Attempt two at point ballasting

[potatan]

I do like an exercise in overthinking a problem. Following my previous ballasting adventures :

viewtopic.php?p=717498#p717498

and the attempts at using Blue-tac :

viewtopic.php?p=717499#p717499

I thought I'd have a go at making a cardboard masking template to hide the clever pointy bits of the points from the perils of loose grains of ballast.

Short story - it didn't really work. Well, it kinda did but I had to do so much "tidying up" after that I may as well have just covered the pointy bits with sticky tape

Still, at least I got a chance to use one of the punchcards I've been saving for 35 years in case they come in handy one day

Actually while typing this I've realised what I should have done was to cut out some shapes to cover the pointy bits, rather than cutting out holes to let the ballast through. A kind of inverted card version of my blue tac attempts. I'll report back, might need to sacrifice another punch card to the Great Hand from Above

Slate

[aleopardstail]

the way I found to ballast points wasn't too hard, add the ballast avoiding the tie bar area, like avoid about 1cm either side - that means adding that ballast is easy - brush it away from the tie bar when setting it down and make sure its below the top of the sleeper for the switch rails.

then the tie bar is added slowly, basically the rest of the gaps between the sleepers but not the tie bar, then a little to the sides but with a clear gap for the tie bar.

I'm using dilute copydex to fix it down (worth doing for points even if you use PVA elsewhere) as when dry it can be cut with a sharp blade if needed to remove bits.

essentially if you have no ballast touching anything that moves and don't drown that bit with glue (let glue soak in from adjacent bits) it seems to go just fine

[potatan]

I'm using dilute copydex to fix it down (worth doing for points even if you use PVA elsewhere) as when dry it can be cut with a sharp blade if needed to remove bits.

I've only tried my dry Ballast Magic so far, mixed with the ballast then misted with water in-situ. Quite nice for the non-fiddly longer bits of track.

Next on my to-do list is PVA diluted with water and fairy drops but I'm becoming a big fan of Copydex so will give that a go after. I actually wondered whether I could paint some neat Copydex into the bits I don't want ballast getting in, then just peeling it/cutting it out afterwards so will probably give that a go too. Gotta get the most use out of the set of points I've sacrificed to my Nano layout.

I might make a train move again one of these days.

[aleopardstail]

with N if you have fine enough ballast double sided tape works, holds the track down too.

and yes also a brush and painting the glue where you want it around points is another solution, do the fiddly bits first

[Dublo]

Heres a tongue in cheek answer.
Why not cheat and do what Meccano Ltd did with pre-war Hornby Dublo.

[potatan]

Heres a tongue in cheek answer.
Why not cheat and do what Meccano Ltd did with pre-war Hornby Dublo.
IMG_20220502_164438.jpg

I really really want to pull all those levers

[Mountain]

Heres a tongue in cheek answer.
Why not cheat and do what Meccano Ltd did with pre-war Hornby Dublo.
IMG_20220502_164438.jpg

I really really want to pull all those levers

Why I missed DC so much when I went to DCC, that I went back to DC as I really missed throwing toggle switches and throwing other switches and levers. The thought of what came later when one can control trains via a phone or a tablet... NO! JUST NO! Why I also turned right off modern electric cars with their tablet dashboards. Just NO! I am a human and love human things! Give me something to pull or turn and I am happy, but a touch screen to run ones trains or to drive ones car? JUST NO!

Point ballasting... Is interesting. In my area, ballast was grey and still is, but in some areas it is brown. Seeing brown ballast looks odd to me but to others who see it every day it looks right. The main line near where I was living was origionally broad gauge, so the "Six foot" was more like "Ten foot". Sectional track spacing looked spot on for areas that were once broad gauge, especially where platforms are concerned. I have found that there is usually a prototype for most things...Even an isolated point.

[Phred]

Mountain wrote:
a touch screen to run ones trains or to drive ones car? JUST NO!

Luddite!

When I was a driving examiner, some government think tank decided that paper marking sheets would be replaced by iPad type things. Imagine trying to conduct a driving test while figuring out how to work a computer application which you can't see anyway because the screen doesn't work in daylight. Less than a week after its introduction (amid absolute pandemonium) we went back to paper.

[Mountain]

Much prefer paper.