheers.

[mongoosekid14]

@RailwayFanatic92220 hahahhaha wow you do have to write a lot just show that you do get angry with things you really need to chill bro and dont waste your time writing a long comment plz

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@mongoosekid14 Well don't mess people around by writing inappropriate comments then!!

[mongoosekid14]

@RailwayFanatic92220 ohhhh just fuck off ok god sake and guess what your a COCK SUCKER ... bye

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@mongoosekid14 Says you who keeps putting 8==D in your comments. Grow up.

[mongoosekid14]

@RailwayFanatic92220 m8t just fuck off will ya am u a pedo or something stop commenting back plz other wise i will call the police for arasment

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@mongoosekid14 I'm not a pedo as I am only 16 years of age. If you're so worked up about me commenting back then DON'T REPLY. It's not hard. Don't leave provoking messages on other peoples videos that they have workd hard on! Stop throwing out a load of crap!

[Trainmasterryan]

@mongoosekid14 clearly you need to learn to spell, and have no clue on law related things, not to mention they would laugh at you for making a complaint about what someone said on a public site. they have better things to worry about than your crap

[mongoosekid14]

@Trainmasterryan ohh fuck you please,its called short writing mate,it makes things abit quicker to write.also this ague was like ages ago plus guess what were now friends ok. GET OVER IT.

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@mongoosekid14 We are SO NOT friends. How can you possibly think that we've called over some sort of 'truce' after those unneccessary, immature comments, YOU left, insulting me over one of my videos????????

[mongoosekid14]

@RailwayFanatic92220 plz why dont every one shut up,this was like 3 months ago so can we just leave it now,bye.

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@mongoosekid14 Byeeeeeeeee!!!!

[mongoosekid14]

@RailwayFanatic92220 ohh fuck you soggy wetabix head and cock breath 8==D who do you think you are you fuck face ............come and say it to my face i live in england wolverhampton come on then get your big fat ass down here and ill show you a sarcastic remark muhahahahahahahah muahhahahaha muhahahaha 8=======D

[mongoosekid14]

SOGGY WETABIX SOGGY WETABIX SOGGY WETABIX AHHAHA COCK FACE 8===D

[BROADTRAIN1979]

hello, Railwayfanatic, that looks a great way of ballasting, im due to ballast my code 55 soon. Could you tell me how you pre- mix it and does it dry quicker as i feel the other method of ballasting seems messy?

Regards Mark.

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@BROADTRAIN1979 The watered down PVA glue wants to be wet and not sticky, you don't want ballast being swamped by glue when you work it in between the sleepers. just mix the ballast anad the PVA solution in an old food tray before scooping some up and placing on the track. This method lasts longer than other methods and is very easy to get right, but just be careful when ballasting around pointwork, you may want to make sure you clean the trackwork afterwards or nothing will go! Thanks

[BROADTRAIN1979]

@RailwayFanatic92220 thanks thats brilliant .

[mongoosekid14]

soggy wetabix 

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@mongoosekid14 It isn't actually, it's a mixture of ballast and watered down glue to form that sort of paste that you feed in between the sleepers and to the untrained, inexperienced eye it can look like soggy weetabix!

[primativemodelling]

i found this very interesting !

[fulstow02]

This Is a Very Messy Way To Do It 

[shrimp1199]

what is the ratio of ballast:water:pva

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@shrimp1199 There isn't an exact measurement. The mixture just wants to hold together when wet and not fall apart.

[TheAirsoftAction]

As you have ballasted the point section are you still able to operate them?

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@TheAirsoftAction Of course. It is preferable to ballast points this way as loose ballast may clog up the point.

[yarmo28]

Your efforts may be time consuming, but I bet it is a 'labor of love'. It looks very very realistic. Some things are worth doing slowly and deliberately.

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@yarmo28 Absolutely, it's not about doing things the quick way but getting the most realistic finish to your work.

