Ballasting

By Stan Agar

I like building railway layouts from building the baseboards to the final bit of scenery. When it comes to laying the ballast I am not any good at it as it always turns out messy. Then one day out of the blue the idea came to me to make a shoot to lay the ballast.
You will need a wooden stirrer that you get when you buy tea in a cardboard cup you cut off two 3 inch lengths and glue these together one on top of the other.
When the glue is dry cut one end like a wood chisel, now cut a clear piece of plastic card about ½ inch high and 2½ inches long then chisel shape one end and then superglue the plastic each side of the wood.
To use put enough ballast in the shoot to fill just a short length, hold it in one hand keeping the end just clear of the sleeper with the other hand use the index finger to tap the shoot to let the ballast out.

Happy ballasting.