I’m ready to ballast. if I’m modeling a freelanced layout somewhere in the mid east (US), which is the right color for ballast, and size? I’ve been studying some pictures and unfortunately the last time I visited those places I didn’t pay any attention to the ballast.
Another issue is that I don’t really understand woodland scenics’ ballast table. What does .9" (for HO) mean? .9" is 22mm, what does that measure?
Jose,
Since you are ‘freelancing’ a layout you have a lot of latitude in choice of color of ballast. There was not one standard color for ballast. It usually depended on what rock material was available locally. So unless you are trying to be very specific about a particular area, you can choose whatever seems good to you. Even within the same railroad system you will find a large variation in ballast colors. Not all the ballast was placed at the same time, not all the ballast came from the same quarry, some ballast (like in yard areas) can be heavily combined with black cinders. Just look for anything that comes close to what you see in the pictures.
Size can vary too. My estimate is that the majority of crushed rock ballast runs between 1-1/2" - 3" in diameter.
The Woodlans Scenic chart shows the approximate real world size for their various grades of ballast. In this case, their ‘Fine’ ballast represents rock that runs between 0.9" and 2.9" in HO scale (probably about what you are looking for). Their ‘Medium’ ballast represents crushed rock that runs between 2.9"and 4.3" in size (also very acceptable).
I hope that info is close enough to help you. If I got some of it wrong, maybe someone else will add more comments.
(Do you really live in Colombia?)
Regards
Ed
Thank you a lot ED. Yes I do live in Colombia.