Page 2 Dave 
stay on subject
Richard Smith said:
Art,Thanks for the compliments on my bridge article. I built that before I went to benchwork and was still railroading on the ground.
Since your track is laying directly on a hard surface you might consider using a texture (stone) type of paint that is available in spray cans before putting down the track. Then adding a small bit of ballast over that. The spray is available in several brands and includes colors such as āgraniteā. It is used to make planters & pots look like theyāre made of stone. This would give a stony look even in spots where the ballast has been washed away.
To apply first clean the surface and then apply a good primer such as Bondo or Krylon. Choose a color (red/brown, black or grey) that best complements the stone color you choose. The stone spray can take a few hours to cure so wait for a day without rain to apply. It holds up very well but can sometimes flake a bit on certain spots due to dirt or moisture when applied. Usually the primer hides the flaws pretty well but additional coats of stone paint can be applied if needed.
Just a suggestion since any ballast you put down, whether glued or not, will be a very thin layer and prone to movement and dispersal.
At last Iāve finished my deck girder bridge, with ballast, and hope Iāve learned how to post a photo on this forum. Hmmm, the Large Scale Central software does not seem to recognize that the following URL is a picture.
I ended up using a mixture of basalt crusher fines and sieved pebbles from the gravel I used elsewhere on the layout. I added a diluted mixture of Titebond II glue to bond the ballast together. I also sprayed the surface beneath the ballast as Richard Smith suggested. I took his suggestion, after following his excellent April 2001 Garden RR magazine article, and added more rivets to the bridge. I think I ended up with over 700. You are welcome to count them!
http://www.geol.ucsb.edu/faculty/sylvester/LP&Pweb/LP&Ptrestle/LP&Ptrestle-Pages/LP&P_bridge01.html
Very nice job Art. You did the design proud. I hope weāll see a lot more of your work in the future.
(http://www.geol.ucsb.edu/faculty/sylvester/LP&Pweb/LP&Ptrestle/LP&Ptrestle-Images/deck_girder02.jpg)
Nice looking Bridge Al. Iāll need to see the other side for an accurate count but by doubling this side I came up with 689 
Art,
when selecting your ballast you need to ensure two things -
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The ballast is non-magnetic
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The ballast does not provide an electrical leakage path back to earth
I use a raised deck rail substrate and after ābattlingā with ballast for some time, now prefer the simplicity of the unballasted look.
Richard Smith said:
Very nice job Art. You did the design proud. I hope weāll see a lot more of your work in the future. [url](http://www.geol.ucsb.edu/faculty/sylvester/LP&Pweb/LP&Ptrestle/LP&Ptrestle-Images/deck_girder02.jpg)
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Very nice work Alā¦ I think it looks better than the prototype Tee hee heeā¦
Ralph, 8 tons is a lot of ballast! I shape and water down my roadbed, then add a coat of Titebond II glue over it to seal up the fines. I have found that in a heavy rain, the fines are washed away leaving the roadbed unstable. Eventually the roadbed will wash compeletly away because of the lack of fines.
Ron, I donāt use āfinesā at all. I buy the āwashedā gravel. It doesnāt look as realistic, but stays in place. Ralph
(http://www.lscdata.com/users/cabby/_forumfiles/Bobber006Medium.jpg)
Gentlemen, thank you for your comments about ballasting. For the first, the basaltic rock I used is slightly magnetic in fact, so Iāll be curious to see what effect it may have when I run the layout in a track-powered mode. That will be a while, because I have much more layout to build before I can put power into the tracks. For the second, I carefully sieved the crusher fines to get rid of the dust and sand-sized grains and thus achieved an even grain-size aggregate of about 2 mm. If and when we ever get any rain here in sunny southern California, I donāt think anything will wash away, but a real downpour might scatter the gravel if it didnāt bond well with the Titebond II. Maybe Iāll add another coat of glue in a few days.
I would like to thank the individual on this forumā¦or maybe anotherā¦that mentioned āroofing rockā from your local roofing company. #5 roofing rock to be exact. Called my local roofing company and asked and sure enough, they have it in stock. 80 pound bag for just under 6 bucks. Come to find out it was actually granite grit. Been looking for that stuff out here for months. Never could find it and then to find it under my nose just by a different name. Donāt remember who it was but hats off to ya!
Take Care,
Allen B.
Itās amazing how the same stuff can be called ten different names depending on where you are in the country 
David Russell said:
Richard Smith said:
Very nice job Art. You did the design proud. I hope weāll see a lot more of your work in the future. [url](http://www.geol.ucsb.edu/faculty/sylvester/LP&Pweb/LP&Ptrestle/LP&Ptrestle-Images/deck_girder02.jpg)
[/url]
Very nice work Alā¦ I think it looks better than the prototype Tee hee heeā¦
Yep!