A new beginning inspired from my old Central Midland Layout


You’ve got your work cut out for you for sure!
I started doing some but as Brian said stalled out, maybe this will get me going again.
I hate doing ballast but I think it is the reason I get stalled on other projects. I am going to get it out of the way so I can go to better things. Once it is done , the track work is complete.
 
I need some opinions on something. I'm thinking of using a black ballast for my yard. It would be put down lightly with a little of the gray ballast mixed in. Then I would use some ground covering for some growth. What do you think? Stay with the same color as the mains of do my idea of the black ballast?
 
As I said in the above post " I'm going to Ballast before I do anything else. " Well that is what I am doing over the next few days. I have a heck of a lot of track left to be done. I worked for about 3 hours tonight and got a lot done. This will complete some of the major things I wanted to complete. After I get this done I will move onto the Drive -in and finish that. Then onto my downtown area. Once I get those done then I can get to detailing, one of my favorite part of this hobby. View attachment 141073

I L O V E that backdrop!! Is it a commercial product? Make it yourself? I am thinking about a view block running the length of my table. One side I would need a rural farmland prairie scenery, and the other an urban-scape. Any leads you can provide much appreciated!

Great work! You inspire us to greater things!!- - - - - Steve J
 
That track ballasting does NOT sound like fun, and it sounds messy. That's the reason I think I tried to put it off,..perhaps indefinitely. I'm afraid I could get stalled out doing that.
I don’t think it’s that bad at all, and really adds the realism to the track, good ballast is a game changer
 
I need some opinions on something. I'm thinking of using a black ballast for my yard. It would be put down lightly with a little of the gray ballast mixed in. Then I would use some ground covering for some growth. What do you think? Stay with the same color as the mains of do my idea of the black ballast?
I like to use a much grayer stone for the yard compared to lines, but I like adding things like leaked oil locations for a little realism, black is no good for that of course…. Guess it would depend on your grey/black mixture
 
I L O V E that backdrop!! Is it a commercial product? Make it yourself? I am thinking about a view block running the length of my table. One side I would need a rural farmland prairie scenery, and the other an urban-scape. Any leads you can provide much appreciated!

Great work! You inspire us to greater things!!- - - - - Steve J
http://railroadbackdrops.com/home/backdrops - James Adam was the guy I spoke with. You can get about any thing you want done. Very reasonable.
 
I need some opinions on something. I'm thinking of using a black ballast for my yard. It would be put down lightly with a little of the gray ballast mixed in. Then I would use some ground covering for some growth. What do you think? Stay with the same color as the mains of do my idea of the black ballast?
Hi Eric,

I used different ballast all over the place. Tried to be consistent in that dirty or fine ballast mixture on little used track and the nice clean ballast on the mainlines.

Lots of instances in my vicinity where different rock sources were in play when they did track maintenance.

Dave
 
Ok I totally went a different way with this tonight. I saw a few old yards or sidings in photos that I really liked. Not abandoned but not used a whole lot. Mine is a bit like this . I parked a train on it and some freight cars. They sit there a lot mainly for looks. So I made it a bit " a lack of maintenance look. Not what you see is not all the way dry yet but you should get the picture. All and all, I really like it. Mixed some gray into my black ballast instead of using just black. Looks rough not nice and neat. Seems to match the backdrop pretty good too. I'm open to comments, let me know yes or no. - Eric
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When I put down the track in my yards, I used to different techniques: On my main yard, I simply painted the plywood with Mars black and while it was wet, laid down the track and sprinkled cinders on it. On the other yard, which is smaller, but fairly complex, and adjacent to the main lines, I used sheet cork and also painted it with Mars black and sprinkled cinders on while wet. Color photos of sidings and yards of the Burlington Route showed they were very dark, as contrasted to most of the mains which are light gray in color. Some of my main lines are not ballasted, with the roadbed the color of the surrounding scenery (dark brown, with various shades of grass sprinkled on while wet. In one run, I have recently ballasted the double main with medium dark gray ballast. Not sure how I like that stretch (about 2-1/2 feet long). I may decide to also ballast the double main up the 2-1/2% grade. I'll try to post some photos, but am pretty busy with paperwork right now.
 
I need some opinions on something. I'm thinking of using a black ballast for my yard. It would be put down lightly with a little of the gray ballast mixed in. Then I would use some ground covering for some growth. What do you think? Stay with the same color as the mains of do my idea of the black ballast?
I am a fan of separate colors. I use Light Gray on mains, Gray Blend on passing sidings and Gray in yards and on industry spurs. Easier to add oil stains and some green ground foam in little used areas.
 
I am a fan of separate colors. I use Light Gray on mains, Gray Blend on passing sidings and Gray in yards and on industry spurs. Easier to add oil stains and some green ground foam in little used areas.
I am a fan of separate colors. I use Light Gray on mains, Gray Blend on passing sidings and Gray in yards and on industry spurs. Easier to add oil stains and some green ground foam in little used areas.
I like that. I use a medium gray in the main but I spray it with a mix of India Ink, alcohol and water before I glue it down. This takes away the "newness" of the rock. It does darken it a bit but I really like it when it dries. In the picture it looks a lot darker because it was still drying. I'm using some lighter gray on a couple of spurs that I have.
 
Another update:
After doing some clean-up of areas I didn't like on the yard,I parked some trains to see how I would like it. Ok to be honest I was ok with my results but I think I really like the look now. The trains give it a lot of contrast. I'll finish the mainlines and see how it all looks. I would have been completely done but I ran out of the ballast I use and have to wait until it comes in on Tuesday.
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So after finally figuring out that the only way to get you track work right is to "Use your NMRA gauge", ( see my post on this - https://modelrailroadforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/use-your-gauges.34367/ )
I decided to put my other double crossover back in my mainline. I had two of these before and took one out because I had so much trouble with derailments. So before I finish the rest of my ballast work, I decided I would give it a try and check it with my Gauge. It took me under an hour and as I installed it I made the adjustments according to my gauge. I can't believe that on the first try no issues at all. I put my most finicky engines through it, no derailments. I had some visitors from a local Model RR club and the trains ran for over 2 hours without a single problem! :) Now the ballast work will get finished and the track work will be complete.
Hated seeing a $100 crossover just sitting on my bench. Now it is back in service .

Note : I use manual throws on all my switches since I can reach every turnout easily.

Eric



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......and that is a wrap! Ballast is completely done on the mains. I have a spur or two to finish and some around the roundhouse area.The hard part is over and I have to admit it was fun doing it. Fun but glad I'm done .

Now I need to let it dry and move some of my scenery back. I normally don't put buildings on the Main lines! :D
:D



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Are those Precision Craft F3s on the point of the Zephyr? I have a set somewhere. I gave them over preferring to run E units running elephant style. I recall they were good runners. They are a good reminder of all the havoc MTH caused to the model railroading community, all those years ago.
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Yes they are Precision craft pulling a BLI Zephyr set. They had LOK sound but one decoder went bad. I just installed 4 new speakers and two Soundtraxx Tsunami 2 Decoders. Unbelievable how they run and sound now. Very pleased. You want to sell yours?
 



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