6.5mm Silflor Grass, Track, and concrete

[pfs]

Guys, the area I'm modeling looks like this:

Smith and Sons Penn-Ohio would be close to that.

It will be the primary in a mix for my proto.

[Dave V]

Still have no clue where your modeling. lol I would use some cinder type material, or you could use some fine dust/rock material. I found mine right in my alley.

Good on you for being resourceful, but may I suggest three steps in preparation:

1.  Grind and then sift it to make sure the particles are all roughly the same (and correct) size.
2.  Run a magnet through it to remove any ferrous materials that might affect your locomotive motors and/or DCC.
3.  Bake it in the oven for a little while to kill off any biological material.

Some of the dirt on my layout is from the crawl space under my house back in North Carolina; I prepared it this way and have had no issues.

[NorfolkSouthern9708]

Alrighty, I'll have to get on that.

Edit: When I was shoveling this, a few people drove by, they looked at me, it was wierd....

[DKS]

...Grind and then sift it to make sure the particles are all roughly the same (and correct) size...

But look at the proto photo. The size of the material is not consistent; it's a mix of different sized stone from tennis-ball sized rocks down to powder. I think Tom needs to try mixing various materials to come up with this variation in texture. Also, the proto photo seems to have much greyer-looking material than in the model, which is too white, too coarse, and too consistently-sized. The distribution is important to simulate as well--in the proto photo, the material is relatively flat overall, whereas on the model it's piled up over the ties as well as the spike areas, and it looks kind of clumpy. And finally, Tom, I think you may need to build a grassinator--some of that grass material is just too lazy-looking...

[Dave V]

DKS, my comment was to NorfolkSouthern regarding using alleyway "stuff" as ballast.  I'm not sure what type of ballast he's after but generally dirt and sand in an alley also has pebbles and other way-past N scale stuff in it.

[chuck geiger]

You know what I have never seen modeled effectively, is industrial track
that is immersed in dirt, gravel, most of the ties covered and the elevation
is right, where the rails ride above the compost of ballast and the like and
is sometimes below the surrounding area. The only way this could be modeled
the right way is to take a lathe or bit and (on wood) and bring down the
level.

[NorfolkSouthern9708]

DKS, my comment was to NorfolkSouthern regarding using alleyway "stuff" as ballast.  I'm not sure what type of ballast he's after but generally dirt and sand in an alley also has pebbles and other way-past N scale stuff in it.

Yes, Dave is correct. I plan on using these as cinders for secondary lines.

[DKS]

DKS, my comment was to NorfolkSouthern regarding using alleyway "stuff" as ballast.  I'm not sure what type of ballast he's after but generally dirt and sand in an alley also has pebbles and other way-past N scale stuff in it.

My apologies. I was speeding through the posts and thought the suggestion was directed at Tom. Please ignore.

[wm3798]

DKS, I can see what you're saying, but when I look at Tom's proto photo, I'm not seeing what he modeled.  This is another one of those cases, perhaps, when simply scaling down everything doesn't create the overall effect.  Frankly, the model shown looks like there's giant blobs of popcorn all over the right of way.  I actually think Dave's recommendation to the NS guy is right on for this as well, at least the grinding part.

Also, if you compare it to the proto shot, there are some larger stones, as you point out, but they seem to be off to the edge of the ROW, not in the middle of the track.  What's there looks to my eye more like stone chips, such as one might find in a driveway.  I can see where it is not the mud effect that I illustrated, but it looks a lot better maintained than the model shot indicates.

Lee

[NorfolkSouthern9708]

I actually think Dave's recommendation to the NS guy is right on for this as well, at least the grinding part.

The NS guy huh? That kinda sounds like a nickname for Todd Treaster.

[ChrisNH]

I experimented with static grass on ballast and have mixed feelings about it. I am not sure I like it better then using fine ground foam but maybe I just have to work at it more.. part of the problem is even the smallest static grass in N scale is over a scale foot..

Chris

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I experimented with static grass on ballast and have mixed feelings about it. I am not sure I like it better then using fine ground foam but maybe I just have to work at it more.. part of the problem is even the smallest static grass in N scale is over a scale foot..

Chris

Exactly. That's why I actually went back to using fine ground foam. This is what clinched it for me:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ed.kapuscinski/NorthernCentralReserchPhotos#5057225212213378978

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Actually, it was this one:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ed.kapuscinski/NorthernCentralReserchPhotos#5057225336767430610

[davefoxx]

Actually, it was this one:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ed.kapuscinski/NorthernCentralReserchPhotos#5057225336767430610

I think you should use both.  Look in the foreground of Ed's picture that I included hereinabove.  There is a small section that could be represented by static grass while the rest could be fine ground foam.

DFF

[NorfolkSouthern9708]

IDK, from what I've seen, the static grass has a much more "wild" texture to it.