Ballast colors?

[Anonymous]

I'm confused, should turnouts (sidings) generally be a different color from the mainline?

I'm thinking of using a light grey/tan blend for my mainline; is there any reason to make the sidings a different color? I personally think it doesn't look right.

Also, any tips in gluing it all down are most appreciated.

Thanks
-Dale

[Anonymous]

I'm confused, should turnouts (sidings) generally be a different color from the mainline?

I'm thinking of using a light grey/tan blend for my mainline; is there any reason to make the sidings a different color? I personally think it doesn't look right.

Also, any tips in gluing it all down are most appreciated.

Thanks
-Dale

[Anonymous]

Hi Dale,

Turnouts are called switches in the real world. Sidings are the track that runs off the main for whatever purpose - not the actual mechanism itself. Some sidings are lower than the main, some are not. Rarely higher. If you are using cork for a subroadbed, you might use HO scale for the main, and N scale for the siding.

But to answer your question - Yards would likely have a different colour ballast, either by design, or because of "weathering" by having a proportionally higher number of engines and cars always around. Some sidings might have different material, if there is a local supply, like slag or other tailings from a mine or ore processing plant.

Most aggregate is sourced locally, so your ballast should reflect that. There were some lines along the east coast of the southern US that used oyster shells....

As for gluing it down, there are many, many methods. A good one is to sprinkle the ballast between/beside the rails using a dixie cup, and then position it with a soft paint brush. Soak the ballast with "wet" water - water and alcohol - using a syringe, eye dropper, or squeeze bottle. This wet water can be coloured with India ink or other material to give a bit of variation. Then drop on a mixture of white glue and water (50-50). The glue follows the "wet" water into all the crevices and spaces between the ballast so that when it is dry, all the bits are stuck down. Try to limit your ballasting to only about 2-3 feet at a time.

You might try other forums for pictures of ballasting in progress - here's a link to start you off:

http://www.the-gauge.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6822

Good luck.

Andrew

[Anonymous]

Hi Dale,

Turnouts are called switches in the real world. Sidings are the track that runs off the main for whatever purpose - not the actual mechanism itself. Some sidings are lower than the main, some are not. Rarely higher. If you are using cork for a subroadbed, you might use HO scale for the main, and N scale for the siding.

But to answer your question - Yards would likely have a different colour ballast, either by design, or because of "weathering" by having a proportionally higher number of engines and cars always around. Some sidings might have different material, if there is a local supply, like slag or other tailings from a mine or ore processing plant.

Most aggregate is sourced locally, so your ballast should reflect that. There were some lines along the east coast of the southern US that used oyster shells....

As for gluing it down, there are many, many methods. A good one is to sprinkle the ballast between/beside the rails using a dixie cup, and then position it with a soft paint brush. Soak the ballast with "wet" water - water and alcohol - using a syringe, eye dropper, or squeeze bottle. This wet water can be coloured with India ink or other material to give a bit of variation. Then drop on a mixture of white glue and water (50-50). The glue follows the "wet" water into all the crevices and spaces between the ballast so that when it is dry, all the bits are stuck down. Try to limit your ballasting to only about 2-3 feet at a time.

You might try other forums for pictures of ballasting in progress - here's a link to start you off:

http://www.the-gauge.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6822

Good luck.

Andrew

[wp8thsub]

"I'm thinking of using a light grey/tan blend for my mainline; is there any reason to make the sidings a different color? I personally think it doesn't look right."

Since it's your railroad, use the same colors if that's what you like.

If you look at most prototype railroads, you'll find that the colors are more often different than not. On my prototype, the Western Pacific of the late 70s-early 80s, mainlines in Nevada and Utah tended to be black smelter slag. Sidings often were cinders, also black but of a much finer texture and with a lot more small rocks of other colors mixed in. Other sidings used lighter brown/gray ballast which was the same color as the main during earlier reballasting programs, but usually with some cinders and dirt evident. Industrial spurs tended to be mixtures of cinders and plain dirt. Depending on how heavily secondary tracks are used, they may have plenty of weeds too.

