I’m sure some of you already know this but if any of you need a to produce mass piles of coal for your lay out. Buy yourself some Kitty liter and then go to walmart and by some 99 cent cans of flat black paint. Lay some news paper down sprinkle kitty liter down spray, you will need to turn the kitty liter over to make sure you get even coverage with the paint. Let dry and enjoy.
At some of our local Dollar Stores they have finely crushed something or another in large bottles maked “Decorative Gravel” , and it comes in several colors including black. It is in the crafts section, so I assume there is a use for it in some other hobby. It has a nice sparkle to it like real coal. One bottle would probably do an average modeler a lifetime, so I bought two!
Might be easier to check out local craft shops for similar material. No mess, no fuss.
Bob Boudreau
Used or new charcoal for fi***anks.
I pick up coal chunks and use those. Take a hammer to them for smaller pieces. They look like real coal too.
David we do the same thing over here in Kentucky. The place is thick with it and no colorizing involved at all, and it looks so natural! The stuff falls off coal trucks and out of rail cars in quite a few places in the hills and hollars. I agree with you that it does take a bit of smashing to get to a proper scale size. The smell can be a bit offputing, but it is not that much effort really to get that real look. [:D]
Essayons,
Ed
My vote is for a lump of coal, a big hammer and some window screening. On mountain bike trips along the abandoned NYC and D&H roadbeds I pick up stray pieces of coal. A few minutes outside with the hammer & now I have coffee cans full for future use.
Not only is it free & easy to make, it was carried here in the prototype trains.
Wayne
I use the real thing. We have a coal fire, so if I need some HO scale coal I just pick a small lump out of the bunker, put it in a plastic bag, and whack it with a hammer until I get the right size lumps. Interestingly our coal deliveries have started to get very dusty recently, the “grittier” dust should look good as HO scale domestic coal.
For the past several years I have been using a product called Black Beauty. It is slag (a by product of coal mining) and is used for sandblasting rust from metal. It comes in 3 grades and I have found the medium to be close to nut coal - at least it looks that size to my eye. I get it at Builder’s Supply and it costs $7 for a 100 pound bag.
I live near the Trona Railroad in Southern California which hauls coal. I pick up REAL coal from beside the trackage and crush it like the Indians crushed corn in a stone bowl, sift it, and white glue it onto a removable false bottom inside the coal car. Looks great, smells great, and is not too heavy. All you need to do is live near a railroad that carries coal.
Kitt litter is hightly absorbant, so would that work or not?
And is charcoal that you can buy for BBQ’s acceptable?
Probably no need even to travel to a coal-hauling road. Not too far back in time, nearly every town had a coal dealer. A few minutes kicking through the weeds there will turn up a lump or two.
Wayne
As far as using real coal, I believe that is all Woodland Scenics is. After I work with it crunching it around, my fingers sure look like the days I lived in Kentucky and would go to my Dad’s strip mine.
REX
I figured I could heat my cabin each winter with about $70,000 worth of W.S. Mine Run Coal. A little less if I simply burned dollar bills along with it.
Woodland Scenics makes some nice stuff, but they would package “Scale Model Air” if they thought they could get away with it.
Wayne
I USE CHARCOAL FROM OLD RESPIRATOR FILTERS ,IT’S THAT RIGHT SCALE ALREADY FOR N-SCALECOAL AND IT’S FREE. STEVE
No coal dealers out here, been outlawed since the 50’s…
WS stuff is good, but $$
Charcoal grill stuff just looks wrong (not shiny like real coal)
One other source…Go to pet store, get carbon filters for fi***anks break up in bag with hammer.
Discount Model Trains in Addison, Tx carries scale crushed coal. Since I live near Dallas, I do not have access to coal.
I should have said that breaking up pieces of coal would be ideal since WS coal appears to be pulverized “real” coal. Your right about the price. You could buy a coal mine for what it would cost to fill an MRR coal drag of hoppers.
REX [:)]
This is what I use, too. My brother-in-law got me a large coffee can of this a few years back and I think it is the best looking material I’ve seen. Looks to be the right size, too. BTW, some have mentioned using cat litter, oil dri, aquarium gravel, etc. Maybe this comes in different sizes than those I’m familiar with, but what I’ve seen personally of these materials is WAY too large for HO, my scale. [8D]