ballast color?


M

mowman24

Member
So I am trying to resemble Nebraska in the 1940/50 era. I seem to remember the ballast was black, as I thought it was coal klinkers. but would it look terribly wrong to use a brown?? I ask because I bought a 25 lb box of walnut shells. Now thinking it. should be black, but maybe that would only matter too purist. Also wonder which would look best with my grass green painted osb table. I found some 25 lb bags of black blast medium grit coal blasting grit at a reasonable price
WHAT YOU ALL THINK? Am I just being too picky?
 
Do a small section with each kind of ballast and one with both mixed together. Once you’ve seen it under the layout room light then you can make a proper decision. Don’t glue it down so it’s easier to clean up.
 
For coal I used crushed walnut shells. It was very brown and didn't look like coal though. I found out it can be dyed with Rit fabric dye. Now I have black coal. Look up proper dying technique because it first came out sort of very dark purple but a lady at work showed me the right way and it can be made black.
 
You could always puta small test area down. secure it. Then use stain and stain it. Minwax does make a black stain. Rit fabric dye as well, or a paint thinned down
 
Ballast changes colour over time. What was once clean with almost a sheen to it, ballast has oil and grease silt on it. Dust particles in the air settles in it. Ballast also attracts other man-made products that are carried by the railroad.
A wander down by the railroad tracks will bring many surprises. Seeing what you see and not what you thought you saw bring a different perspective on the scene.

David
 
Ballast usually comes from a pit that is near the railroad. Don't make sense to haul it from a far away location.

For years, we had what was called 'Montana Pink' which was mixed in with Basalt and Granite. For most of the High-Line in Montana, the Pink came from the Essex Pit. They found out that the Pink and Granite was to soft and would crumble after time, so most you see now is Basalt with a few other varieties that I do not remember ( Quartz is probably one ). Used Pink on the Highways too. You can still see it in places that have not been resurfaced.

Later
 
kjd said:
For coal I used crushed walnut shells. It was very brown and didn't look like coal though. I found out it can be dyed with Rit fabric dye. Now I have black coal. Look up proper dying technique because it first came out sort of very dark purple but a lady at work showed me the right way and it can be made black.
Click to expand...
tried with thinned down paint, but possibly was too thinned as it took a lot, and a long time to dry. Of course I used oil paint.
So, what is the proper way to use the Ritz's dye??
 
mowman24 said:
tried with thinned down paint, but possibly was too thinned as it took a lot, and a long time to dry. Of course I used oil paint.
So, what is the proper way to use the Ritz's dye??
Click to expand...
www.ritdye.com

How to Dye Natural Fabrics — Rit Dye

When dyeing natural fabrics (cotton, linen, silk, wool or ramie), use Rit All-Purpose Dye.
www.ritdye.com www.ritdye.com

I didn’t add salt, enough heat or use enough dye for the quantity of shells I had.

I used a cloth in a strainer to get them out of the dye, skipped the post rinse and dried them on a cookie sheet in a toaster oven on low.

Use the household cook’s pan, strainer, cookie sheet and oven at your own risk. If anyone asks, I don’t know nothin’.
 
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