N Scale ballast

[davefoxx]

My frustration from Woodland Scenics' ballast, whether it is made of walnut shells or not, is that it floats, so that when saturated with wet water and glue, it seems to end up on the side of the rail.  I grew weary of scraping the rails to get the ballast off, which also caused paint to be inadvertently scratched off of the rails in spots.  Never again.

DFF

[mark dance]

My frustration from Woodland Scenics' ballast, whether it is made of walnut shells or not, is that it floats, so that when saturated with wet water and glue, it seems to end up on the side of the rail.  I grew weary of scraping the rails to get the ballast off, which also caused paint to be inadvertently scratched off of the rails in spots.  Never again.

DFF

I found the same floating issue with ARM ballast as well (and their marble dust snow for that matter) so using WS or ARM material didn't make a difference for me in this respect.  And the technique I now use to clean up the ballasting involves running a skewer quickly and lightly along the rails.  It cleaned the rails off nicely without scraping the paint off their sides.  Using the same skewer technique with heavier pressure on the ties removes the ballast and a bit of the paint to expose the wood grain on the plastic ties so I am happy with my approach.

each to his/her own...

md

[davefoxx]

I found the same floating issue with ARM ballast as well (and their marble dust snow for that matter) so using WS or ARM material didn't make a difference for me in this respect.  And the technique I now use to clean up the ballasting involves running a skewer quickly and lightly along the rails.  It cleaned the rails off nicely without scraping the paint off their sides.  Using the same skewer technique with heavier pressure on the ties removes the ballast and a bit of the paint to expose the wood grain on the plastic ties so I am happy with my approach.

each to his/her own...

md

Good tip.  I'll have to try skewers next time.  Thanks, Mark!

DFF

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Thanks Mark.

You make another great point: blending!

One of the things I've learned from working with the grout is that you need to look at it (and any other material) as simply part of a palette of color and texture.

I've had little success using the stuff straight, but blending different colors in different ratios works really well. This is an instance where dollar store tupperware really helps, so you can get something you like, and make enough of it to keep for an entire application. For example, I had to realign the track on my Ttrak module there, and the spot that I had to reballast doesn't match because I used up all the ballast I had.

[SkipGear]

I have yet to come up with a concoction that comes anywhere close to this......



.....which I need to model.

Nothing has quite the contrast and variety that I need. I've settled on using WS just because of the number of colors available to attempt to recreate it. The cure for the floaters on WS is to use Alcohol as your wetting agent, actually a 50/50 mix of alcohol and water.

[wazzou]

My personal reason for not liking Woodland Scenic's in addition to the already mentioned floating issue, is the size of the ballast itself. 
I just think the stones are too large and don't scale well.

[mark dance]

I just think the stones are too large and don't scale well.

I think this depends on your prototype of course...WS fine is the right size for the area I model.

md

[John]

My personal reason for not liking Woodland Scenic's in addition to the already mentioned floating issue, is the size of the ballast itself. 
I just think the stones are too large and don't scale well.

[Ian MacMillan]

I haven't used WS in a long time. But one of the reasons I stopped using it was because of its floating. I use alcohol as a wetting agent and I still had issues. Maybe it might work better these days since I am so anal about my ballasting now as it takes me hours to manicure a foot.

I use S&S, and their brand through SE as well.  I use their dark gray (which is really cinder color) and the Penn/Ohio.





For those who have some doubts as to what WS is, take a bottle of their N scale ballast, and the exact same bottle with SE #50 and the weight difference is outstanding.

[VonRyan]

...at the risk of starting some controversy here (perhaps restarting might be a better term for all I know), why is the material the ballast is made from important if the aesthetic results are satisfactory?  Is it any different than using styrene to simulate steel or wood for example?

Perhaps I am missing something?

md

Well it's mostly because i'm looking as much realism as i can on my module so that i can bring out as strong a feel of a GWR branchline as possible with the materials available even if it means emptying my budget and delaying the finishing of the module. I'm even rethinking how i'm actuating my scratchbuilt Home/Shunt signal to use a more sturdy method rather than commercially available Ratio actuation kits, I.E. using only 12v ice-cube relays with covers removed as the actuators, an idea i picked up from an old British program from around 1975. But the ballast is a pet peeve in that if i know its not real, it bothers my mind to the point where my next choice of scenic material is a can of gas and a zippo. It could probably be seen as some serious OCD but its more of i'm that detail oriented that it pushes the limits of perfectionism.

[VonRyan]

I haven't used WS in a long time. But one of the reasons I stopped using it was because of its floating. I use alcohol as a wetting agent and I still had issues. Maybe it might work better these days since I am so anal about my ballasting now as it takes me hours to manicure a foot.

I use S&S, and their brand through SE as well.  I use their dark gray (which is really cinder color) and the Penn/Ohio.

For those who have some doubts as to what WS is, take a bottle of their N scale ballast, and the exact same bottle with SE #50 and the weight difference is outstanding.

Looks extraordinary! I'm familiar with SE but as to who or what S&S is i'm not familiar, what brand is that? Hopefully they have a convincing light-tan/cream color that suits my eyeballs.
Much appreciated!  -Cody F.

[SkipGear]

Well it's mostly because i'm looking as much realism ...snip.... But the ballast is a pet peeve in that if i know its not real, it bothers my mind to the point where my next choice of scenic material is a can of gas and a zippo. It could probably be seen as some serious OCD but its more of i'm that detail oriented that it pushes the limits of perfectionism.

Just keep in mind, none of this is real. The end result is more important than the materials or method used to get there. The one thing I have found when experimenting with mixxes, you can't mix WS with the real rock ballast as the rock ballast settles to the bottom and changes the look of the mix when you apply it. My most important factor is the color and texture, not the actual material is it created from. Much of the real rock ballast ends up looking like concrete or mud even though it may be scale size stones, it looks too small to portray the effect of ballast. We have a few modules in our Ntrack club that use Highball ballast and it just looks like wet beach sand, not ballast on the tracks.

[seusscaboose]

S&S is Smith & Son out of Ohio.

I spoke to him yesterday and for those interested, he is no longer taking phone orders.  His hearing aid doesnt allow him to hear clearly on the phone, and it has resulted in a few messed up orders and he doesnt want to risk the Cust. Svc. fiasco it creates.  Hence, no more phone orders.

Here is the bottom line.  If you want S&S you can still get it via snail mail ordering.  Drop him a letter.

Smith & Son Ballast, 13630 G.A.R. Highway, Chardon, OH 44024.
 
Phone is 440-286-4890 between 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM EASTERN STANDARD TIME.

Cost comes in between $2.00 and $2.50 per one pound bag PLUS S&H. (NOTE: Additionally, his postage prices seem to be increasing)

A 1 pound bag is approximately 16 cubic inches of sifted stone.

They do NOT want payment until you get an invoice due to the fact you are shipping rock around the country and they don't know shipping ahead of time.

An invoice and actual shipment goes out at the same time. Do not become their first customer to skip out on the bill.

[wazzou]

Seuss -

Is there somewhere on the net that a guy can find a catalog of Smith and Son color options?

[seusscaboose]

nope

they used to be in old scenic express catalougs...

other than that...   my recommendation is to call (not expect to place an order) and tell them what you are looking for (limestone, ballast, etc)...   

or

ask for a sample pack....


sorry i cant be more help...


if you get the sense you should be stocking up on  S&S ... you are probably right.