Here’s some prototype ballast glue:
See: Glued Ballast & Landscape: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcXDYlq8Ips&t=1071s
This might be one of the most useful and practical “How to” garden railroad videos you’ll ever watch. Glued stone material has great potential for new and existing garden railroads, because it is so good, but rarely used. It drastically improves realism and durability, while decreasing maintenance time and costs. When you learn how to glue sand & gravel, you can use this technique all over your railroad for many things including track ballast, terrain and even mountains covered by different sizes of real rocks, gravel, sand and live plants. Its realistic appearance and low maintenance is why the most asked question at Cholla Patch Garden Railroad is: “How do you make your ballast”? This video is my detailed answer to such a great question.
Produced by John Carmichael: Email questions to: [email protected] Cholla Patch Garden Railroad, Tucson AZ on 6/28/26. Feel free to copy, use and modify any of the images or video clips you see here. Please help us spread this useful video with your Garden Railroading friends and organizations.
See more of my Design Construction videos at: Cholla Patch Garden Railroad: https://www.youtube.com/@philpappas8834
And this: The Ultimate Guide to Glued Track Ballast for Garden Railroads https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVXB0QC78Lw&t=792s
Glued ballast does not work well with four season outdoor layouts.
I tried a section of mine with tite bond III years ago as a test.
In the winter water under the ballast freezes and thaws, therefore raising the glued section into nothing but uneven track. Breaking track clamps. etc. You have to lift the track and bust all the glued ballast out of it.
My floating track on 3/8 minus ballast weathers winters just fine, with a little leveling and ballasting in the spring.
I also tried a section with a mix light mix of mortar and ballast and spread that with the same results as the glued.
Bob, your link does not work. Page not found.
John, I am thinking of trying a few sections anyway. on my raised roadbed rain seams to float the track and wash the stones underneath leaving the ties that are fastened down to break off from the rail. if the ballast was a solid mass it would not get underneath IMHO.
Al P.
I had used the mortar glue on the outer edges to form like a dam to hold the ballast in but it was free to move
Hello John_Bouck:
Great Comment!
You bring up a very interesting point that I had not contemplated.
The phenomena you describe is call “soil heave”. It happens during freezing weather. My favorite example of soil heave is seen in people’s yards where they put a big cement bird bath directly on top of the ground. When you see bird baths that are tilted, it’s probably due to winter soil heave. The usual way to prevent soil heave is to put a sturdy thick foundation of large (3/4" to 1") gravel or concrete under the object you want to stabilize. I learned this years ago when I lived up north in Indiana. The gravel foundation needs to be at least 8 inches deep. The deeper, the better. Building codes will tell you how deep foundations should be in your area.
If there were a way to dig a trench under your floating track, and fill it with a gravel foundation that would probably allow you to glue your ballast and prevent heaving.
I understand your concern. This is an issue you must deal with. Perhaps in your case, glued ballast is not recommended for floating track that is not on a firm foundation or roadbed.
Another thought: If soil heave affects your floating track, I wonder if it affects trestles the same way. I bet it does!
Thank you for such a great observation and sharing it with us. - John Carmichael
I actually put concrete bases on each end of my trestles and so far so good.
The only thing I have to do with the trestles is re set some brass brads that work their way out.(As Rooster chided me about a while ago. 
)
I have learned that the best ballast outdoors is just like the 1:1 does. To me, the ballast is a cushion and acts like a cushion just like lime mixed mortar does for old brick.
Glued or not in the NE climate the only glue I use is the dust from the limestone crusher fines or 1/4 minus plus extra dust seems to work quite well. When it’s looking rough I just head to the stone yard for about 1/4 ton and just replenish.
However my outdoor RR has only been in play for 20yrs so I may be off on this theory.
Rooster:
I do not see a reason for a cushion of any kind under the track. To me a cushion adds softness and is flexible and would create unnecessary track movement. Why would your track need this? Tracks work best when they are secure and don’t move. It’s ok if the rails move (expand & contract), but not the ties. If your ballast allows movement, then it must be loose and unglued. And if the ballast moves, then it is unstable and could be displaced by other things like erosion, weeds, animals, and leaf blowers. And limestone dust will crack. It has no flexiblity and low adhesion.
I’m trying to understand your point, but I can’t. If you’d like to explain the advantages of your technique, I’m willing to listen.
Here to help & learn. Thanks for writing!- John Carmichael
Rooster:
Yes of course it’s different. What point are you trying to make about our different climates? Or do you have a question?
I forgot to mention how easy it is to remove glued ballast without damaging ties or switch points or anything else.
To Remove glued ballast Do This:
- In the evening, wet ballast with hose and lay a wet bath towel on top overnight.
2)The next morning using a small hammer and small old screwdriver as a chisel, tap the screwdriver and the ballast breaks up easily.
- Use a Shop Vac to vacuum up the loose ballast.
This works like a charm. Sometimes I’m in a hurry to remove ballast and don’t have time to pre-wet and soak it, so I wet it with a spray bottle with diluted alcohol. as I’m chiseling. You can still remove the unwanted ballast, but you need to chisel tap it a little more.
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