Conrail Windsor St Yard (York PA) Engineering Report

[Ed Kapuscinski]

That photo looked so ugly. So I fixed it.





I also got started kitbashing my York Warehouse building. It's not going to be anywhere near accurate, but it'll be close enough that you'll know what's going on there.

[Dave V]

Ed, I know you're sold on the grout for ballast, but I can't help but note how much it colors the track, eliminating any of the weathering or coloring you otherwise would have done to it.  Those tracks look gray now.

As expensive as some of the commercial ballast products are (I've used Woodland Scenics, Highball, and Arizona Rock & Mineral products...a pretty good spread) I've never had an issue with losing any of the weathering I've applied to the rails and ties beforehand.

You can fix it with some tedious work, but as long as that coloring is happening I'm just not catching grout fever yet.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Ed, I know you're sold on the grout for ballast, but I can't help but note how much it colors the track, eliminating any of the weathering or coloring you otherwise would have done to it.  Those tracks look gray now.

As expensive as some of the commercial ballast products are (I've used Woodland Scenics, Highball, and Arizona Rock & Mineral products...a pretty good spread) I've never had an issue with losing any of the weathering I've applied to the rails and ties beforehand.

You can fix it with some tedious work, but as long as that coloring is happening I'm just not catching grout fever yet.

Yeah, I've been thinking about that too. That's generally the fault of the unsanded stuff that's almost like a pigment. I'm going to look into ways to clean the track from it, because otherwise, I like it.

[pdx1955]

Yeah, I've been thinking about that too. That's generally the fault of the unsanded stuff that's almost like a pigment. I'm going to look into ways to clean the track from it, because otherwise, I like it.

While the unsanded grout looks a bit too mud-like (while the grout may be more to scale it just feels like there should be more visual separation for each piece of ballast) for mainline ballast to my eyes, I think that for sidings/tracks that are sunk in dirt with good portions of ties obscured this would be an excellent technique. At those locations the track takes on the dirt color and the fineness of grout especially when uneven looks like powdery dirt. That grey color would be perfect for an aggregate crusher facility as those fines go everywhere. Although I will admit, being from the Pacific NW, I got reminded how well that would simulate loose or exposed in a cut volcanic ash (for those BN modelers in the early 1980's).

[wazzou]

Ed, I know you're sold on the grout for ballast, but I can't help but note how much it colors the track, eliminating any of the weathering or coloring you otherwise would have done to it.  Those tracks look gray now.

I'm just not catching grout fever yet.

Preach it brother! 👌🏼

[MichaelWinicki]

Ed, I know you're sold on the grout for ballast, but I can't help but note how much it colors the track, eliminating any of the weathering or coloring you otherwise would have done to it.  Those tracks look gray now.

As expensive as some of the commercial ballast products are (I've used Woodland Scenics, Highball, and Arizona Rock & Mineral products...a pretty good spread) I've never had an issue with losing any of the weathering I've applied to the rails and ties beforehand.

You can fix it with some tedious work, but as long as that coloring is happening I'm just not catching grout fever yet.

Nail on the head!

PRR/PC/CR trackage in the mid 80's would have a mix of light grey, dark grey and black.  There would even be some browns, which could dominate the grey and give the ballast an overall brown appearance.  One thing the multiple colors does do is create a more "granular" look to the ballast which IMO is desirable.

[seusscaboose]

That photo looked so ugly. So I fixed it.





I also got started kitbashing my York Warehouse building. It's not going to be anywhere near accurate, but it'll be close enough that you'll know what's going on there.

very nice

[chicken45]

Just add concrete ties to the list of thing Ed mikes to foob.

1. Cabooses in '85.
2. Concrete ties.

[wm3798]

I only used grout in the yard setting.  The dark gray/black varietal that you provided to my stocks.  I prefer the ground stone products for main lines for several reasons... it flows around the ties just right, it doesn't "dust" everything with its color, and it's easy to soak and rework if you f it up.

I'll be interested to see how cleaning the ties goes.  I suspect it will be a lot of work for few rewards.

Lee

[jpec]

I like it for gravel lots or dirt roads and softening the plastic look on Unitrak but haven't used it on regular track since I haven't laid much of it since the Great Code 55 Famine but overall I like what Ed's done with it on his layout.  Brother Lee is right about the dusting effect - I sometimes have to check and see if it went astray before the soaking and gluing starts.

Jeff

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Ok, some pics post-cleaning (with a toothbrush).

I'm pretty happy. There's still some coloring of the stuff that was ballasted with a mix with a high unsanded component, but some of the rust color on the rails is coming through.

[Dave V]

I'm not seeing a lot of difference, at least in the photos.

Not sure if you can still find it, but Highball's N scale ballast has that same fine texture with no coloration problems.  I use Highball cinders in yards and it looks like the same grain size you have.

[coosvalley]

I use Highball Z scale stuff.

 I think it does look better,(not as "powdery") but needs some variety, like bits of vegetation, maybe a puddle...

[jpec]

Ok, some pics post-cleaning (with a toothbrush).

Next time you're at the store, grab the cheapest battery powered toothbrush they have. That's what I use to clean up the stray stuff on Unitrak. Makes for a handy tool when you're stripping paint off models as well.

Maybe a pass with an airbrush or diluted craft paints can add some variation in the color.

[chuck geiger]

Look he hates ballast. Stems back to an incident as a young boy Ed, where he spilled
a bag of WS ballast down the garbage disposal.