Home made ballest

[TrucTrain55]

Yes I would like to see that plus when you cooked it that was good because you sterilized it from micro living things

 

[MikeGTW]

I grab some ballast from the real railroad and sit in my garage with a hammer and anvil in a cardboard box crush the actual ballast into small pieces put it through a strainer then put it in water so the debris comes out and finally cook it on my stove in a frying pan to speed up the drying process. I can post pictures if anyone is curious.

Good idea I'm just too damn old for that anymore I've dug through more of that ballast don't ever want to see it again Worst was in Battle Creek MI right by the yard on a siding they used pea gravel had to be four feet deep trench was at least that wide track wires had to be knee deep
Wait I forgot about Elsdon Yard up by Chicago the fill they used was some kind of blue colored stuff the trencher just bounced on it

 

[JazzDad]

... with a hammer and anvil in a cardboard box crush the actual ballast into small pieces ...

Working on the chain gang.

 

[MikeGTW]

So after a little more experimenting the pool sand is my joice from two feet away it looks great and I'v got the color where I want it now I think
The play sand is too fine It just looks smooth no texture
My second batch was too dark so mixed just some plain with it looks great to me
I use rit dye charcoal grey for the color vary the amount for darker or lighter heat on the stove in old fry pan helps to set the color

 

[Iron Horseman]

From a totally different perspective. I used real rock for ballast and other scenery on a modular unit. Discovered that it added 20 lbs to the weight and that was just a 2x4 foot. Since this is supposed to be portable, I switched to the non-rock, light weight, commercial ballast for the next one.

 

[Sirfoldalot]

This was made from used coffee grounds! Boiled, rinced, combined with a mixture of thinned White latex paint. It is light and tends to "float" when applied with glue, but makes pretty good looking ballast!

 

[MikeGTW]

Been busy making ballast couple pictures still working on it though
some I made a lighter grey then some dark and mixed in the plain sand
This is all the medium grade pool sand

 

[migalyto]

Looks good! What did you figure the cost savings were doing it this way versus commercial ballast?

 

[MikeGTW]

So figure 1/2 gal cost is $22 plus shipping I've made about 3 to 4 gal so far and still have some left in the bag
3 gal $132 + my cost so far $8.00 for sand and $3.00 for the dye I think I'm way ahead

 

[PNKFLOYD]

Mike- This seems very cost effective if you did not put a price on your time.
Personally, I like to do this sort of thing to have a product that is a little different than what you see on other people's layouts.
Short lines are famous for using various materials due to cost and local availability.
Around Birmingham, Alabama there was a lot of steel mill slag used in the area during the late 40's to 1960's. Often it was laid down as a gray color and would turn a rusty brown in a few years.

 

[MikeGTW]

I thought when you retire you're supposed to work for free that's what my kids tell me
So a rusty brown color hmm rit dye has mixing charts for any color so maybe I'll have to experiment some more
there is one they call rustic brown it's a mix of cocoa brown and tan

 

[MikeGTW]

went thru that 50# bag

 

[MHinLA]

Kitty litter OK the guy that invented that stuff lives just half hour from me I've met him a few times nice guy
here's his base location that is by me check out his wood caboose
https://edwardlowe.org/virtual-tour-big-rock-valley/

But, does he have cats ?

 

[MHinLA]

Working on the chain gang.
View attachment 44345

I'm just a "Prisoner of Love".... Hey ! Did you know Mathis' "Misty" is in D, not Eb !!

 

[Graff]

I use either crushed and sifted Chamotte clay that I stain, or sifted pumice stone.
Both are very cheap.