Unscented Kitty Litter Ballast?

A little over 11 years ago, I was at a Marklin store in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. I couldn't believe how realistic the ballast looked! The employee (maybe owner) said, "Unscented kitty litter." I couldn't believe my eyes...or ears! I'm thinking of finally trying it. I have painted plywood for a layout table top. Once I lay track, is there anything I need to do other than just spread the kitty litter?

 

Do not use kitty litter. It is not dust free. It also deteriorates. When you try to glue it, the moisture absorbing qualities of kitty litter will clump and swell. You'll be sorry you used it.

 

I tend to agree with Manny. Commerical made Ballast is small cost compared to everything else these days and much easier to work with. I have made ballast from sifting and washing sand, rock findings from bulk decorative rock suppliers, bleached painted coffee grounds, loose roofing rock from the floor of Home Depot, and stucco sand. While I have been good results - the labor and time consumed must be considered.

 

Don't do it. I tried it and it does not work. I was thankful I didn't actually try gluing it to my layout, cause the experiment on a piece of cardboard turned out horrible. It clumped up, changed color, and never dried fully even after two weeks.

Ethan

 

Let me double emphasize everybody's previous posts. I, too, had a friend years ago who tried to "cheap" the ballast and spent weeks sifting and grinding and dying desert sand...blah blah blah. By the time he had one good coffee can of the stuff for our "club" switching layout, I'd finished it with commercial stuff for about $15.

 

Thanks everyone. There will be no kitty litter on my layout! Our local street department uses a fine limestone mix to fill in places where they have had to dig up asphalt to repair water leaks before they come back and patch with asphault. A few years ago, they left an abondoned pile out on the side of a downtown street in a gravel public parking area. After about a year, it had all but washed away from rain. Thinking it might be good for ballast, I put my local taxes to good use and helped myself to 3 plastic pint jars. The pile isn't even noticable now but I could probably scrape up some more from the same spot. I thought about sifting it to see what I end up with. Any thoughts about tiny, actual limestone for HO ballast?

 

I've never tried anything like this, so feel free to try it. But I don't think you'll be able to get anything small enough that isn't dust out of limestone. Maybe I'm wrong.

Ethan

 

There is a reason that model ballast is made. DO NOT use that stuff. It is hazardous to your health, and will have the same issues similar to the kitty litter. Stop trying to be cheap and go get the ballast from the hobby shops. I know times are tough but you'll spend more if you take short cuts, than if you just got Woodland Scenics Ballast or another brand.

 

Seems to me that "well used recycled" kitty litter would be GREAT for use on your stockyard scene...

YUCK!

Use the ballast the pros use and keep Woodland Scenics and the other manufacturers in bizz!

Joe Toth

 

After a "just curious" experiment, I have confirmed that it is possible to get HO scale ballast from actual limestone! 3 pints of fine limestone abandoned by the street department, when ran through a screen, yielded about 1/8 cup of HO scale limestone ballast. Yep... an entire 1/8 cup! Enough to ballast an entire 9" straight if used sparingly! Long story short, I have also confirmed, "IT AIN'T WORTH THE TROUBLE!"

 

The wheel has already been invented...

 

I have a friend who is building an O-scale layout that would dwarf all but the largest club layouts. For whatever reason, I have been appointed the "ballaster-in-chief," and because his layout is so large he has chosen to use playground sand for ballast (sifted first to obtain the desired size). I will say it works well and looks pretty good once it's in place, but I have never seen it used for an HO layout. Might be worth a try if you have an unusually large layout, otherwise go to the hobby store. BTW, I also tried kitty litter back in my 3-rail Gargraves days, and everyone is right. Nothing could be worse.

GS

 

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I needed that laugh!!!