I’m about to start laying down ground cover throughout my service area (roundhouse, turntable, sand house, water tower, fueling rack, etc.). I’ve painted all of the exposed plywood with a flat black.
I see in almost all of the old photos that the general areas throughout seem to have a real fine black cinder covering (just a guess). It appears that only the rails show through this covering.
My question is, what can I use to simulate this? I want the same real fine appearance. Also, should I add enough cover to expose only the rails, or would this present a problem?[?]
Good grief, no! Have you ever seen photos of steam-era service facilities? There was NO junk anywhere near where people would walk, and almost no vegitation (the crap on the ground killed them all).
dgoodlander: I’ve noticed the same thing as you, that the average steam-era service facility was surrounded by very fine cinders that almost hide all the ties. I’m looking for a greyish-black, VERY fine, ground cover to replicate this look on my layout. I might end up grinding Woodland Scenics cinders to a powder.
I thought the Woodland stuff was actually cork based, would grinding work? I’ve looked at their “fine” ciders. It seems close, but not as fine. I’m more of a transtion era guy myself, but all of the B&O service areas, even into the late 60’s had the same ground cover, fine black cinder type. And yes, it all looked very clean, maybe an occasional oil spot, but not much vegetation.
I have been searching everywhere for a suitable substitute, no luck. Maybe some sort of powder painted flat black. If you come across anything I would appreciate an email, I’ll do the same if I come across something. You can reach me at:
The best material I’ve found for simulating this is Arizona Rock and Mineral’s “Steam Era Yard Mix” #1222. It’s a very finely ground dark gray blend with a few flecks of light grey and rust colored material mixed in. It makes a great base covering for a yard and loco service area.
Have fun,
Tom watkins
Get it while you can. The owner of Arizona Rock wants to retire, and is actively looking for a way out of the business. Get as much as you’ll ever think you’ll need NOW.
Woodland Scenics stuff is dyed walnut shells. I mostly stick with their products because they’re the most stable scenery company that caters to the American market. It’s no fun starting a project with one type of material, only to discover a year later that you can’t get it any more! Admittedly, WS stuff might not be the best out there (especially their ballast), which is why I’m actually looking for a natural product as an alternative (properly screened, baked and de-ironed, of course!)
Don’t forget drainage. The calendar over my desk has a photo of the Southern Railway’s Chattanooga yard, ca 1953. Just noticed concave storm drains about 18" wide between the tracks. (Not the engine service yard, but should apply.)
I picked up bucket fulls of this stuff free down along the San Pedro & Southwestern right of way 8 miles east of Sierra Vista. When rail lines were originally built through SE Arizona by the Santa Fe, they used copper smelter slag for their ballast. Over the years, maintenance of way truck traffic alongside the tracks, combined with weather and the elements, has broken this stuff down to a very fine, black powder. It has to be screened to get larger pieces out, and have a powerful magnet ran over it to rid it of metallic particles, but it is great for roundhouse areas.
The man who operates Arizona Rock and Mineral is in the northern part of the state, around Flagstaff, where volcanic rock is plentiful. The ground up there is more colorful than down here near Mexico. Red volcanic ash is so predominant that the state mixed red rock in the asphalt used for roads, giving the roads a reddish color. I think the Santa Fe even used red lava as ballast for their line through Flagstaff.
When I did my loco service area on the old layout I used black cinder ballast from Woodland Scenics. Big mistake! It was so perfect and uniform in color that it almost looked like black top.
I was able to fix it by playing around with chalk, talcum powder, oil stains using gloss black with silver mixed in, but it’s not a method I’d recommend.
I haven’t heard of the AZ.Rock and Mineral “Steam Era Yard Mix blend”. I’ll have to look at my LHS or see if I can get a sample from Phil.
