Amtrak Ballast Dumper Train

Track ballast is the rock under the train tracks. This ballast is there to prevent the track from moving when a very heavy train runs over it. It also protects the track from anything that can prevent the safe operation of the trains. Most of the time, track ballast is made out of crushed rock. But, this sometimes needs to be replaced. This is where the ballast train comes in. Special train cars called ballast dumper cars have open able holes in the bottom of the car.

This train contains 1683 parts, two locomotives, and three ballast dumper cars. The locomotives are both P32-8BWH locomotives. They are numbered 518 and 519, painted into Amtrak’s phase 5 paint scheme, and both have a cab big enough for a minifigure to sit in and drive the train.  The three cars on the train are ballast dumper cars. They all have a walking platform on the end of each car, track ballast coming out the top of the car, and dumping holes on the bottom of the cars. 

One great thing about this set is that you can mix around the rolling stock. You can put both locomotives on one end of the train, you could have them both face the same direction, you can put them back to back. There is more than one way to set the train up. It can also be used for display, play, or on your lego city.