Mainline track also tends to have a taller ballast profile, which I represent by using 1/4" thick roadbed for the main and 1/8" for passing sidings, yards and most spurs. I ramp down to the lower roadbed with cedar door shims installed under the roadbed material. Secondary tracks also typically have smaller rail and more widely spaced ties.

[wp8thsub]

"I'm thinking of using a light grey/tan blend for my mainline; is there any reason to make the sidings a different color? I personally think it doesn't look right."

Since it's your railroad, use the same colors if that's what you like.

If you look at most prototype railroads, you'll find that the colors are more often different than not. On my prototype, the Western Pacific of the late 70s-early 80s, mainlines in Nevada and Utah tended to be black smelter slag. Sidings often were cinders, also black but of a much finer texture and with a lot more small rocks of other colors mixed in. Other sidings used lighter brown/gray ballast which was the same color as the main during earlier reballasting programs, but usually with some cinders and dirt evident. Industrial spurs tended to be mixtures of cinders and plain dirt. Depending on how heavily secondary tracks are used, they may have plenty of weeds too.

Mainline track also tends to have a taller ballast profile, which I represent by using 1/4" thick roadbed for the main and 1/8" for passing sidings, yards and most spurs. I ramp down to the lower roadbed with cedar door shims installed under the roadbed material. Secondary tracks also typically have smaller rail and more widely spaced ties.

[Anonymous]

There are other threads where this has been cussed, er, discussed before. It boils down to you find them anyway you can imagine, even with pink rock. FRED

[Anonymous]

There are other threads where this has been cussed, er, discussed before. It boils down to you find them anyway you can imagine, even with pink rock. FRED

[Anonymous]

If you are going to have visitors operate your layout at some time, it is easier for them to determine which is the main and which the siding or passing track if the main is one color and the siding another. The main quite often _is_ a different color because it is better and more frequently maintained. (For this reason, the main is usually higher than the siding too.) So the ballast on the main is likely to be newer and possibly from a different quarry than that which produced the ballast on the siding. In any case, the siding ballast is likely to be dirtier than that on the main which will affect the color.

[Anonymous]

If you are going to have visitors operate your layout at some time, it is easier for them to determine which is the main and which the siding or passing track if the main is one color and the siding another. The main quite often _is_ a different color because it is better and more frequently maintained. (For this reason, the main is usually higher than the siding too.) So the ballast on the main is likely to be newer and possibly from a different quarry than that which produced the ballast on the siding. In any case, the siding ballast is likely to be dirtier than that on the main which will affect the color.

[dknelson]

Sometimes one sees a different color ballast at a turnout if it has been recently worked on and re-ballasted. For example when the Soo Line took over for the Milwaukee Road, the Milwaukee Rd used white gravel for ballast while the Soo used dark rock. You could readily tell where they had done track work. Eventually they reballasted the line through Milwaukee. But this is an effect and you do not want to overdo it. Maybe have different color ballast at one turnout with a work crew standing by with tools and trucks to make clear what has just happened.
Dave Nelson

[dknelson]

Sometimes one sees a different color ballast at a turnout if it has been recently worked on and re-ballasted. For example when the Soo Line took over for the Milwaukee Road, the Milwaukee Rd used white gravel for ballast while the Soo used dark rock. You could readily tell where they had done track work. Eventually they reballasted the line through Milwaukee. But this is an effect and you do not want to overdo it. Maybe have different color ballast at one turnout with a work crew standing by with tools and trucks to make clear what has just happened.
Dave Nelson

[Anonymous]

Dale,

I think the preceding emails covered the topic very well. One alternative to Andrew's method of gluing down ballast is to use a 50-50 glue/water solution that has some liquid detergent mixedinto it. I "flood" the ballast to make sure that the glue seeps everywhere. Thus, I avoid the wetting step. Either way works. And both will almost guarantee that you will never have a gauging problem afterwards.

By the way, if you have glued down your tracks or ties, use yellow glue that is water resistent. I used to use white glue to lay my ties (I hand lay track and switches) and never had a problem, but yellow glue is just added insurance.

Also, for transitioning between mainline ballast and siding ballast, I make up three blends of 3:1, 2:2 and 1:3 (mainline:siding) in small paper drinking cups. Then I pour a little mound of each starting after the switch frog moving to the siding. By smoothing the ballast out with a soft brush, you get a good blended transition which I prefer.

