Ballasting question

[steez]

I'm modeling a railroad somewhere in the Pittsburgh Junction part of Ohio circa 1959. I got some WS brown fine ballast but it doesn't seem to look right. Should I be using gray or even black? The brown looks to me like soil. Its a great color tho. Any advice pics or ideas welcome. Thanks in advance/
-Steve

 

[FunValleyLine]

I use gray

 

[lmackattack]

I use Gray also then I air brush in the brown oil stains alongside the track and in between the rails

 

[GN.2-6-8-0]

We use Lt.grey for our mainelines and other colors black mainly' for sidings and secondary trackage.

 

[PNKFLOYD]

Steez- You can get some other colored ballasts and mix the colors together.
Look at prototype roadbeds and notice the differences in color as to how long the ballast has been in place.
Water runoffs and fllooding will cause some areas of roadbed to be discolored. Colors will differ with stone sources from the newer ballasted areas.
I model in central Alabama where red iron-oxide ore and steel-mill slag were used as ballast in the past. Modern mainline roadbed ballast is purchased on corpoate blanket contracts and is more uniform in appearance being from fewer sources.
Mikey

 

[UP2CSX]

Mikey has some good advice. The type and color of the ballast will change with era, weather, and how long the ballast has been down. Having lived in the area you're modeling, I'd say the most common color for mainline tracks was a light to medium gray granite ballast since there were quarries available on-line. Most side tracks and yards were ballasted with black cinders since they were available free during the stream era and made a very stable ballast material. Since then, ballast for all trackage looks pretty much the same since it all comes from the same contract sources. You don't say where you live but, if you live in the area, just go down to the tracks and take some photos. If you live somewhere else, search the web for photos of the area trackage for reference.

 

[Selector]

Local beach sand with cinders from Woodland Scenics sprinkled over top. Note that the rails have been painted and the ballast between the rails was also weathered with plaster of paris powder and tempera powder mixed together and sprayed with wet water.

 

[steez]

Thanks all for your comments.....helpful indeed. I wanted to stay away from gray but it looks as if I will end up with it anyways for realism.