Yard scenery question

[jlcjrbal]

THanks everyone... I have been wanting to explore so of the yards in the Baltimore area I am just not sure how to go about it..  I like the idea of keeping the cinders almost flat with the ties  make s sence... I did not put alot of track in the yard  right now there 8- 3 ft sections for the yard and plenty of space between a pair for a structure   and the such..One day I will post photos so everyone can see what the hell I am talking about.. J

[Autobus Prime]

Since you live in Baltimore, your best bet would be to go check out one of the local yards. That should give you a pretty good idea. When I lived in Phoenix, Santa Fe and Southern Pacific both had yards there, and they were highly visible from the roadside, with places to park and check things out. DO NOT JUST WANDER AROUND OUT THERE, THOUGH!!

M:

That's probably the best idea. Yards vary a lot. Some are really nice, and others make you wonder how a train even gets through all the weeds, and there's all sorts of in-betweens.

Here are some photos from Morscher's railroad image site, which show the Erie's Meadville yard during early Conrail:

http://www.morscher.com/rr/1977/19770723_01.jpg
http://www.morscher.com/rr/1977/19770723_02.jpg
http://www.morscher.com/rr/1977/19770723_03.jpg

That dirty brownish hue, spotted with sand piles, is something I always associate with yards, but I don't see it modeled very often.

These are from the nearby ex-Erie, long ex-AGW shop area.
Notice the differences, particularly all the black. The steam
era died hard.:

http://www.morscher.com/rr/1977/19770723_04.jpg
http://www.morscher.com/rr/1977/19770723_05.jpg

These shops could be a neat model subject, BTW. The east end is every bit as
abrupt as it looks in the first photo (was; it's mostly a
field with memories now). The roundhouse was old and clapboard-sided;
the complex had that big-shop look without being enormously huge, and
it was right between the city and French Creek.

[ndbprr]

the thing I notice with yards like the NYC engine picture is the ballast (probably cinders) is flush with the top of the ties.  This has to be for safety of crews.  I also notice that is more like black dirt or sand than ballast.  I think this is an area where you can't go to small on size for the most realistic look.  I use N scale cinders in HO and will go finer this time.

[GMTRacing]

Most of the yards out this way are ballasted with cinders and pretty flat to make safe to walk in. The ballast is fairly deep for good drainage in heavy rain and has been patched in places with what we call trap rock, a dark gray rock. You will also find small piles of fine light beige sand where locomotives drop sand for traction. For the most part, the ballast is right up to the tops of the ties and there is a fair amount of dirt mixed in from lack of maintainence. Best advice was to research pictures of yards on the road you're modelling.  J.R.

[jwar]

This may not be the anser your looking for, but I know I will change my yard later on, perhaps a slip swich or somthing to make it more interesting. I pulled up my yard track and thickley painted it with Wal-Mart acrylic grey and sprinkeled balast to cover the area. I painted and balasted the yard in about ten minits, let dry and replaced the track. then sprinkled a slightly different color repesenting worn walkway paths between the tracks.  If I need to change anything including spacing of track, its a snap. I have had a few compliments from visitors and everone actually looking at it likes the idea. Hope this helps...John

[Medina1128]

Since you live in Baltimore, your best bet would be to go check out one of the local yards. That should give you a pretty good idea. When I lived in Phoenix, Santa Fe and Southern Pacific both had yards there, and they were highly visible from the roadside, with places to park and check things out. DO NOT JUST WANDER AROUND OUT THERE, THOUGH!!

[selector]

Or this, if you are in the transition era.

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/nyc/nyc-s5208ahv.jpg

 

[Don Z]

Take a look at the rails and scenery on the prototype...

Don Z.

[selector]

Most photos I have seen of the yards show little ballast, but lots of dirt.  Sometimes it washes away from the ties, often it covers the ties, but I most often see almost no "ballast".  So you could sift some plaster over the cork and then wet it, then paint it, or mix the plaster with tempera that is a mix of black and brown perhaps.   I sifted dry dirt from my garden through an old pair of nylons and mixed it with some plaster of paris, and then sprinkled it all over the yard.  I rolled it flat with a glass jar and then sprayed it with a light glue mixture.  I would call it stiff, not at all hard, and can easily be taken up to do fiddling, be re-crushed, and re-rolled into place.

Maybe try different ways to get your effect on a small piece of plywood or cardboard and see what works best for you.

[jlcjrbal]

Your right just had to think about it..  SO basically it is  gray for ballest and black for inbetween. There a couple of spots towards the out side of the yard where there is some room for a structure so I may trim out those areas.. J

[SpaceMouse]

Leave it and cover the whole thing with cinders

[canazar]

Most of the yards I have seen are more or less, flat.  As in there is no individual rise in road bed for each track.  Mostly its easy to do for the railroads,its cheap and it makes it much safer for the crews to work as they dont have to climb up an down or work on off camber hills.

[jlcjrbal]

When I did my yard I used sheets of cork roadbed  should I trim out all the excess so when I do the ground it will look lower or just leave it..