[mbaddog]

it would easier just to sprinkle it on and mix some glue solution in a spray bottle and spray it on liberaly and that will do the same thing your doing instead of mixing the glue solution in with the ballast and pasting it on. ( just an opinion) but non the less we have our different ways of ballasting.

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@mbaddog When you spray it on, it tends to disrupt the ballast so you have less control on where the ballast is going.

[CSXPapp]

@RailwayFanatic92220 not if you put two or three drops of dish soap in a spray bottle of water. this is called wet water. wet water will break the surface tension on the ballast. liberally spray your ballast with that then either spray or use an eye dropper or syringe with no needle and apply a wet glue mixture or scenic cement

[slendersausage]

@CSXPapp Does this way make your ballast go dark grey when dry

[Toxicrafa]

@mbaddog Yes it is easier to sprinkle it on the track but then adding the glue solution with an eyedrop instead so that way it will not disrupt the ballast. It will look as realistic as this video's ballast...

[danielhermanwendel90]

I'll get back to you in 20 years when your done ballasting your track like a retard.

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@danielhermanwendel90 I don't ballast my track like a retard. I don't do it like you do we've established that. You just cringe at the fact that this will take a bit of hard work.

[MGCbranch]

BTW, if using cork to reduce noice, the difference with it is very minimal, and if you then ballast the track this will increase the noise so the cork is pointless. Cork should be used in strips below the trackbed to give a shoulder when ballasting to represent mainline tracks.

[MGCbranch]

Wow its amazing how many 'experts' there are commenting on this! Its good to see that you're all encouraging the younger modellers isn't it?! Are you really telling me that the first time you ballasted you did it as fast as you do now, well the simple answer is no, because you get better with practice. I use the 'paste method' aswell, and with practice it truly gives the best results possible.

[xxeternalbeautyxx]

What ballast are you using? I'm experimenting with Gaugemaster N gauge Ballast on my N gauge layout, but don't quite like the result: yours looks much nicer.

[danielhermanwendel90]

What railroader in there right mind would ballast track like that. You have to live in the UK because not a single person in America would do it that way.

[MrGilburt]

to railwayfanatic92220 ive had a go .....look at oo gauge model rail ....its the one that taken 20 years to get to that stage .......ballasting is just cork underlay and fine granite over the top ...doing it your way ,when anything goes over it ,it will be very noisy ,plus you will never get the track up again

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@MrGilburt There is cork underneath the track I think you'll find. Take a look at my video of the railway Dore Hill St. Stevens, it's an exhibition layout which has taken just 3 years to build. All of the ballast work that has been done on it has been done using this method. This get you the best results as you can contol it easier.

[yuri5677]

is this crucial?

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@yuri5677 not really no.You can live without ballasting.

[yuri5677]

@RailwayFanatic92220 that means i can just nail the tracks on the ply right or put an underlay sheet

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@yuri5677 Yep! 

[yuri5677]

@RailwayFanatic92220 can i combine tracks from hornby and bachmann for dcc

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@yuri5677 Bachmann don't do track and with hornby it's usually Set Track but you can mix track together, I prefer to use Peco but you can use whatever you want to. In terms of using it for DCC it doesn't matter what sort of track you use.

[thewizard99]

@RailwayFanatic92220 Bachmann have started to do there own track now due to the release of some of there new kits.

[MrGilburt]

think its quaker oats thats being spead

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@MrGilburt Enough of the sarcastic comments

[MrGilburt]

300 years later

[HornbyTrainsChannel]

hi railwayfanatic92220

i was wondering how you mixed the ballest up ,the ratio of the things you put in

thanks

hornbytrainschannel

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@HornbyTrainsChannel It all depends on how you cant the ballast to fall. You don't want it too wet or it'll not be very contollable nor do you want it too dry where it will all fall apart. There's no set ratio I'm afraid. All I can say is if you get the 'paste' looking like in the video you've done fine!

[ymmmmij]

O...M....G.....lol

[hitchhiker38]

which ever way ya wanna but i get the same effect

[hitchhiker38]

OMG how slow is that soz but id sprinkle n spray

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@hitchhiker38 Yes but this gives you better results and you can control it better. It's not about how long it takes

[coalminer666]

@RailwayFanatic92220 Once again , read some magazines , this is , well....

