Color of "brake sand" for steam terminal.

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

Hi,

I am in the way to finish a small sanding station for the small steam engine terminal next to my yard.

The station has an open bin which I need to full whith sand, not a real problem but which colour of sand?

Most finding pics are… black and white[V] so impossible to come trough the real color.

Here in Belgium we used a yellow sand or a very light brown sand nearly a white buff color.

Modeling US prototype and in the Appalachian country, could someone help me whith the sand color.

Thanks a lot.

Marc

2

Sandy brown .

The color will vary depending on where they sourced the sand from, but most sand is a yellowish tan ranging to a very light brown color.

3

At least locally (Midwest) the sand looks very pale, off-white, looking nearly pure white in contrast to the dark grime of the surroundings. It is certainly whiter than beach sand or sandbox sand. The white sand beaches of Jamaica come close to the right shade.

Dave Nelson

4

Locomotive sand I have seen is fine quartz - very nearly white. When wet (which it would be in an open bin) it is a light tan color. When dry it is very white. After use, the roadbed around the upgrade track appears to have been sprinkled with talcum powder. On the N&W, an Appalachian railway with heavy traffic and heavy locomotives, the ‘talcum powder’ frequently buried the tie plates and rail bases, as well as giving the running gear of the Y-class 2-8-8-2s a liberal dusting of white.

Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

5

i’m in central NY state, our sand is very fine, almost like dust,and is white with a very slight pink hue.

6

Sand is for traction when starting and stopping a train. In the modern era with extended range dynamic braking, using sand to assist in stopping is engineer’s choice in conjunction with the independent brake. The sand must be very fine to enable “flow” under air pressure tthrough relatively small pipes from the sandboxes to the railhead in front of and, in some cases behind, the drive wheels whether steam or diesel.

You can’ go wrong with an off white color.

7

Hi,

Thanks a lot for your answers, I can now finish my little sanding station whith a protypical colors.

Thanks again and good weekend

(bad wheather here in Belgium; not cold but rainning the all days)

Marc

8

If you check out Arizona Rock & Mineral he sells sand for sanding towers and drying hoses along with ash for your ash pit. Really nice stuff some day I’ll get around to putting in down in my engine servicing area.