Ballasting a Metcalfe viaduct.

[patrick]

Has anyone any suggestions about ballasting track across a Metcalfe card viaduct. The finished kit has been sprayed with clear varnish and can still be removed from the layout. I am concerned about moisture causing warping. I am considering trying odurless hairspray after reading about its use fixing foliage to model trees. Thanks.

[BosKonay]

Plaster the deck with copydex.

 

Fix down the track.

 

Pour over a bucket of ballast.

 

Manually 'tamp'.

 

Give 24 hours.

 

Vacuum

[scahalane]

I would suggest maybe ballasting the track on a separate piece of lite timber like hardboard and overlaying that to the card model after when fully dry.

[Sentinel281]

Another possibility would be to make an u-shaped channel from 1 mm polystyrene shet that fits into the bridge, paint it in a decent grey and balast it separately as scahalane suggested. The advantage is that you can form the ballast in the way you want an no ballast stone will fall apart from the board; inaddition the polystyrene will not warp if getting wet.

[Dave]

Just put cling film over the bridge, ballast over it and trim the cling film after it dries

[heirflick]

Just put cling film over the bridge, ballast over it and trim the cling film after it dries

 

whos a clever boy? great thinking there dave - simplicity itself!

[Weshty]

whos a clever boy? great thinking there dave - simplicity itself!

 

Yup. Loving that one.

[kevrail]

Just put cling film over the bridge, ballast over it and trim the cling film after it dries

 

The simple ideas are alwaqys the best!!!!