Arizona Rock & Mineral Ballast

[GRUSS444]

Anyone have any input on Arizona Rock N SCALE BALLAST ? Looking to ballast my Unitrack layout.

[RBrodzinsky]

It is great for Unitrack. You just have to take your time to make sure there isn't too much build up on the ties. Hee's a good view of some AzR&M ballast on Unitrack

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yes, that is a TARDIS in the old mining town.  An amazing bit of camouflage, no one even seems to notice!

[Dave V]

I'm not using Unitrack but have used Arizona Rock & Mineral N scale "Cumbres & Toltec" ballast.

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[Mark W]

AR&M is frequently agreed to be the best commercial ballast there is, but dang is it expensive if you have a lot of track.
I've also found many bags to contain a surprising amount of iron flakes, so you may want to do a magnet treatment before applying.

Lately, I've gone the 'make my own' route.  A 50 pound bag of garden slate rock is $4 at the Home Depot.  Throw a few rocks in an old  sock, burlap sack, or strong bag and whack away with a hammer.  Pour the debris into a bucket and sift using an old screen. 

Here's some Z scale ballast I made.

[Philip H]

AR&M is frequently agreed to be the best commercial ballast there is, but dang is it expensive if you have a lot of track.
I've also found many bags to contain a surprising amount of iron flakes, so you may want to do a magnet treatment before applying.

Lately, I've gone the 'make my own' route.  A 50 pound bag of garden slate rock is $4 at the Home Depot.  Throw a few rocks in an old  sock, burlap sack, or strong bag and whack away with a hammer.  Pour the debris into a bucket and sift using an old screen. 

Here's some Z scale ballast I made.

50lbs of slate makes a LOT of ballast.  Good call.

[Mark W]

Almost $500 worth at AR&M prices! 

I've also successfully painted/tinted the home made ballast by putting a few ounces in an old butter tub and adding un-diluted acrylic paint, then shake away to get everything evenly covered.  There's a lot of surface area to cover, so you may have to add more paint than expected (but be careful not to add way too much either).  It will also dry in a solid glob, but then give it a few more shakes and everything loosens up into newly colored ballast.  If you used way too much paint, you may have made a permanent glob.  It's not rocket science though, so if anyone does use this method just go a few ounces at a time and I'm sure you'll find the perfect balance by the 2nd round.   

[GRUSS444]

I called them after reading you guys input. Person on phone very helpful.If you want the sample pack,go to the search window and enter samples.All types are available ! NO bulk amounts though.

[nkalanaga]

If you can find the right color, "standard" mortar sand, from a masonry supply, is very close to the right size for N scale ballast.  If I'd known that at the time, I;d have used it for my MILW branch, instead of buying ballast. 

I got my first supply when the remodeled the building next to my then employer, probably 20 pounds, for free, as it was left over - in the middle of OUR parking lot.  The rest I bought form a concrete block dealer, for $20/ton.  Since I only wanted a box full, probably 75 or 80 pounds, and their scale was designed for large trucks, we guestimated it to be a dollar's worth!

[nscalbitz]

It is great for Unitrack. You just have to take your time to make sure there isn't too much build up on the ties.

A black wash down first goes a long way to helping 'depth' perception.
Dave