Nice looking work. Instead of the spoon, I use a small paper cup that I have pinched at a point along the top to form a bit of a spout, giving me really good control when spreading the ballest. Also, when I am done spreading the ballest I take a small block of wood, lay it across the rails and move it along tapping it with a small modeler's hammer. The vibration cause the loose ballest to seek its own space. Last piece of advice.....if you have never done ballasting before, practice off to the side and test your abilities before transferring your skills on your railroad.

Can't wait to get to ballasting! Glad I found this video. Makes it look easy! Thanks for sharing your trick.

Very good idea for spreading ballast, looks very nice and the fact that you can get good shoulders at the same time really help save time. Thank for sharing this method and the tool you used. Muse

I am so jealous. I was up to benchwork and some track on a layout in my basement, but then circumstances forced me to move to California and abandon the project. Very few basements here in California!! For now, planning a shelf-style switching layout...better than nothing I guess.

Excellent work. As for having too much ballast on 1 side. I have never seen a railway with ballast even on both sides. So your work is more to real life, than ppl having ballast identical on each side.

LIke it, you make it look so much easier than most....thanks for sharing....Jack

Good idea ! I will try this method for the rest of the ballasting of about 270 feet of Peco Streamline code 100 track. Thanks for sharing & Greetings.

Great video on ballasting. Definitely save some time this way

Nice!!!! Gonna give it a try! Thanks for sharing

THANK YOU...for sharing.

This looks like a pretty effective technique, I will have to try it some day.

Cool trick love the idea

Thanks for sharing your trick.

Nice I’m going to use this on my layout

Nice tip. Thank you.

GREAT idea!

Nice. Thanks.

Good idea!

In N scale I run the bottle along the edge of the rail and use the rail as a guide. Goes very quickly!

Wow you make look so easy Yet I bet it is not? I watched your video on your work shop and layout I never been Jealous of any one for what they have BUT you made me raise my eyes? wow what a set up love your rail way? How does any one afford some of the trains some are over two hundred pounds gosh? I proble buy a steam train up to about 45 pounds or second hand .... some people have fifty train sets Yeek....so good to watch there layouts run.... best wishes Ken...

Thanks for the tip with the brush.Isoproyl alcohol works ok.but detergent is much cheaper as a wetting agent.Also if you use acrylic matte medium it sets flexible so the track can be relocated.As a compromise use half pva or white glue with a.m.m to save cost.

I don't know why, but watching your technique reminded me of Bob Ross.....

Nice work Peter! Is the owner planning on using this layout for a club or just for his enjoyment at home? I am sure he is very pleased. Cheers, Dan

Can you use this method for O gauge outside? Thank you.

G'day Peter, Good video on a good job done. Thanks for posting it, I assume it's H O Scale track I run N Scale can you think of any problems I may strike ? I can't seem to think of anything but when time permits a short note back with any thoughts will be appreciated. Cheers from Sunny North Queensland. Denis.

It's fast yes but I have found that by doing it this way it will look good while standing above it by 3 or 4 feet. But place the camera down more towards track level looking down the rail. You will notice that it wont look at all like a railroad right of way. It will look uneven and chunky as the brush piles up the ballast against the ties in the direction that it was moved. It will not have that settled look that it should from heavy trains pounding by all the time. At the end the camera is moving so fast I couldn't see much of anything.

I prefer dish soap to alcohol for that, but that's me.Thanks!

Why does some use water and very little dish washing liquid.

I seem to have had good luck with diluting the glue with straight 91% alcohol. That way I can skip the spraying step. Is this something you have ever tried? Also, I have found Tite-bond does not skin whereas some other PVA glues do. Otherwise, I ballast my track the exact same way as you do.

applying ballast using a stiff brush like that one I would only suspect that it would "pack" the granulates under the ties thus lifting the track without noticing - buy using a soft bristle - it would lightly place the grains between the ties and not try to shove them under thus eliminating the chance of lifting the rails.

How do you get the glue off the rails.

Rubbing or isopropyl? I am a newbie here :)

So very sorry for being a bearer of bad news Peter, but you didn't need to ballast the freight yard..These tracks are so slowly traversed that they're right down on the ground, usually are lighter/lower height (like code 70 or 40 in HO), and look distinctly different from the main line profile. If you've read this and happen to agree, you know you can simply fill in all the areas between the tracks with glued, real soil instead of attempting to remove the ballast you already have .. This does not mean you are not otherwise a super great modeler. ..M, Los Angeles

Alcohol? Do you mean Isopropanol?

Try using used coffee grinds

How about alcohol with a drop or two of dish soap ...

Interesting, you have duplicated my method.

You should consider changing hobbies; you loose your breath by literally pouring teaspoons of sand while speaking.