FAST & EASY! - How To Ballast Model Railway Points (Tutorial)
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- Опубликовано: 16 июл 2024
- A model railway tutorial on how to ballast your points - the fast and easy way!
Early Access: ruclips.net/user/thatmodelrailwayg...
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This episode is proudly sponsored by THE MODEL CENTRE
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Ballasting can be a nerve wracking process for both beginners and experts alike but nothing is more time consuming and tricky like ballasting points! What if you get glue in the mechanism, or on the point blades?
Well that's all in the past because on my latest layout I've been trying out a new technique which makes the process of both laying points and then ballasting them a really quick and most importantly easy! While I'm demonstrating this on my TT:120 layout, this process works for any scale and gauge so can be easily used on your layout too. There's no messing around with glue either and it'll only take a few minutes to complete - I honestly think I'll be ballasting all my points this way in the future because it's such a fast and easy process... I can't believe I didn't think of this before!
Products Used:
PECO Left Hand Points: goaff.pro/ejdwvc
PECO Right Hand Points: goaff.pro/loxtsn
Fine Grey Ballast: goaff.pro/coupub
2mm Cork: amzn.to/3W2QDCU
Railmatch Sleeper Grime: goaff.pro/abmple
Double Sided Tape: amzn.to/3VH3c5z
Handheld Vacuum: amzn.to/45IiCLi
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
01:55 - Laying The Points
04:37 - Weathering The Rails
05:37 - Ballasting The Points
07:51 - The End Result
Thanks for watching 😃
It’s a neat time saving technique that makes it easier, particularly for beginners. However it does look a bit like how Hornby lays track on top of ballast; around the sleepers it doesn’t look like they’re being held by the ballast if that makes sense because only one layer has stuck to the tape and the additional ballast above that has been removed.
It’s exaggerated here somewhat as the PECO TT sleepers are thicker than most other track and I’m using fine ballast too. On 00 track with medium grade ballast for example, the issue would be a lot less noticeable.
Another option would be to use this as a base layer, then ballast the rest of the point normally on top, leaving only the immediate area around the mechanism and blades to the base layer.
That said, in the real railway I have noticed that in some places points aren’t always ballasted up to the full height of the sleeper, perhaps for the same reasons but in a larger scale. Thanks for watching 😃
Very useful and effective technique and avoids all that glue on the vital areas of the points - many thanks
Yeah it definitely takes out a lot of the stress of ballasting points! Thanks for watching 😃
Great video thanks for the advice on ballasting. Great to see more work on your new layout.
My pleasure, the layout has come on a long way since this video was filmed… I can wait to show you the results! Thanks for watching😃
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy your welcome
I was thinking of using this tape to stick my track down anyway, so this is an added bonus, thank you.
Definitely makes the job a lot easier. You might have trouble using it on curves unless you cut the tape into short sections... not impossible but requires a little more thought. Thanks for watching 😃
Excellent idea, and explained really well, as usual, a very professional video.
Thanks, it’s always good to share these tips I discover during my builds since you never know when someone else might struggle with the same thing. Thanks for watching 🤩
Using double sided sticky tape to stick ballast, that's actually an interesting method. Plus it seems more ideal as gluing ballast down can a little nerve racking in the case of stray ballast getting stuck on the rails or even caught in the gaps where the point blades are. Might consider this method in the future.
Yep that was the idea behind this method. Really takes all the stress out of the process and is much quicker to do as well. Thanks for watching 😃
Absolutely amazing! I am going to use this technique. Thank you!
Awesome, glad you found it helpful! Thanks for watching 😃
Great idea , think I might give it a try
Awesome! Best of luck and thanks for watching 😃
This is one of the best techniques I have ever seen and will be trying it!
It's certainly a handy tip, makes the job a lot easier! Thanks for watching 😃
It's a good idea using double sided sticky tape for sticking points down, much easier and quicker then the old fashion way, I'll definitely give that a go 😀
Yeah I think I'm going to do all my points in this way in the future. Thanks for watching 😃
Very interesting technique! I would be curious as to the longevity of the sticky tape however (losing its stickiness over time). May have to give it a go, does seem like a great method.
It's carpet tape so designed to work for quite a while. As long as you don't leave it too long to get the ballast on it shouldn't be a problem... though you could always use a glue solution around the non-moving parts afterwards for a real belt and braces approach if you wanted. Thanks for watching 😃
Have to say that is a genius idea, So simple yet something I didnt think of myself.
It’s definitely a handy technique for both old and new modellers alike! Thanks for watching 😃
Top tip 👍
Hopefully it helps a few people who were worrying about this process. Thanks for watching 😃
I have seen you use this technique in an earlier episode (but I cannot see how the technique has been improved in this video). I did make a note of the tape you used (from the previous video) and was impressed with how things went. However, you did say here how difficult it would be to reconfigure the point at some stage in the future. Hmmm...
The technique I demonstrated previously was in this video from a couple of years ago: ruclips.net/video/zLaauxKsGeQ/видео.html While I've been showing this method in my TT:120 series, not everyone watches that so I felt this deserved it's own little tutorial. Thanks for watching 😃
Well that was an interesting technique! I've not done any ballasting yet, of normal track or points! However, I've been on the lookout for a simple and effective way of ballasting points, to prevent me from jamming up the mechanism with glue! I must admit that I'd worry about removing the points should they fail, or maybe some water would remove the stickiness? It can also be a hassle getting the rail joiners to mesh first time in N gauge, so I'd be worried about sticking the point down before it was joined to the track! I think I'll have a practice run though before I decide! Cheers for the idea, Ian.
