Bought a blender today...

[weekendrailroader]

To make a long story short, I'm tired of coming up with a new idea for a layout, playing around with with what I have, laying some track, then tearing it all up when I get a new idea. I'm fascinated with logging railroads, so logging the theme shall be! In other words, I'm going all out on the layout, and I'm going to try to have it finished by Christmas.

Of course, I'm broke right now, and I can't afford to buy very many supplies. Therefore, Woodland scenics is not an option when it comes to scenery. So... I bought a thrift store blender and some dollar store sponges, and I now have some decent-looking ground foam. I'm working on some cheap-Christmas-wreath trees, and if I like them, I'll post some pictures.

I've also got a green belt for my backyard, so there's quite a bit of free lichen out there.

Now, does anyone know of a ballast option that doesn't come in a $10 container?

 

[diburning]

Yes. Gray paint, walnut shells, and your blender. That's pretty much how woodland scenics makes their ballast.

 

[Motley]

hmm, ok how big is this layout? And you can finish it by Christmas? That seems like a short time.

Please post pics of the track plan.

 

[RW&C]

I make ballast with sandy dirt (I find it by the edge of the road; I think most of it's put down by the county in the winter) and a screen strainer sieve thing. I dump it through the screen, then take whatever falls through and wash it. (To wash it I just put a paper towel in the screen, dump the dirt back in, then run water through it until it comes out clear, then spread it outside on a towel to dry. Otherwise I get loads of dust in it, which gets everywhere.)

If you don't mind spending a few bucks (or you don't have dry sand where you live), you can get a bag of play sand (sandbox sand) at a hardware/home improvement store. Logging railroads didn't go all out on the trackwork, so dirt ballast is totally within reason.

For logging-height trees, especially in HO, wreath bits are going to come out a little small. I suggest you get a pack of shish-kebab sticks for trunks, cut them to various lengths, use thin wire (like florist's wire, or single strands from stranded house/appliance wire, or whatever you can find) for branches. Then shred green scrubbing pads for foliage. Spray paint (or house paint, so long as it isn't shiny) the whole thing bark color, spread glue (rubber cement) on the branches, then roll it around in the scratch pad bits. If you want a thicker trunk you could spray it with a thick coat of paint, sprinkle fine dust/dirt onto it until the paint's covered, spray it again, add more dirt, repeat, until it's as thick as you'd like. (I do this with wire trees.) The legit way is to use a tapered wooden dowel, or coat the stick with putty, but on a budget, dirt and paint should do the trick.

For deciduous trees, keep an eye on dead plants in ditches. Some of my best tree armatures, I found growing by the road. Throw a chunk of lichen and some ground foam at them and you've got a tree.

I almost want to start a betting pool on where you'll be by Christmas. Can't wait to see your progress.

 

[Ronzzr11]

People have suggested that you microwave any dirt, before you use it, to kill off any bugs or bacteria.
Ron

 

[Selector]

Beach sand, lakefront sand....roadside sand. Sifted garden soil is good for a switching yard surface.

Wash sand and let it dry. Your goal is to leave "sharp" sand to your use, sand free from as much vegetable/organic matter as possible. Then, pass a fridge magnet over the sand when you have a couple of cups of it spread thinly over a cookie sheet. Remember, the sand is now dry...it won't work well with wet sand.

If you feel you want it sterile, you can microwave it, but I wonder if the heat needed to actually kill bacteria would also discolour the sand...? Maybe...a test will tell. I would just rinse it in a solution of either bleach or sodium meta-bisulphite. Sodium meta-bisulphite is the inexpensive white powder sold in beer and wine-making stores that is used to kill bacteria and yeasts/moulds in the bottles and working equipment that comes into contact with the wort/must.

 

[wheeler1963]

Selector, I spread it out on cookie sheets and baked it in the over @400 for 30 minutes. I don't think anything can survive that!!

 

[IowaFarmBoy]

If you use dirt or sand then run a magnet through it to be sure that it is non-magnetic. Lowe's Play Sand has a lot of magnetic particles it it from what I have tested. Their Builder's sand tested out to be non-magnetic.

For a quick magnet since I didn't have one handy, I grabbed a magnetic cabinet door latch from the cabinet hardware section and it worked fine.

 

[kz9]

Damit! lol

Wish I had seen this thread about different ways to make ballast. I just bought $40 worth of WS stuff which wont even do my engine yard....

