This page describes how I ballast flextrack. The previous set of articles on how to lay and paint track discuss the steps I took before I did the ballasting. I generally do my ballasting before I do the rest of the scenery work. This is because I depend on the ballast to hold the track down.

If you want a sharp edge around the roadbed (representing a well-maintained roadbed), you may want to place some masking tape around the track area. Remove this tape after about a hour or two of ballast drying time. If you remove it too soon, you will disturb the ballast. If you wait overnight, the tape may become a permanent part of your layout!

For ballast I solely use Arizona Rock and Minerals. This is real, ground-up rock. I use their Pennsylvania Railroad Part # 1051 for ballast. It is much finer than Woodland Scenics' ballast.

If you spray-painted the track before placing any ballast on the track, wait for the paint to be completely dry. Overnight is best. If you do not, the ballast will start to ball up when it grabs the wet paint and you'll wind up with a mess.

Also, if you use my method of placing a small amount of oil on the railheads before painting, be sure to wipe the remaining oil off the track and ties before putting down ballast. Again, when the ballast gets wet, it tends to want to ball up.

The first photo shows my starting point. The AMI Roadbed has been shaped to the profile I like and the track has been painted. The paint is dry and all unwanted debris has been removed.

My favorite ballast dispensing tool is a plain-old teaspoon. You can use whatever tool you are comfortable with, of course, but the key is to have a tool that allows you control over how much ballast is dispensed.

Pour a heaping pile of ballast in between the tracks. I usually do about an 8-inch section at a time.

Using a small paint brush with fairly stiff bristles, I spread the ballast down the middle of the track. As you can see in the photo, the ballast will naturally fall outside the rails and down the slope of the AMI Roadbed. This is exactly what you want. Sweep the inside area between the tracks so that most of the ballast is gone (i.e. either in between the ties or outside the rails).

After you have swept the area between the rails, this is what you are left with.

Now I sweep in a similar manner but this time the brush runs over the rails, focusing on spreading the ballast between the ties on the outside edge.

Do the same thing over the other rail. As you can see, it is starting to look good already.

As you clear the ties on the outside of the rails, some ballast will fall back into the area between the rails. Sweep this area again. Always feeding the left-over ballast down the track that has not been ballasted yet.

I am now done with the major sweeping.

However, you will notice that there are still individual pieces of ballast on top of the ties. In the real world this is not acceptable for a well-maintained track. So, to fix this, simply run your finger down the track. The pebbles mysteriously disappear!

Ahhh, much better! If you have stubborn pebbles, just run your finger between the rails a couple of times. Also, check to make sure that ballast isn't starting to pile up against the inside of the rails. This may interfere with the wheels of your locomotives or cars. You can move them using the brush. Be careful not to disturb the rest of the ballast.

Next, carefully run your finger on the top of the ties on the outside of the rails. This removes the ballast from the top of the ties there. Be careful not to hit the ballast on the AMI Roadbed profile - it can move on you.

Sometimes the ballast on the outside will not be enough. You may have to do some spot treatment here and there to fill up the profile so that the AMI Roadbed is no longer visible. After you are done with this, be sure to double check the tops of the ties that they are free from ballast.

I usually place the ballast in about a two-foot stretch of track. After the ballast is done, I spray it with normal household rubbing alcohol. A fine hairspray bottle (plastic empty bottles can be had at drug stores, for example, or recycle an empty one from a member of your household) is used to dispense the alcohol. At first spray very lightly. The slightest touch from anything will make the ballast move. Spray several layers of very thin amounts of alcohol. The more you do it, the more you can spray on. The ballast needs to be well soaked. Also, be aware that the alcohol evaporates fairly quickly. I usually soak the whole area I am about to glue, and then focus the alcohol spray on a small section of about 6 inches.

And finally it is time to glue. I use a small glue bottle that is filled with 50% white glue, 50% water, and one drop of dishwashing detergent. This makes for a smooth flowing mixture. If the ballast is wet enough from the alcohol, the glue should spread out and dissolve into the ballast. If the glue balls up or causes the ballast to ball up, you didn't use enough alcohol. Simply spray more alcohol. I spread the glue down the middle of the track, and on each outside edge.

A quick spray of alcohol disperses the glue even more and also eliminates air bubbles in the glue which may relocate some of the ballast as the glue dries. Whatever you do, do NOT touch the ballast with your fingers or any other tools. Disturbing the ballast now will make things worse. If you are not happy with the result, you can always wet the glue with water later and vacuum up the parts, or add more ballast in some spots.

I usually let the ballast dry overnight. The next day I clean the tops of the rails because they may have some glue residue on them. After that it is time to vacuum up all the loose pieces and test the new track.