# 1:20.3 Ballast



## AzRob (Sep 14, 2009)

So I'm getting ready to ballast in my tracks, and I'm looking around for a ballast that not only looks good in 1:20.3, but also is generally easy to find. Living in an isolated community, it is hard to get to Home Depot/Lowes, so I'm looking for things that Walmart/Ace/TruValue would be carrying. I looked around a bit here in town and only found crushed marble, but one place wasn't open (Sunday), so there may be more options for me. It seems like everything was either too large or was fine sand, and I've already got enough sand as it is! So, what do you guys recommend?


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## altterrain (Jan 2, 2008)

You would be looking for DG (decomposed granite). On the east coast we get stone dust. If its too fine you could screen out the fine stuff ( I have done that with stone dust). Best place to look is your closest stone yard/landscape supplier. 

-Brian


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## AzRob (Sep 14, 2009)

Right on. I'll take a look for that this week.


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## jimtyp (Jan 2, 2008)

I use chicken grit. There are two types, use the crushed granite type, not the crushed oyster shells. I like the #2, medium. I get mine at the local feed supply. I pay $10 for a 50 lbs bag.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

On the east coast we get stone dust. If its too fine you could screen out the fine stuff 

The stone dust, called 'crusher fines' in various places, doesn't need screening if you have rain. The water washes the fine dust into the cracks, leaving larger particules on top, and helping to hold it all together. It's perhaps the larger bits that may appear too overscale! 

This photo, of my old layout, shows the results of a couple of years of MD rain: 










The more dense/solid parts are ballast that was mixed with portland cement to make it stick around. Some of it did, and some didn't, hence the patchy appearance. I don't recommend cement!


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Nature has been kind to me, living in the fringe of the Sonoran Desert, the hill behind me and the rain washes out pebbles by size. It's broken bits, not tumbled smooth in a creek bed. I sift by size with wire screen for the size I want and then winnow with the breeze to remove fine dirt. I want the ballast to drain right. 
Avoid smooth rock, it won't stay put. The DG we get here in Tucson has a lot of dirt in it and tends to crust over. Freezes could cause it to looked crumbled, but steam oil might mitigate that! 

John


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

I guess I'm the odd man. I've been using crusher fines for years and have decided to try Rollins Mix in the future, which is good for a little used industrial line and is supposed to attract moss


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