If you really do need to remove the point, you can always try levering it up with a small screwdriver - that's what I did when some of my more tricky installations went a bit awry!
For getting the rail joiners in place you could always connect up the next piece of track ahead of time, then press the point down into the tape and fix the track in place as you would normally.
Personally though I always tend to use the points as fixed points and once these are in place join the rest of the track up. It's personal preference though but yes a practice run is definitely a good idea with all new techniques. Thanks for watching 😃
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy - Thank you! I know they can be levered up! :) Yes, I'm probably going to fix the points down first, then join the "dots" with track! Thanks again! Ian
My first thought was that the tape might lose its stickyness over time, but once I heard you point out that this is carpet tape (which is supposed to last many years) my concerns were calmed. So I shall try this when next laying tracks. Thanks for the tip.
Yep, I've got a carpet that was stuck down with this exact same role of tape over 15 years ago and that hasn't budged an inch. If you really wanted to take a belt and braces approach, you could go over the non-moving parts with a glue solution afterwards though. Thanks for watching 😃
I’m definitely going to use this technique for when I finally get around to ballasting my points, and in all honesty I might use this for normal track as well, as on older layouts I’ve had glue flowing into rail joiners wrecking electrical flow, and even though I spray the ballast with IPA before laying the glue (using the same techniques you have shown in your Modular series) for some reason the ballast always flows everywhere and sometimes bunches up. I’m fairly sure this is something I’m doing wrong since that technique works for so many modellers, but regardless using this tape looks like a good way of avoiding these issues, as at one point I had actually considered just painting the underneath of the track grey and calling it a day! 😂
I’ve actually never seen this technique so I am wondering if you may have changed the future of ballasting model railways, fingers crossed 🤞😂
I don't tend to spray the ballast with IPA myself, just water with a drop of washing up liquid mixed in (similar to the glue). That breaks the surface tension but you do have to keep applying it regularly as if you mist it onto the ballast it dries out incredibly quickly, so best to get the glue on there quick. Thanks for watching 😃
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy Thanks for the tip!!! Is the water not bad for the track though? (I’m just thinking you shouldn’t mix electricity and water together). Also what about the glue running into the joiners? Have you had that happen?? I commented about issue on some other channels and nobody had that happen so I’m guessing that’s something I’m doing wrong…
They do look a little under ballasted, what do you think about topping off the extremities (away from the mechanism) when you do the rest of the track later?
It definitely looks better than the usual gaps you get when working around the mechanism doing it the 'normal' way.
It's exaggerated here because the Peco TT track has quite thick sleepers (due to the specific way it's designed) and also because I'm using fine ballast. On 00 track with medium grade ballast it wouldn't be as much of an issue.
You can also do as you suggest and use this as a base layer then blend it in with more ballast later - that's actually what I've done with this layout anyway which can be seen in later episodes. But equally I have seen points on the real railway that aren't ballasted as heavily anyway so not everything has to be neat and perfect as real life rarely is anyway. Thanks for watching 😃
Thanks for another useful video ❤. I noticed that shunter running very smoothly, is it DCC powered? I thought the decoders don’t fit in the class 08?
There currently aren’t any HM7000 6 pin decoders (they’re due for release later this year) so it’s running on a normal decoder at the moment. The points are also fully live too which gives the 08 the best chance with its short wheelbase. Thanks for watching 🤩
This is a system I mean to try, great idea. Do you think the adhesive may deteriorate over time?
I don’t think so, the tape is intended for carpets and flooring after all so it needs to be pretty long lasting. If you were worried about that though you could always use this as a base layer and then ballast the point normally on top avoiding just the mechanism area - a belt and braces approach so to speak. Thanks for watching 🤩
I think I will try that on my N scale layout so I don't mess up my points. This is great idea.
GOD BLESS 🚂 ❤ 🚂 ❤ 🚂 ❤
It does seem to work really well, I can imagine it being handy for N Gauge in particular where it's an even more fiddly process usually. Thanks for watching 😃
Hi Joe you can ballast my points anytime 😉😂
Nurse! He's awake again! Thanks for watching... I think? 😅
cool
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching 🤩
My worry is that I have pico twist lock motors and the ballast falling down on to it
With this method you can ballast the point before putting the motor in, or with the twist lock motors, simply remove them while you're ballasting. But honestly I've never had any issues with loose ballast falling down through the board onto the motor, that's why I suggest still adding it in small amounts at a time. Thanks for watching 😃
If you use a proper hoover borrow? A pair of tights place one leg over hoover pipe and your ballast will remain in tights not in the hoover simples!
Yep good old tip there. I'd still recommend getting a handheld vacuum though, I've found they come in handy a lot when building a layout. Thanks for watching 😃
Why not use PVA instead of tape, same efect
I demonstrated that in this video here which you can see is a much more fiddly process due to needing to put wet glue around the moving parts of the point: ruclips.net/video/zLaauxKsGeQ/видео.html
This method is much quicker and takes out a lot of the stress that often comes with ballasting points. Thanks for watching 😃