Good luck!

Regards,
Lou Adler

[Anonymous]

Dale,

I think the preceding emails covered the topic very well. One alternative to Andrew's method of gluing down ballast is to use a 50-50 glue/water solution that has some liquid detergent mixedinto it. I "flood" the ballast to make sure that the glue seeps everywhere. Thus, I avoid the wetting step. Either way works. And both will almost guarantee that you will never have a gauging problem afterwards.

By the way, if you have glued down your tracks or ties, use yellow glue that is water resistent. I used to use white glue to lay my ties (I hand lay track and switches) and never had a problem, but yellow glue is just added insurance.

Also, for transitioning between mainline ballast and siding ballast, I make up three blends of 3:1, 2:2 and 1:3 (mainline:siding) in small paper drinking cups. Then I pour a little mound of each starting after the switch frog moving to the siding. By smoothing the ballast out with a soft brush, you get a good blended transition which I prefer.

Good luck!

Regards,
Lou Adler

[BR60103]

At West Toronto Junction, the CPR and CNR cross several times. One railroad has a white (limestone?) ballast and the other has a black, cinder colour ballast. You can see some fairly sharp lines at the crossings.

[BR60103]

At West Toronto Junction, the CPR and CNR cross several times. One railroad has a white (limestone?) ballast and the other has a black, cinder colour ballast. You can see some fairly sharp lines at the crossings.

[lyctus]

A new commuter line was laid down the middle of the freeway I use to go to work and a blue/gray granite ballast was laid. I watched as this ballast began to weather from its pristine colour to an amazing oxide powdered effect in fairly rapid time. I do not know why this "oxide" colour appeared..maybe I surmised rust off the disc brake pads of the trains or maybe rust off the running gear...the cars allocated to the line are brand new electric cars with stainless steel bodies. The weathering was not consistent i.e. not just on downgrades where brake applications might be the cause and amazingly the up line(into the city ) weathered at a different rate to the down line (out of the city). I found this really interesting. (Do I need to consider another interest in life ??)
I know that this is a bit off topic, but I thought I'd like to share it with you guys. Who else could I tell with-out fear of possible certification?
A lot of secondary sidings or loops in my state are almost bereft of ballast, seem to just have settled into the gravel of their surrounds.

[lyctus]

A new commuter line was laid down the middle of the freeway I use to go to work and a blue/gray granite ballast was laid. I watched as this ballast began to weather from its pristine colour to an amazing oxide powdered effect in fairly rapid time. I do not know why this "oxide" colour appeared..maybe I surmised rust off the disc brake pads of the trains or maybe rust off the running gear...the cars allocated to the line are brand new electric cars with stainless steel bodies. The weathering was not consistent i.e. not just on downgrades where brake applications might be the cause and amazingly the up line(into the city ) weathered at a different rate to the down line (out of the city). I found this really interesting. (Do I need to consider another interest in life ??)
I know that this is a bit off topic, but I thought I'd like to share it with you guys. Who else could I tell with-out fear of possible certification?
A lot of secondary sidings or loops in my state are almost bereft of ballast, seem to just have settled into the gravel of their surrounds.

[Anonymous]

Here in the UK, ballast can be of different colours depending on where it came from and what material it is.
Main line ballast is usually limestone (cream-off white when new), or granite, which can be pink, white, grey or green. After a time, a rust line is deposited alongside each rail which comes from brake shoes and steel worn from rails and wheels due to normal wear and tear.
As regards terminology for points, switches etc. there are different names used in modelling and full size practice for the same thing.
Modellers use the word points - in full size, the only time this word is usually used is in a signal box (switch tower) to identify what the levers control. The term used in full size is usually turnout or lead.
Switches are the parts of the turnout which move to change the route, the toe being the pointed end which moves, the heel being the end fastened to the closure rail.
Now we come to the big one - "frogs". These only exist in the minds of modellers, ponds and wet grass. The term used to describe this part of a turnout is the "crossing",
the pointed part of which is referred to as the crossing "nose".
Finally, guard rails are called check - rails.
I live in both worlds, being a modeller - previously of British, but now American railways - and also working on a preserved railway for over 30 years. I like to use the terms used in full size practice and since we try to represent in minature the real world as accurately as possible, why do we not use the same terms as well?
Now for the really hot one. Is there such a thing as scale time? Think about it, it takes the same time to travel one mile at 60 miles per hour as it does to travel one scale mile at a scale speed of 60 miles an hour.

