Experimenting with realistic ballast and sleepers for Lego track

I was hoping to be able to combine traditional model railway techniques with my Lego layout. So, for a proof of concept, I just used some HO ballast and decorative pebbles and cut some sleepers from Mc Donalds Coffee stirrers. I like the look and there is enough clearance for the wheels. However, I think the ballast scale is off just a notch and I also wonder if the sleepers need to be wider. Obviously, I would stain them dark brown. Issues so far are the molded parts that make it...