Ballasting - the Meifford Way

 The actual process of ballasting the Meifford Light Railway follows the usual practice of laying a ballast mix between the sleepers and (very carefully) around the points. Taking much care not to impede the movement of the switch blades or allow ballast to get between the check rails or the frog.

After brushing the mixture down and in and around the sides, it was misted with a water spray containing a few drops of washing up liquid (to break down the surface tension). Following that, a mixture of 50% PVA and 50% water was applied with a dropper bottle and the whole lot left to set.

I found it best to work on no more than about a metre of track at one time and to check for wayward ballast before it all set rock hard!

The Ballast Mix

Where things differ from the traditional granite, or similar, ballast mixes that get used are the materials that Meifford employ!

The MLR is a typical early last century (1930's), Welsh slate town. Money is tight and in fact the railway just manages to keep going. If it wasn't for the slate traffic, it would have to close.

I began thinking about what they would likely use rather than import expensive ballast. A bit of experimentation on a 1/2 metre section of track mounted on a piece of wood and I had the answer. It's not pretty, but for the MLR it made sense and with a good deal of the materials available locally, it was cheap!

Meifford managed to obtain some 'used' ballast from another line, which is then mixed with about 40% crushed slate. So far there have been no problems with derailments on the main lines, although some of the sidings don't get the regular maintenance they need and it shows!

Mind you, slate seems to get just about everywhere on the track, by choice or not ...