[Anonymous]

Here in the UK, ballast can be of different colours depending on where it came from and what material it is.
Main line ballast is usually limestone (cream-off white when new), or granite, which can be pink, white, grey or green. After a time, a rust line is deposited alongside each rail which comes from brake shoes and steel worn from rails and wheels due to normal wear and tear.
As regards terminology for points, switches etc. there are different names used in modelling and full size practice for the same thing.
Modellers use the word points - in full size, the only time this word is usually used is in a signal box (switch tower) to identify what the levers control. The term used in full size is usually turnout or lead.
Switches are the parts of the turnout which move to change the route, the toe being the pointed end which moves, the heel being the end fastened to the closure rail.
Now we come to the big one - "frogs". These only exist in the minds of modellers, ponds and wet grass. The term used to describe this part of a turnout is the "crossing",
the pointed part of which is referred to as the crossing "nose".
Finally, guard rails are called check - rails.
I live in both worlds, being a modeller - previously of British, but now American railways - and also working on a preserved railway for over 30 years. I like to use the terms used in full size practice and since we try to represent in minature the real world as accurately as possible, why do we not use the same terms as well?
Now for the really hot one. Is there such a thing as scale time? Think about it, it takes the same time to travel one mile at 60 miles per hour as it does to travel one scale mile at a scale speed of 60 miles an hour.

[Anonymous]

Something I forgot to mention, sidings that have been down for a long time tend to be ballasted with ash, since there was a lot of it about in steam days, as do some secondary routes and branchlines.
Where locomotives have stood for a period of time, such as station stops, in yards and shed areas, there is, to varying degrees, a deposit of black gunge on the rails, fixings, sleepers (ties) and ballast.

[Anonymous]

Something I forgot to mention, sidings that have been down for a long time tend to be ballasted with ash, since there was a lot of it about in steam days, as do some secondary routes and branchlines.
Where locomotives have stood for a period of time, such as station stops, in yards and shed areas, there is, to varying degrees, a deposit of black gunge on the rails, fixings, sleepers (ties) and ballast.

[Anonymous]

White glue is a common stabilizer for model ballast but I find that the product called Mod Podge is better. It can be found in any art store and in Wal Mart. It comes in both gloss and matte -- use matte.

I brush it between the rails and alongside of the rails. Then sprinkle or bru***he ballast on. Let that dry for a few hours and you can reapply if you want a thicker ballast in some areas. In a few days the Mod Podge dries to a level which is essentially water proof.


You can delute it with water for areas when this is appropriate. In some areas (simulating earth) I put down a thin spray of Mod Podge and then sprinkle or brush on the very fine "dirt or earth". Next day I over spray and repeat to obtain the density of material which I want.

I find that this product is easier to work with than white glue. It will hold ballast "rock hard" when dry. There is no problem with loose ballast. The Mod Podge is invisible when dry.

Try it -- I think you will like it.

Jeff

[Anonymous]

White glue is a common stabilizer for model ballast but I find that the product called Mod Podge is better. It can be found in any art store and in Wal Mart. It comes in both gloss and matte -- use matte.

I brush it between the rails and alongside of the rails. Then sprinkle or bru***he ballast on. Let that dry for a few hours and you can reapply if you want a thicker ballast in some areas. In a few days the Mod Podge dries to a level which is essentially water proof.


You can delute it with water for areas when this is appropriate. In some areas (simulating earth) I put down a thin spray of Mod Podge and then sprinkle or brush on the very fine "dirt or earth". Next day I over spray and repeat to obtain the density of material which I want.

I find that this product is easier to work with than white glue. It will hold ballast "rock hard" when dry. There is no problem with loose ballast. The Mod Podge is invisible when dry.

Try it -- I think you will like it.

Jeff