I am late steam in HO. I have designed an ash pit (concrete) to scratch build. However, I have not figured out what I can use to model the ashes that will be in and around the pit. I would appreciate any ideas on a material to use and what the coloring would look like. Also, I am curious as to how much ash a steam locomotive produces.
Thanks again to this group which has provided so much information to me.
wdcrvr
What railroad and what part of the country are you modeling, if you have any particular locale in mind. The type and amount of ash produced by a steam locomotive depended a lot on the coal it burned; anthricite or bituminous.
Hi
I used woodland scenics cinder ballast hot orange aquarium gravel
and being a social out cast cigerette ash for the contence of the ash pit.
You don’t need much of the hot orange aquarium gravel but don’t bury it to much
with the right balance it provides the hot look.
I have a suitably burned looking wheel barrow next to the pit for the finishing touch I still need a shovel
The emptying aperatus will of course depend on the depot size in my case barrow and shovel is adequate for a one loco depot.
How much ash is produced depends on the loco size and numbers and the quality of the coal being burned.
regards John
I have used Highball Cinder before. I alway use Highball Ballast and have much on hand so I don’t know if they still have Cinder but check it out. Doug
I used real ashes from actual steam engines. A number of geared locomotives are in use on my layout, and on a visit to the Cass Scenic RR in West Virginia I hauled along a zip-lock storage bag. I scooped some ashes from the shays there at Cass into the bag, later sprinkling the finer grade of ashes over white glue covering a small plaster mound within my ash pit. The vacuum cleaned up any mess after the glue was dry.
I thus can tell folks visiting the layout that the ashes are actual ones from locomotives like those on the layout. A visit to any site that has operational steam can yield a bag of ashes for you, and it might be worth the wait.
I was going to attach a photo of my ash pit, but photobucket seems to be crashing my browser today for some reason.
Bill
I asked this same question seven years ago and got some very good answers. Here is a link.
I am modeling a midwest locale. My locos are 4-6-0’s, 4-4-0’s, a 2-8-2 and a 2-10-0 so far. I would like to add a 4-6-2 or a 4-6-4 if I find one some day. That is probably the limit of my roster. No really large motive power. Thanks
wdcrvr
In the August 1991 Model Railroader Lou Sassi demonstrated using fireplace ashes to model an ash pit. However, looking at photos online after googling “steam locomotive ash pit”, I would say one would have to strike a balance between ash and cinders, where as Lou had all ash.
He also warned that if you use real ash lay down adhesive first, then sprinkle ash on top. Laying down the ash first and spaying it with wetting agent and adhesive will create “white mud”
Good Luck.
Hi,
I scattered HO cinders in mine, and topped with white glue/water mix. After drying, I lightly dry brushed some light grey, and a bit of red here and there. For me, that worked out pretty well.
I figured nothing would look more like ash than ashes, so I used ash from a wood fire, bagged it up and picked out all the too big stuff on my bench. Put the ash back in a bag and kneaded the ash to grind it into smaller size. When I liked how it looked, I piled it in my ash pit and glued it in place with scenery glue. I have never seen a real ash pit, so don’t know if cinders would be found there. My ash looks just like ash, however!
The club I used to belong to the guys that smoked saved their cig ashes and used them in the ash pits. They also used them for weathering it gives that soft grey effect everyone likes. The club disbanded and gave away most of the things that didn’t sell at the train shows.
I have a 3 lb coffee can full and use them for scenery on my rocks and other areas. You just need a soft makeup brush to apply them.
The ash conveyor was finished w/ WS cinders and real ash from wood/ charcoal brickets. The Walther’s conveyor was modified due to the great spacing to the adjacent track.
The cinders look very good. I like the track cleaning car.
Here in northern Michigan I have burned a cord of wood already. Ask somebody with a wood stove. I have two five gallon buckets full to get rid of.