The Atlantic and Southern Build, Part 1

[ACL1504]

Tom.
that´s a nice solution for your problem with the new curve. You´ve also done it right with changing the turnout. If something doesn´t work right, change it....Keep it going.

Regards,Chris

Chris,

Thank for stopping by. The turnout had to go it was bad and I got tired of trying to make adjustments. should have done it a long time ago.

Tom

[Twopoint2]

Looks good Tom. Do you paint the track and ties and what ballast type and size is being used?

[ACL1504]

Looks good Tom. Do you paint the track and ties and what ballast type and size is being used?

Jim,

Thank you for the kind words. I paint the rails with Floquil Rail Brown and the ties with Floquil Railroad Tie Brown. The Floquil paints are no longer available. I purchased mine several years ago and have mulitible bottles of each color they made. Craft Store paints work just as well.

In the past I've used the crushed shell ballast sold by Woodland Express. Of course they fail to tell you their ballast is made from crushed nut shells.

I'm now using Arizona Rock & Mineral Ballast. I use HO scale No. 105-2 in the 9 oz. bags. It only comes in 9 oz. bags.


No. 105-2 is Pennsylvania Railroad Light Gray. It's very close to the actual light gray ballast CSX uses. Arizona Rock does make a CSX light gray but I think it's the same as the Pennsylvania ballast.

Either way, I'll weather the ballast after is has been glued and dry for a week. I use the Hunterline Creosote Black between the rails and 70% Thinner to 30% Floquil Rust wash for the outside rails.

Hope this gives you what you need.

Tom

[bparrish]

Tom....

I was helping a modeler some years ago with ballasting and using a children's medicine to drizzle dilute white glue over the shaped ballast.  It tried to float.  I had never seen that as I use a sand mix from the Brunau sand dunes insouthern Idaho. It scales out right for HO and has a great color mix for western granite.  I was confounded about the floating until I discovered it was an organic material.  Note to self ...........

See ya
Bob

[deemery]

Tom....

I was helping a modeler some years ago with ballasting and using a children's medicine to drizzle dilute white glue over the shaped ballast.  It tried to float.  I had never seen that as I use a sand mix from the Brunau sand dunes insouthern Idaho. It scales out right for HO and has a great color mix for western granite.  I was confounded about the floating until I discovered it was an organic material.  Note to self ...........

See ya
Bob

The (inorganic) rock pumice floats...


dave

[bparrish]

Dave....

But what is WS using?  I thought it was crushed walnut shells or something.

Thanx
Bob

[deemery]

Dave....

But what is WS using?  I thought it was crushed walnut shells or something.

Thanx
Bob

I think that's right.   


dave

[cuse]

I think that's what Tom referred to 5 posts back.   


Carry on

[Erieman]

Looks good Tom. Do you paint the track and ties and what ballast type and size is being used?

Jim,

Thank you for the kind words. I paint the rails with Floquil Rail Brown and the ties with Floquil Railroad Tie Brown. The Floquil paints are no longer available. I purchased mine several years ago and have mulitible bottles of each color they made. Craft Store paints work just as well.

In the past I've used the crushed shell ballast sold by Woodland Express. Of course they fail to tell you their ballast is made from crushed nut shells.

I'm now using Arizona Rock & Mineral Ballast. I use HO scale No. 105-2 in the 9 oz. bags. It only comes in 9 oz. bags.


No. 105-2 is Pennsylvania Railroad Light Gray. It's very close to the actual light gray ballast CSX uses. Arizona Rock does make a CSX light gray but I think it's the same as the Pennsylvania ballast.

Either way, I'll weather the ballast after is has been glued and dry for a week. I use the Hunterline Creosote Black between the rails and 70% Thinner to 30% Floquil Rust wash for the outside rails.

Hope this gives you what you need.

Tom

Following up on Tom's comments on Ballast, I would like to add that when purchasing ballast for your railroad, buy enough to do it all at one time. These folks are typically Mom & Pop operations. As such, they do not attempt to maintain a color continuity which can result in some really horrible changes in ballast color on your layout. I have found that out the hard way. I recommend purchasing the quantity you need and putting it into one big bucket, then mixing everything together. This will keep color variations to a minimum. I started using High Ball ballast years ago, only to find that each time the company was sold, the new owner was finding rock some place different. Eventually the color consistency was really far off. Arizona Rock grinds their rock like the rest of the manufacturers but each time they go out and get more rock, there is the potential for a color variance. Not cool, unless you want it that way. Just saying.

Frank / Erieman

[ACL1504]

And, to follow up on Frank's follow up. I took Franks's advice and purchased 20 bags of the ballast from AR&M. All the same color. It is advice definitely worth taking and following.

Tom

[ACL1504]

Bob and Dave,

Not sure what kind of nut shells the nuts at WS are using. All I know is what I said which isn't much.

Tom

[ACL1504]

I forgot to mention that I used all 20 bags on the second level. Well, actually 19 bags but I have about 8 feet left to do.

Tom

[RWL]

The other side of the coin is .... the prototype railroads don't ballast every linear mile at the same time, hence there are variations of color. So in the model world, variations are prototypical, as long as it is not nuts.

[BandOGuy]

The mixed nuts in this thread are beginning to drive me nuts. Actually, that will be just a short, gimme' putt. 

[ACL1504]

The other side of the coin is .... the prototype railroads don't ballast every linear mile at the same time, hence there are variations of color. So in the model world, variations are prototypical, as long as it is not nuts.

Bob,

You are correct. Even in the 20 bags I have there is a very slight variation in some of the bags. It seems that not all rocks are the same color even from the same area.

Tom