02-15-2011, 05:44 PM
The tapping action works great. 
I use the same brush as for spreading the ballast: simply flip the brush around, grasping it lightly by the metal ferrule and laying the handle across the rails. Use the fingers of your free hand to lightly and rapidly tap the handle, while at the same time moving the brush along the track. The stray ballast will bounce off the ties and into place between them. If it doesn't work, you need to remove some ballast from between the ties, as the displaced (from the tie tops) material needs some place to go.
You can check out my entire ballasting procedure HERE. It's not the only way to do it, but it's simple, cheap, and enjoyable.
Wayne
I use the same brush as for spreading the ballast: simply flip the brush around, grasping it lightly by the metal ferrule and laying the handle across the rails. Use the fingers of your free hand to lightly and rapidly tap the handle, while at the same time moving the brush along the track. The stray ballast will bounce off the ties and into place between them. If it doesn't work, you need to remove some ballast from between the ties, as the displaced (from the tie tops) material needs some place to go. You can check out my entire ballasting procedure HERE. It's not the only way to do it, but it's simple, cheap, and enjoyable.
Wayne