OK, here's photos of mine. I used WS fine talus and WS medium ballast. I put it down using a spoon and moved it into place with my fingers. I rolled a dummy truck over the rails to push any high ballast down below flange depth. I then soaked it with alcohol dripped on from an old glue bottle followed by a 50/50 mix of white glue and water dripped on from a glue bottle.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
here's the only good one i have
I used WS medium gray ballast, and as I purchased the track layout set from MicroMark, I used the ballast spreader that came with that. I ran that over the track a number of times, and filled in with a spoon (like Jeffrey) where needed. I finally used a large flat soft brush to move it around.
Unlike Jeffrey, I mix the alcohol into my mat medium mix directly, and eye droppered it right in to hold it in place. I generally use a 1 part glue, 1 part water, 1 part isopropal alcohol mix.
It holds well enough for me to run my shop vac directly against the rail head, and not remove any ballast in place.
Cheers
I'm trying to model 1956, not live in it.
I mixed WS Fine Gray and Gray blend,soaked with wet water and then dribbled diluted white glue.
Terry
Terry in NW Wisconsin
Queenbogey715 is my Youtube channel
Terry,
Your ballast looks very good. Mine looks more like the upper photos, where it looks good looking down, but not as good in low level photography. I have been told its a function of using too much ballast, and not spending that extra minute or so getting it all off the ties.
I have no pix of mine, but I blend two colors of WS ballast - Light Grey and Buff, with perhaps a sprinkling of dark grey. Its probably a 64-32-4 ratio, i.e. two bags grey, one buff, and quarter to half bag of a darker ballast. I might add small areas of darker ballast at heavier rates. Its surprising if you look at the prototype how often ballast varies.
For the majority, I like the sublte coloring effect two closely related colors give. Of course, if you blended too different a color scheme, it would come out salt and pepper like.
The prototype should prove inspirational:
Wayne
My yard has mainline style ballast...I wish I knew better before I built it...
I use woodland scenics fine ballast. first of all, i'll randomly paint the rails in dark gray and floquil's rail tie brown. Then spread the ballast between the ties and the sides of the rail. Use dry ballast. Use a 1" paint brush and lightly brush the ballast until you get all the ballast where you want it.
Next, i'll dripple 90% alcohol over the ballast with an old elmer's glue bottle and then go over the wet ballast with dilute Elmer's white glue mixed 40% glue / 60% water and a couple of drops of liquid dish soap in it. Use an old elmer's glue bottle for the dilute glue.
Once that is done, i'll mix up some tan paint and airbrush it along the sides of the ballast and then mix up some black paint and spray it with an airbrush between the rails. i've tried all kinds of methods to lay down ballast and this one works the best....
Finally, remove any loose ballast with a brightboy from the ties, rail heads, and rail sides and vacuum the area, then paint the rail with floquil's rail brown mixed with a hint of grimy black...chuck
The mainlines are done in gray and the yard is done using Arizona Rock's Yard mix
Both are fine grain
About the only trick I can add is I always start wetting the ballast in the center of the rails
and wait for it to wick out side the rails
I always apply the water glue to the wet part and let it continue to wick
if I apply the water/glue to a dry section sometimes it floats the ballast away
TerryinTexas
See my Web Site Here
http://conewriversubdivision.yolasite.com/
My mainline ballast is a mixture of WS medium gray/light gray and a smattering of cinders to get the look of Sierra granite gravel. My yard is a mixture of WS buff, gray and cinders. I use a spray of water with a few drops of liquid detergent, then fix it by dripping either WS Scenic Glue or very thinned Elmer's white glue between the ties and letting it 'drift' out toward the shoulders.
Here's the ballast around the engine servicing facility:
And the mainline in South Yuba canyon:
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
I use Arizona Rock Company real rock ballast for the majority of my layout.
in the mine area I use cinders
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
Mine is simply screened garden soil that is quite sandy to begin with, but much improved by adding organic matter so that it grows vegetables well. I used an old set of pantyhose to screen the soil. I then mixed some plaster of Paris into it to harden it when I sprayed it with water and alcohol.
I poured the mixture dry onto the yard surface after laying the tracks and turnouts, spread it as evenly as I could, and then used a small glass jar as a roller to flatten it. Then I sprayed it and let it harden.
Another view
Outside the yard, on the mains, I used local beach sand that I had tested for magnetic material, rinsed in fresh water, dried, and then spread using a brush. Glue was yellow glue heavily diluted and a couple of drops of liquid dish detergent. I used a squeeze bottle that the glue, itself, came in...the one where you twist the pointed tip to open the valve.
I use a brand that probably no one on this forum has ever heard of. Mountain Model Craft Ballast. The manager, or Co owner of my LHS makes it. He also makes other scenery materials.
My Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/JR7582 My Flickr Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wcfan/
selector wrote: I used an old set of pantyhose to screen the soil.
I used an old set of pantyhose to screen the soil.
Selector is a cross dresser!
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selector wrote:Maybe, Granite. Who wants to know?
Crandell:
Hey, that's okay, buddy. I use a set of make-up brushes to spread my ballast. Shoulda seen the look on the girl's face at the cosmetic's counter when I went in and bought them after spending a half-hour making sure I got the right ones, LOL!
twhite wrote: selector wrote:Maybe, Granite. Who wants to know? Crandell:Hey, that's okay, buddy. I use a set of make-up brushes to spread my ballast. Shoulda seen the look on the girl's face at the cosmetic's counter when I went in and bought them after spending a half-hour making sure I got the right ones, LOL!Tom
I thought that shopping for "unmentionables" was one reason for keeping a wife or girl friend. Let her do that kind of shopping!
Mark
Please show me pictures of your ballasted yard or track. I'm looking for inspiration. Tell me what you used and how you did it.
Here you're:
Woodland buff medium and fine. Glued with thinned white glue. At last airbrush with earth and a black glossy stripe.
Wolfgang
Pueblo & Salt Lake RR
Come to us http://www.westportterminal.de my videos my blog
de N2MPU Jack
Proud NRA Life Member and supporter of the 2nd. Amendment
God, guns, and rock and roll!
Modeling the NYC/NYNH&H in HO and CPRail/D&H in N
Lay the foam and fix it with scenery cement of some kind...I use the same mixture as I use for the ballast. Let it dry and test for fastness. If the foam stays in place well, pour the ballast carefully and fix it in place when it is properly groomed. Let it dry. Clean up the misplaced grains atop the ties and against the rail webs, and chip up the ones you don't want astray at the edge of the ballast if you have a noticeable goof there. A vacuum wand works well to suck it up.
Then, pour a bit more foam of different types, maybe some flocking, fix it into place, and there you should have your natural and aged look up against the ballast and even slightly into it. You can even weather the ballast, ties, and rails after all that is done if you use tempera powders mixed with plaster of Paris and an alcohol and water mixture to fix it. Floquil or Poly Scale paints work well on clean metal rails.
Simon1966,
How did you achieve your backdrop image?
Something like this would work great on my son's new layout.
Billy
billyank1864 wrote: Simon1966,How did you achieve your backdrop image?Something like this would work great on my son's new layout. Billy
Billy, the cornfields back drop image is a digital photo collage that I made myself. The view is actually from the back door of my Sister-in-law's house in Central Illinois. I took a series of panorama shots and then created an enlarged mural using some software I purchased off e-bay years ago. The program was called "Big Picture". I can not seem to find it on e-bay anymore, but this link seems to have the same application for free http://www.tml.tkk.fi/~tmakipat/thebigpicture/thebigpicture.html
I stuck the whole thing together into a long strip (about 12') and then trimmed off the sky. Using 3M spray adhesive it is then stuck right to my backdrop. You can see the whole thing in this shot, sort of!
Woodland Scenics medium brown on my timesaver.
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More WS medium ballast on my East Jallen (u-turn) area.
Arizona Rock & Mineral - GN mainline on the left, yard mix on the right (iirc - it was 7 years ago!) on the end of peninsual turnback tracks.
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AR&M SP ballast on my Jallen causeway module.
More of either the AR&M SP or yardmix (can't remember off the top of my head!) on my Redland diorama.
Smith and Sons Limestone ballast along upper Bear Creek on my current BC&SJ layout. I switched from AR&M for the mainline because Smith and Sons isn't magnetic where as the AR&M stuff is (to a slight extent). The Smith and Sons also looks pretty good (especially under this lighting).
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More Smith & Sons on the mainline. Woodland scenics (buff and light gray) on the spur track.
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Regards,
Charlie Comstock
Rossford Yard, thanks!
I ,too pilfered a wide ,soft makeup brush from the CFO. It really helps to spread the ballast.For stray ballast that gets on the scenery already in place, I just lick a finger and pick it up.
Central Illinois, where? I am about 20 North of Bloomington.
I know I will be bad mouthed for this. I use sifted stone dust from local quarry. It will supposedly will cause a short circut from Iron in it, but no problem here.
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I used a spoon to put it down. tham a cheap paint brush (not nylon) to spread it. then a small artist brush to touch up. after I am satisfied with appearance apply wet water let it soak in real good. then use elmers glue/water mix. I am not sure of % but probably 70 or 80% water.let it dry there it is. I saturate it wit the glue mix,I don't think you can over do it.Also the ballast is the last thing I do. I use a shot vac to clean my layout ant havent had to repace any scenery yet.
Les