Has anyone used the Arizona Rock and Mineral products and any feedback? I know their products are real rock which is different than Woodland Scenics producst.
Thanks for any feedback.
Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum
Best Regards, Big John
Kiva Valley Railway- Freelanced road in central Arizona. Visit the link to see my MR forum thread on The Building of the Whitton Branch on the Kiva Valley Railway
Joe,
Allow me to add my "rave" about Arizona. The product is that good.
From your handle, I'm guessing you model BNSF. I do Santa Fe, and the owner of Arizona Rock literally crushes the same rock that the SF used out west, from the original source. That way, it can't help but look correct, and SF modellers all know that the correct pink stone is the only way to go.
The owner doesn't want to do wholesale business with shops anymore, but will do retail sales. He also offers a discount on quantity, and ships very quickly. He has retired a couple of times already, and may do so again, so if you are interested you may need to move quickly.
One caveat, plan ahead. He sometimes is out of stock on some items. Since I'm modelling the Albuquerque District, I had him supply me with ground rock in various sizes which came from the exact location I am doing for my ground cover and mountainsides. It doesn't get any more real than that.
Good luck,
Jeff
simonjeff1 wrote: Joe,Allow me to add my "rave" about Arizona. The product is that good.From your handle, I'm guessing you model BNSF. I do Santa Fe, and the owner of Arizona Rock literally crushes the same rock that the SF used out west, from the original source. That way, it can't help but look correct, and SF modellers all know that the correct pink stone is the only way to go.The owner doesn't want to do wholesale business with shops anymore, but will do retail sales. He also offers a discount on quantity, and ships very quickly. He has retired a couple of times already, and may do so again, so if you are interested you may need to move quickly.One caveat, plan ahead. He sometimes is out of stock on some items. Since I'm modelling the Albuquerque District, I had him supply me with ground rock in various sizes which came from the exact location I am doing for my ground cover and mountainsides. It doesn't get any more real than that.Good luck,Jeff
Add me to the list of raving fans. Top notch products and service. I am using his ballast on my entire layout. Nothing looks like real stone other than real stone. Note that he also has mix for things beyond ballast. You can get paving, concrete, cinders and rock coloring from him.
Engineer Jeff NS Nut Visit my layout at: http://www.thebinks.com/trains/
I used some of their Chicago & North Western "pink lady" ballast and was pleased with the fineness of the ballast and the color, which I assume to be crushed from actual examples of the rock. Unfortunately the current pink lady is pinker than it was in my era as they dig deeper into the seam of rock. But qualitywise it is very good stuff. For some reason few hobby shops seem to carry it, at least where I live.
Dave Nelson
We are still in business at armballast.com
rrscenery.com will get you there too.
I used to use Woodland Scenics ballast on my old layout but switched to Scenic Express ballast for my new layout, primarily because I preferred real rock as opposed to crushed walnut shells.
That said, Arizona Rock and Mineral has an advantage over Scenic Express with the variety of colors. In HO scale, Scenic Express only offers Gray and Light Gray. That suited my needs, but others will likely want a color of ballast that more closely replicates the prototype that they are modeling.
Rich
Alton Junction
richhotrainI used to use Woodland Scenics ballast on my old layout but switched to Scenic Express ballast for my new layout, primarily because I preferred real rock as opposed to crushed walnut shells.
I used Woodland Scenics ballast on my first couple of layouts, but once I tried real rock, I switched to Arizona Rock and Mineral.
They got all the money from me they are going to get!
I have a lifetime supply on hand.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
SeeYou190 richhotrain I used to use Woodland Scenics ballast on my old layout but switched to Scenic Express ballast for my new layout, primarily because I preferred real rock as opposed to crushed walnut shells. I used Woodland Scenics ballast on my first couple of layouts, but once I tried real rock, I switched to Arizona Rock and Mineral. They got all the money from me they are going to get! I have a lifetime supply on hand. -Kevin
richhotrain I used to use Woodland Scenics ballast on my old layout but switched to Scenic Express ballast for my new layout, primarily because I preferred real rock as opposed to crushed walnut shells.
I just went back and looked at my notes. It took me 13 quarts (3.25 gallons) of Scenic Express real rock ballast to cover a 165 foot double mainline.
I will only have about 18 feet of visible double track mainline around Centerville, then 20 feet of single track going to Port Annabelle. 30 feet of yard trackage will be in Centerville, the "yard" tracks in Port Annabelle are on a carfloat. I think I have plenty of ballast.
There are a dozen bags of CSX gray. When I ballast I always mix two bags of CSX gray with a different color for texture. The yard will be dark. The single track mainline will be a different color.
My layout will be pretty small compared to most people on here.
SeeYou190 I will only have about 18 feet of visible double track mainline around Centerville, then 20 feet of single track going to Port Annabelle. 20 feet of yard in Centerville, yard tracks in Port Annabelle are on a carfloat. I think I have plenty. There are a dozen bags of CSX gray. When I ballast I always mix two bags of CSX gray with a different color for texture. The yard will be dark. The dingle track mainline will be a different color. My layout will be pretty small compared to most people on here. -Kevin
I will only have about 18 feet of visible double track mainline around Centerville, then 20 feet of single track going to Port Annabelle. 20 feet of yard in Centerville, yard tracks in Port Annabelle are on a carfloat. I think I have plenty.
There are a dozen bags of CSX gray. When I ballast I always mix two bags of CSX gray with a different color for texture. The yard will be dark. The dingle track mainline will be a different color.
A friend gave me two of these containers, filled with screenings from an order of crushed stone for his driveway...
...they did a fair amount of track....
...but when it ran-out, I went to a nearby quarry, hoping to get a couple of buckets of screenings. Unfortunately, they no longer sold direct to the public, but mentioned a nearby lumberyard which sold bagged screenings (normally used for interlocking brick walkways/driveway, etc.For $12.00, I got three 50lb. bags (I needed some to set some brick) and screened the rest to get ballast...
Wayne
Good looking ballast, Wayne. Those containers look very much like the larger Scenic Express containers. Scenic Express also sells 25 pound sacks of ballast. Looking back, it would have been a whole lot cheaper to buy the ballast in bulk.