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@coalminer666 I'd like to see you having a go! First of all you need to read some GOOD magazines and secondly, to might actually want to have a go yourself instead of criticising others for actually making an effort!

[coalminer666]

@RailwayFanatic92220 Model Railroader , Model Railroad Craftsman are good magazines and I read them for 40 years now together with countless others .You're right about making critisising without actually "have a go" myself . but everybody knows that you're way isn't the way to do it . It's a bad example.That's all there is to it.

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@coalminer666 No, YOU'VE said that it's a bad example! Nearly everyone I know who's into modelling and have been modelling exhibition layouts for years, prefer to use this method and think it's the best way!

[Dutch7633]

do not use this method

[RailwayFanatic92220]

Why not- it's a perfectly good method and gives you very good results.

[warlokk49]

This seems an incredibly intricate and awkward method especially around the points

[k181807]

could u plz make one that shows how to put down fake grass. i'm not to shure how to.

[RailwayFanatic92220]

OK. I will at somepoint when I get round to doing that on my Railway. Thanks!

[k181807]

is this the stuff when it's dry it looks ilke grass?

[RailwayFanatic92220]

No- it's ballast

[duopkik]

my god this is such a fuss!

put the ballast down using a teaspoon by sprinkling it where you want it, then with 50/50 wood glue and water spray all over it, much quicker and way easier.

job done

[ScottishRails]

A good way to shape the ballast is with a foam brush because it has a beveled edge

[knexkreator]

hey heres a tip i just now figured out: use REAL dirt! its that simple just get out the suff that is on the rails, then BAM you got your self some ballest!

[RailwayFanatic92220]

@RailwayFanatic92220

[superdude77]

This seems very messy! The dry ballast method is quicker and in my opinion gives much much better results. Sorry.

[RailwayFanatic92220]

It's whatever you prefer to use!

[nially69]

place the ballast in position dry, use a squirty bottle mixed with glue and water and spray on, it sets rock hard and takes less time! Ive used it, it works. Figure the rest out urself with trial and error! thanks

[RailwayFanatic92220]

Thanks!

[Gahman900]

it seems sooo tedious it took him 1 minuit to do 2 cm of one side of the track theres gotta be a quicker way

[RailwayFanatic92220]

Yes but this method gets the better result. An besides you don't want to rush your layout, just take your time and enjoy it.

[AndreyCracker]

How does this work? where do I buy it? Or how do I make it?

[RailwayFanatic92220]

You can buy the ballst from any decent model shop and then it's just a case of mixing watered down PVA Glue with it.

[branchlinedisaster]

does this make it easier to make the ballast into a kind of hill hspae between 2 tracks?

[RailwayFanatic92220]

yes, because you can easily mould it. It's also good for working on steep gradients.

[MiLLwallpaul231258]

what mixture have you used to make the ballast.Paul

[RailwayFanatic92220]

It's a misture of ballast and watered down PVA what the ratio is I really can't say as it varies from time to time but it doesn't wan't to be a watery solution but wet enought to be picked up in clumps if you get what I mean. Hope that helps.

[ConcordeProductions]

you should put cork down under the track before balasting to reduce noise :-) otherwise you have your self a winner!

[RailwayFanatic92220]

There is cork under the track! :-)

[ConcordeProductions]

oh right, sorry didn't realise :-D great job though! personally i would put the ballast on dry then add water/PVA mix but urs makes a great effect still :-D

[piperpilot]

Good way to ballast

[RailwayFanatic92220]

Thanks! It takes time but the results are great!

[midrange18]

can;t help but notice your name. were picking up our Evening Star in 2 weeks, can't wait. Thanks for the vid!

[RailwayFanatic92220]

No problem! Glad you enjoyed it!

