MOC: 12V Ballast

[Brickaroo]

I've recently decided to attempt building a track ballast for my 12V system. As I've never attempted it before I figure this is certainly the best place to go for ideas!

I've uploaded the below pictures of what my attempt looks like so far, I've done a fair bit of reading up on the topic (mostly Dave's work, it's great reading) however that all (and any other ballast ideas I find) seems to revolve around 9V. There are some small intricacies about the 12V system that make it a little bit more challenging.

I guess the first thing I tried to change was making it a double-layer of plates. I did it this way because it allowed me to have a little more latitude in the way that I placed track and what I could do below the track (mostly with the idea of laying cables underneath to keep the setup neat).

Who else has done a 12V track ballast? Or any sort of ballast? Any tips and ideas would be great.

I'm looking to make this a nice long-term project to work on when I have the time and money to complete it. I'll continue to post up progress when it happens. I'd love to be able to add people's ideas into it.

I couldn't find any threads about 12V ballasting here, they all seemed to revolve around the 9V system so I do apologise if I missed one.

[Mathijs-T]

Wow,

That looks awsome!!

Mathijs

[vgo]

Here's some pictures that I could found on my ballast:

The gray looks so boring...

Tried the same with white-yellow-tan-reddish brown...

BR 80 peeking from the tunnel.

[Brickaroo]

I love the idea of the tan/brown ballast although I feel that would suit a more western/desert setup than what I'm currently putting together (a city/country layout).

Something certainly to keep in mind for future projects.

The tunnel will have to be a part of this project though, I really want to make a beautiful one for this project. Thanks for the idea!

[Fuzzylegobricks]

Looks quite hard!

I say you are doing it fine right now and it would be great when your done to see the whole layout.

[Gareth]

Great looking ballast.

It does look quite hard and very time consuming and the amount of different coloured pieces soon builds up.

But It does come in useful having the track slightly raised by a few plates, in case you would want to add a turn table or something like that you would not need to build up a gradient for it.

Love to see the finished track, when you've got it done. I think you could change some of the dark grey or black plates for dark brown to break up the greyness (just a thought). Keep on it and brick on.

[Brickaroo]

Ahhh, I like the idea of brown bits and pieces in there. I might specifically stick them around the sides to make it look like that piece of dirt that usually sits between the tracks and grass.

I'll buy those pieces soon and see how it works. Thanks for the idea.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Very complex and nice ...but you need a lot of pieces to complete a large layout!

I like very much the way you have hide the electrical wire

I want to see your progress

[Brickaroo]

OK, so in my excitement in trying to put together a nice ballast I forgot that at some stage my rails will need power.....oops.

I pulled one side apart and added some power in:

I have a nice idea for hidden cabling around the layout to ensure steady power to all parts of the track. I'll try and get some of it done this weekend and post the pic.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

I'll try and get some of it done this weekend and post the pic.

This sounds great!

Thanks for sharing!

[Brickthus]

You could add some 2x3 plates under each rail, to support two 1x1 plates each side of each rail. Alternate black 1x1s with grey or colour to get a sleeper effect. It would be similar to some 9V schemes, just with the 2 middle studs missed out. Everything outside the rails is just like 9V too. Consider the profile of how high you want the ballast to be in the middle compare to how it slops away from the track at the sides. That way the track looks embedded in its environment rather than stuck on top.

Mark