Ant sort model railroad ballast.

[steamage]

Back in the old days the SP used volcanic cinders for ballast here in Northern California, but later started using granite that won't crush into powder under the ties like the cinders did. I noticed the Red Ant mounds along the right of way all have a graded size of cinders that they remove from their hole, about the size of O scale ballast. Their mounds look like little gravel piles of all same size cinder miniature ballast. I just had to get a coffee can full of this really great ant ballast, (with each pebble personally handled by an ant). Its a good thing they are the size they are, or we would be in real trouble! [:D]

[Anonymous]

You sure they aren't clinkers? Most cinders used for ballst were clinkers from when they burnt coal in the steam era. You sure they are from a volcanoe? FRED.

[steamage]

The red Cinder Ballast came from a place nearby called Kegg Pit, a volcanic cinder cone. Coal was tried in the 1890's but soon changed to oil here on the Shasta Division. Coal was used in caboose stoves.

[Anonymous]

Wow, I learned something today. Are they like the red volcanoe rocks they sell at the lumber yard? They are like dark red sponges and real light and brittle? FRED

[steamage]

In HO scale the ant cinders look like the size of volcanic garden rock sold at lumber yards. I filled a gondola load and called it such. O scale, even G scale the ant cinders look like ballast, so Ill give the rest to friends in these scales.