... come up with a figure for typical ballast width, e.g. on a single track line what would the distance from outer edge of rail to outer limit of ballast be. Sure I had this info somewhere but can't locate it. Currently I'm trying 3'6", which seems a bit narrow; I've an idea I've used something more like 5' in the past. The layout in question is GWR 1930s. Any ideas? Cheers Nigel posted: 23 Aug 2010 14:19 from: Russ E These are typical: 590_230916_500000000.gif 590_230917_250000000.gif Last edited on 23 Aug 2010 14:22 by Russ E posted: 23 Aug 2010 15:13 from: Martin Wynne Thanks Russ. Some more drawings. These show the camber on the base formation, which is essential for drainage: cess1.jpg This shows modern deep ballasting for long-welded rail. The heaped ballast shoulders are needed to prevent the track buckling sideways under heat expansion: cess2.jpg regards, Martin. posted: 23 Aug 2010 17:47 from: Nigel Brown Thanks for the replies. So allowing roughly ...