Ballasting track with Tracklay

Discussion in 'RTR Trackwork' started by Ben Alder, May 6, 2017.

  1. Ben Alder

    Ben Alder Full Member

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    For my last three layouts I have used Tracklay self adhesive strips to ballast my tracks. It is a very quick convenient method of laying ballast and deserves more attention, IMO. Here is a lonk to their site.

    http://www.tracklay.shopbuilderpro.com/page/tracklay-underlay

    I'll go through the method of getting it all done. A small caution,though, - it looks more realistic with thin sleepered track -C&L in my case, although I have used it on Peco as well, but the sleepers do stand a bit proud. Whether this is an issue is up to the user - the speed and ease of applying ballast may outweigh any shortcomings to some.

    Anyway, first step is to lay out a length of track and weather the sleepers with whatever mix of paints that suits. I used a melange of browns, greys and lighter shades to represent the slightly worn finish that was typical of lightly used track in the Highlands.

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    Painted and new track side by side. The finish is a bit muted but it is there. This time I used acrylics which has turned out to be a mistake as they do not grip very well to the plastic, and on reflection should have done it with enamels as previously as they adhere better. It doesnt take long -a series of more or less drybrush going overs blending in the shades to get a worn look - working from photos helps here.

    Once it is dry, the length is straightened and laid on to the adhesive side of the roll of Tracklay and pressed into place. Then a ballast mix is poured generously over it and again tamped firmly down along the length of track. Shake the excess off and voila- a fully ballasted metre of track in about a minute....

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    New, ready to go and finished lengths.

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    And waiting to be trimmed and laid.

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    The baseboards were covered with 5mm foam which acts as a sound deadener and also to provide a recess for the Peco Code 75 points I use with this track. On the last layout I had used packing pieces to get the points and track level and ballasted the points conventionally, but this time round I altered this. Foam underlay was used and with a cut into the foam everything went together fine. The point underlay was given a coat of Copydex and the point was then ballasted as per the plain track.

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    I would add that I have a different take on ballasting to many - I strongly believe in having the track floating rather than firmly glued in place, and the laid track is left loose on the foam base, with very little constraint apart from the surrounding groundwork. I do pin it lightly until the surrounds are in place but then they are removed and the track is free to rise and fall with the passage of traffic - the points do the same vertical movement although they are pinned to keep the fixed for point motors to throw the blades. It may sound a bit strange, but it works and derailments are very rare and nearly always operator error. This allows the track to cope with temperature changes and makes for easy adjustment if any slewing of the PW is needed. After all, the real stuff sits in a bed of stone chippings and is free to move - watching trains going over the moors of the West Highland or Far North line is interesting as there is a quite definite response to the weight of the passing engine.

    As most of my track is station based, there is no real raised track or cess, as is the case with single or double lines, but when I had this I tacked the track with a brush of Copydex and a sprinkle of ballast and this was sufficient to keep things where they Should be. For here, once the layout was all in place and tested I filled in between with 1/16th cork sheet and ready mix Polyfilla to get it all smooth and level.

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    This was then painted - Games Workshop Stormvermin Fur is good for this - and a texture mix was added as necessary; either some ballast or fine sand - put on while the paint was wt and, in the case of the sand, and sometimes the ballast, painted over. The sides of the rails and chairs were also done at this stage - Humbrol enamel track colour, that gives a nice browny finish. This is left to the end as it can lock the track to the chairs in places so everything was double checked before this stage. Ballast was by Greenscenes and a mix of their 2mm and 4mm versions of ash ballast,IIR - I'll have to check and see what it was.

    Here is an early shot of the layout just after I finished all this - still a bit basic scenically, but the ground work has needed little done to it beyond filling in those omissions that show up on screen and are invisible to the eye....

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    Hope this is of interest - it certainly makes one of the most tedious hobby jobs into a doddle.
     
  2. paul_l

    paul_l Staff Member Administrator

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    I hadn't seen that product before, your results definitely warrant a further look. I had thought of using double sided carpet tape, but normally after I have soaked the layout in diluted PVA, and waiting 2 or 3 days for it to dry. :facepalm:

    Great tutorial Richard.

    Paul
     
  3. Ron

    Ron Staff Member Moderator Full Member

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    Yet another take on ballasting, very interesting Ben. I have not seen this before either..:):)
     
  4. Toto

    Toto I'm best ignored Staff Member Founder Administrator

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    I've only had a very quick skim through the post and will read it in more depth once I get back in ( domestic duties call ) but this looks good.

    :thumbs:

    Cheers for now.

    Toto
     

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