 

[weekendrailroader]

Okay, here's some photos. When you walk into the room (which is a complete mess, and will be until I'm nearly finished with the layout), there are tables/ boards/ whateveryouwanttocallthem on the left, the right, and against the back wall in front of you. A "drawbridge" will be built to let trains make a full loop.

The white stuff is baking powder from a snow experiment gone wrong.

The mill will be on the left, with a suggested interchange running under one of the buildings and through the backdrop. In front of you is the yard and the roundhouse. On the left is the logging camp (it's been there awhile, thus the lack of large trees). There is a two track mainline. Empty log cars will go clockwise around the layout. They will start at the mill, go past the yard and roundhouse and back out to the woods (then they'll travel over the drawbridge/ lift-out section) and appear back at the mill. Loaded log cars will do the same thing, but in reverse. Box cars bound for or leaving the mill will come from/return to the "interchange".

Here's some photos. I'll try to post some more at the end of the day if I make some good progress today.

http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=22543&stc=1&d=1286401596
http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=22544&stc=1&d=1286401596
http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=22545&stc=1&d=1286401596
http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=22546&stc=1&d=1286401596

 

[Motley]

Oh, from what you were saying I thought you were starting from scratch. That's why I was like December, no way.

You have a great start, and sounds like a nice logging operation would be attainable by Christmas.

I'm sorry, not being rude or funny, but I must say, I got a chuckle from your "snowstorm gone wrong". What in the heck did you do? It looks like a bomb went off. It's all over your locos? Are they OK? Please explain the details. I'm curious.

 

[diburning]

Selector, I spread it out on cookie sheets and baked it in the over @400 for 30 minutes. I don't think anything can survive that!!

Doesn't the organic material in it start burning?

 

[weekendrailroader]

Well, I had read in some old train magazines that you can use baking powder for winter scenes. I thought that that would make doing scenery a breeze...but I was wrong. It just got everywhere, made the room impossible to breathe in, and it nearly suffocated our aging vacuum cleaner when I tried to get rid of the stuff. Lesson learned.

On the other hand, the logging camp area now has a dirt landing and some bushes where the land has already been logged. Some of those tiny trees have been taken down as well.

 

[seventy7]

Now, does anyone know of a ballast option that doesn't come in a $10 container?

One option for cheap ballast that I got from another forum and have tried successfully:
Unscented Cat's Pride kitty litter (MUST be this brand, as it's make-up is different from most other types) from Wal-Mart (under $10 for 10kg/22lb), and india ink (a couple bucks for a few ounces). I sift the kitty litter into 2 or 3 sizes (fine, medium, and extra fine?) using cheap dollar store kitchen strainers. This can be a dusty process, so you might want to do it outside in a light breeze so the finest particles blow away, or wear a dust mask. Mix the kitty litter with water and ink (roughly 5-10 drops of ink per cup of water...this is where experimenting will help). I use a 1 gallon milk container with about 2 cups of litter and 4 or 5 cups of water. Don't mix it too vigorously, or the kitty litter will break down into finer particles and become like mush. The stronger the water/ink mix, the quicker the color will change, but about 5 minutes of gentle swishing around should be good. Separate the solids from the water (save the water for the next batch, and just add a bit more ink to strengthen it up) and dry the kitty litter completely on a flat surface (I use old styrofoam food trays). When dried (a day outside in the sun) you can break it up and re-sift it to break down the chunks into ballast size rock again.
You can try different variations of ink strength (more ink creates an almost bluish hue - quite nice), or you can try black acrylic paint mixed with water. I have about a dozen slightly different variations of grey/black, so if you want to be able to repeat a specific color then you should measure the amounts accurately, or make larger batches. You could also mix multiple shades together to get a "custom" color. I'm assuming this would also work with other colors (reddish, yellow, etc), but I have only experimented making grey/black.

The sifting process (both before coloring, and afterwards) is one of the most time consuming parts of the entire operation, as I don't have any LARGE strainers (only a 3" and 8"). If anyone knows of sources where I can find bigger, cheap strainers, or large pieces of screening material (other than window screen) that comes in multiple sizes, please let us know, as it would greatly speed up the sifting process.

Cost: for under $15 you can get over 20 lbs of ballast. It runs about $15 for 2 lbs at my hobby shop, so that's about 1/10th the price. It is also heavier than the Woodland Scenics walnut shell ballast, so it won't float away when you try to glue it down with the water/glue mix.

Hope this helps.