Static grass between the ties in a railroad yard?

[Benjamin Maggi]

I have prototype pictures of a Guilford Railroad yard in 1984 where some tracks were rusty but still in service with weeds between the ties, other tracks had the rails removed and just the ties remained, and some tracks were only beds of ballast and the ties/rails were gone. I plan to model this in my staging yard, and it will serve as both an operational yard (active tracks) and scenic area (tracks being removed) at the same time.

I have never used static grass before but intend to buy a machine and practice first. But, I don't know the process for applying static grass to railroad tracks so that it occurs mostly between the ties, not on them. Do I ballast first, then after the glue dries do another pass with static grass? Do I apply the ballast and static grass at the same time? How do I keep the static grass mostly from the tie tops? 

I have some static grass clumps I can use, but was hoping to use a machine to model this. I don't recall seeing a recent MR article about this, so hopefully someone can help with the order of operations and pictures. 

Thanks!

[SeeYou190]

Benjamin Maggi

intend to buy a machine and practice first

Practice is your friend. I would suggest building a 1 foot square scene of what you want to do and try everything there first.

I use the grass tufts from various sources.

-Kevin

[gmpullman]

Hello,

A while back I finally finished some of the ballasting and "weeding" of a small yard on my layout.

I really wasn't concerned with weeds between the rails as I was going for a yard that saw daily use but I did place some weeds between the tracks. Grain cars would often leak and things would get green pretty quickly.

IMG_7805 by Edmund, on Flickr

Woodland Scenics and others make some strands that I like to use for tall weeds. These I push into a pre-drilled hole with a dab of white glue then trim later.

IMG_7802 by Edmund, on Flickr

I have a fairly large sewing needle that I ground off part of the eye to form a two-pronged fork. I grip the sharp end of the needle in a pin vice. Place the strands folded over the fork and push into the hole.

I made my own grass zapper and I'm pleased with the results but in my experience it is best used for broad applications of static grass. The awkward practice of trying to place weeds between ties would be cumbersome to deal with the ground pin as you would most likely have to move it from "clump-to-clump".

There are smaller, detail type static applicators now. I plan to look into making or buying one of these for my future "weeding" applications.

 

IMG_7815_fix by Edmund, on Flickr

If I were to model a lesser-used siding or yard I would lay the track and paint the ties a weathered gray, maybe highlighting several ties darker to simulate more recent replacements. Then trim the pre-made clumps of weeds pushed down between the ties. The sticky glue on the clumps should be enough to hold them in place.

Then I would carefully sift a dirt/cinders mix and continue to ballast using the usual wet-water matte medium or white glue (I use Mod-Podge) ballasting technique. I would then overspray additional wet water to help rinse off any stray dirt or cinders stuck to the foliage.

I have not done it yet but I have seen tutorials on making your own tufts using a metal pan, foil and dabs of glue, then sprinkling the static grass over the glue blobs using your zapper.

This is static grass with a few tufts in place:

IMG_7814_fix by Edmund, on Flickr

Once dry I then sprinkle a little additional "dirt" in place to make the grass look like it is coming up through the soil rather than laying on top.

SeeYou190

I would suggest building a 1 foot square scene of what you want to do and try everything there first.

Excellent suggestion.

Grab a few scraps of plywood or foam board and use these to practice your technique. 

Hope that helps, Ed.

[BATMAN]

Nature will grow things anywhere. In, on and around.

 

 

 

I find random good when trying to copy nature, just throw it down and zap it.

 

 

[Renegade1c]

gmpullman

 

I have a fairly large sewing needle that I ground off part of the eye to form a two-pronged fork. I grip the sharp end of the needle in a pin vice. Place the strands folded over the fork and push into the hole.

 

 

That's Brillant! I was wondering about a better way to plant weeds! Totally going to use this Idea!

[riogrande5761]

Looking at photo's of the Grand Junction yard in my time period, I'm not seeing much in the way of weeds there.  Looks like I'm largely exempt!  

http://www.drgw.net/gallery/v/PhotographersGallery/PGClassic/CConway/Glenwood-Springs-to-Grand-Jct/Grand_Jct_Yard_8.jpg.html

[trevorsmith3489]

The static grass will only "stick" to where the glue is;

so

use a fine brush to place the glue between the ties and then zap the area with the static grass. When the glue is dry, vacuum up the loose fibres for use another time. The fibres will only stick to wet glue.