[darthilicious]

great video thanks, did you paint the ballast after it dries or does it just go dark like the other bit. and do you paint track before or after ballast

thanks

[RailwayFanatic92220]

the Ballast goes dark like that other bit after it has dried but you can dye it with some water mixed with a few tea bags if you like which gives it a used sort of look to it. (Don't use coffee or you'll stink the place out!)

in terms of painting the rails, it's entirely up to you. I would say paint the rails before you've ballasted however, the Chairman at the SVMRC says after. It gives the came results so it's whatever you feel. hope that helps! Jack

[Luigirocks77777]

Well, it shoulnt be hard if it only took him 4 mins

[S0nzyChr15]

because the glue might make the tracks sticky

[RailwayFanatic92220]

not if you wipe the glue off the rails with a cotton bud or something while the glue's still wet. Visit the Soar Valley Model Railway Club's site (SoarValleyMRC) and go onto Dore Hill St. Stevens Video. All the ballasting in that has been done with this method.

[S0nzyChr15]

will this damage the electric current to help trains move

[hseldon5227]

The way we do it in O is to spread the dry ballast with a brush. Then you spray the ballast with wet water (water with 2 drops of dishwashing liquid in it.) then using a spray bottle, spray the ballast with a glue and water mixture. Then wipe the glue mixture off of the rails. The wet water is used to kill the surface tension on the ballast and allow the glue mixture to soak all the way through. If you use the sprayer on the mist setting you won't drown your ballast.

[RailwayFanatic92220]

Oh Ok, there is no right or wrong way of doing it. I might try that on my layout sometime!

[bachmanthomas21]

cool I may need this techneeck for a little prodgect of my own

[trainspotter11]

once its dry is it dry for ever

[RailwayFanatic92220]

Yes it does. This is the permanent way for portable layouts.

[MedievilGame]

After you put that grey liquid on the boards at the beginning of the video, how long does it take to try as it depends on how much I put on my layout When I do this technique.

If it drys slowly i'll do a big load at a time, if it does it slowly i'll do a small amount.

[RailwayFanatic92220]

You really need to leave it 12-24hours before it goes rock hard. The consistency in the video needed 12-24hrs.

[largesatsuma]

A better way I've read about is to lay the ballast on dry, brush it into position using a soft paint brush, and then spray the area with a glue/water mixture.

[RailwayFanatic92220]

I did consider doing that but after the failiure of dripping watered glue with a pipette where the ballast floated on top and got on to the sleepers etc I decided not to, adn I'm not 100% certain of how strong it would be. But as I said this series is how I made my model Railway not the bast way of modelling. Thanks for the comment.

[iddn]

A user called thebige61 has an excellent series on ballasting. This method is wasy too slow, I would go insane

[RailwayFanatic92220]

I never said it was the quickest method of Ballasting but it is the technique used at my Model Railway Club and we used it to ballast our 41x16ft Railway. Time is a disadvantage however you can be more precise and in my opinion the end product is all that matters! :-)

[MrAnnonumous]

what i would do is get a fine screwdriver or cocktail stick and run it along the inside of the rails

MrAnnonumous/UkRailspotters and you and mecrazy and maybe peggey707, jaannetts16 and ay76 lol

[mecrazy5]

this is n gauge?

[RailwayFanatic92220]

yes, it is.

[RailwayFanatic92220]

all my 'How to build a model Railway' videos are in N Gauge.

[mecrazy5]

thats genius! i was going to leve it as loose ballast! wow, i am going to do that!!!

5* +subed!

[MrAnnonumous]

to be honest so was i but im doing this

[mecrazy5]

looks cooler like this anyway

[connorSFL]

nice vid dude can u make some more on how to make railway scenery

[RailwayFanatic92220]

That was the idea but the ballasting is taking for ever at the moment adn I don't want to do anything else until I ahve finished the ballasting. I have nearly finished so Part 2 Coming up soon.

[mecrazy5]

i see what you mean about takinf forever, it took 4 minuets to do that little section, how big is your layout?

[RailwayFanatic92220]

the scenic area of my layout is 6'5.5"x1'6"