I hope y'all don't think I'm strange. (I may be, but that's another issue). Has anyone ever successfully ballasted without glue? Is there any kind of ballast that could "possibly" be used that 1>won't blow away 2> isn't magnetic? The reason I ask is simple. Most of us get a layout to the point of running. And want to do so for a while to make sure the track and wiring is trouble free. Then, we consider ballast. And once that ballast is glued (Elmer's being the preferred glue), it is more or less permanent. To take it up requires water, patience, and could be messy. Also, the track may become unusable. Same for any roadbed. So, what I'm thinking as a contrarian view, and since there are many more materials available today than in 1950, has anyone ever actually done this? (One idea I saw mentioned somewhere: Go outside, rummage around to find some loose gravel that's small. Sift it through different size screens to get small, smaller, medium for not just ballast on main line, but other ground/such as in yards where it's all pretty much level.) I do realize the impracticality of trying to clean, but that's another story. Finally, I'm just the kind of guy that likes to think "outside the box".

Morgan Bilbo