How to Install Ballast on Unitrack

Cover the Unitrack roadbed with fine rock ballast, purchased from a model railroad supply shop in the same scale of your railroad. Keep the covering lightly layered so that it does not rise above the level of the railroad ties, the small wooden-looking boards running under the rails.

Use a 1/4-inch flat paintbrush to spread the ballast out evenly along the roadbed. While you don't want to cover the ties, it adds some realism to have a small amount of the ballast overlap random ties to simulate actual stones rolling over real railroad ties.

Mix white glue, isopropyl alcohol and water in a small bottle using 1 part glue, 1 part alcohol and 4 parts water to create a liquid glue for binding the ballast.

Squeeze the rubber bulb on the head of the medicine dropper, and then place the end of the medicine dropper into the glue mix. Release the head to suck some of the glue into the dropper.

Squeeze the head of the dropper gently with the nose of the dropper positioned over the spread ballast to drip drops of the glue onto the ballast. The glue will hold the ballast in place, binding it to the roadbed beneath. Be careful not to drop glue onto the rails or to flood the ballast, washing it away. Though white upon application, the glue dries clear. Remove any excess glue with a paper towel. Wait 24 hours for the glue to dry.

Scrape away any of the ballast that dried onto the rails using the dental tool. Test the rails to ensure they're clear of ballast by running a train car over the rails. Clear track will cause no wobble when the car rolls over, while ballast on the track will cause noticeable changes in car speed, a wobble or actual derailment. Clear any trouble areas found.