Use the best quality applicator you can afford, the best quality fibres and the best quality glue!

[Benjamin Maggi]

trevorsmith3489

The static grass will only "stick" to where the glue is;

so

use a fine brush to place the glue between the ties and then zap the area with the static grass. When the glue is dry, vacuum up the loose fibres for use another time. The fibres will only stick to wet glue.

Use the best quality applicator you can afford, the best quality fibres and the best quality glue! 

 

Where do you stick the metal pin? Do you stick it in each drop you put between the ties? How does that work? Thanks.

[RR_Mel]

I wet the area with Alcohol first, the glue with flow into the Alcohol so you can stick the ground pin anywhere in a wet area.  The grass will only stick to the glued areas.


Mel



 
My Model Railroad  
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
 
Bakersfield, California
 
I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
 

[trevorsmith3489]

I usually work in a small area at a time. I use a redundant perfume atomiser to spray the area to be worked on with a few drops of liquid soap added to water. This wicks into the existing ground cover and provides the path for the static electricity. I then paint the glue to the specific places I want the static grass to be added and apply the static grass fibres as soon as possible. The glue I use is fairly thick and does not wick into the sprayed water.

 

[PC101]

RR_Mel

I wet the area with Alcohol first, the glue with flow into the Alcohol so you can stick the ground pin anywhere in a wet area.  The grass will only stick to the glued areas.


Mel



 
My Model Railroad  
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
 
Bakersfield, California
 
I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
 

 

I use Alcohol and it is hard to find around here at this time, the shelf in stores are bear.

[RR_Mel]

PC101

 

 

I use Alcohol and it is hard to find around here at this time, the shelf in stores are bear.

 

We keep two quarts of 70% AND 91%, one for train stuff and one for medical stuff.  The train stuff goes a long way and the med stuff goes even further.  My wife only has to re-up about once a year.


Mel


 
My Model Railroad  
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
 
Bakersfield, California
 
I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
 

[kasskaboose]

To model and unkempt track area, I use ground foam put after the ballast dries and some field grass.  The grass isn't too tall to allow a car to go over it flawlessly. I also add more rust colors. It looks kinda cool.  

[BATMAN]

riogrande5761

Looking at photo's of the Grand Junction yard in my time period, I'm not seeing much in the way of weeds there.  Looks like I'm largely exempt!  

http://www.drgw.net/gallery/v/PhotographersGallery/PGClassic/CConway/Glenwood-Springs-to-Grand-Jct/Grand_Jct_Yard_8.jpg.html

 

If ever there was a photo of an environmental mess that photo is a good one. Nothing would grow there and I bet you could not even find an Earthworm below decks. Fortunately, I have seen the results of when similar nightmares have been clean up here on the West Coast. Nature did return.

[snjroy]

I did a small diorama at some point, and I mixed ground foam with the ballast (before I applied the ballast) to have the small weed effect. 

Simon

[trainnut1250]

You have a couple of options:

You can put small areas of glue between the rails and use the static grass gun or you can use premade grass tufts. I have found that making small areas of static grass can work but it doesn't always look as good as the tufts.

Dont apply static grass at the same time you have wet ballast glue. Do things one step at a time and let each layer dry thoroughly or you will have a big mess on your hands.

Here is some staic grass tufts and patches mixed to gether:

 

Have fun,

 

Guy

[MisterBeasley]

I like to use some tall field grass between ties, not a lot, but definitely enough to put some drag on rolling stock passing over.  Normally I like free running, but when dealing with sidings and yards, there are different rules.  When there is anything but perfectly flat terrain, free running rolling stock tends to, well, run free, and if you have strong uncouplers magnets, they may make it hard to spot cars because the metal wheels or axles are drawn to the magnets.  That tall field grass will hold rolling stock in place without impeding motion.

I wouldn't think you'd need static grass between the ties.  Plain old turf should suffice.  Static grass is great, I use it a lot, but between the rails it's going to get lost.