On the last pike we used WSfine grey. That what our mains look like here at least the csx does. But something that I found that works great and its free and every one has some…intrested? Well are ya?
Go clean your gutters! Sift that to get big crap out, layer it thin to dry a few days and then ballest as normal. It looks killer! at least to my eyes. When The camera is back ill post a pic.
J.W.
Hmmmmmm, INTERESTING!!!
I have two packs of shingles in my garage that were extras from when my house was built almost 19 years ago.I had it re-roofed last year, and used better shingles, and a slightly different color. Guess what I’m contemplating for those two packs of shingle???
Does anyone think a WIRE BRUSH or what would work to scrape them puppies off with???
BETTER YET!!
Wonder if I could find a place that makes shingles and buy some fine gravel from them???
I think I’ll dye a little and do a test like you mentioned with a scrap piece of track and roadbed.
TheK4Kid
I work construction, a product we use for filling in garages is Rock dust. It’s the washed powder from washed stone. It is the right color and it is very small. Smaller than anything from woodland s. It is really cheap too.
They still are! Well, kind of! They are in their mid-late 70’s now. I was born in Texas because my dad was stationed there in the Air Force. Actually it isn’t a bad state to live in - I just didn’t stay there after college because a geologist couldn’t find work there in the mid 80’s.
My dad came from a family of 10 kids and grew up in Lorimor - about 45 minutes south of Des Moines. Mom came from a farm near Osceola (Truro) which happens to be right on the Amtrak California Zephyr route! Since my dad joined the Air Force, they never moved back but they always come back there for yearly family reunions on Memorial Day. I was there last year myself. I have to say - its a different world. If you didn’t grow up there you couldn’t imagine living there. Still, I’ll always be fond of my Iowa roots.
Actually I spent 2 years in Pittsburgh before my parents moved to Iowa, so I’m a baby transplant. Been here 44 years though. I live in Eastern Iowa along the Mississippi river, so I’m not familiar with your area.
Yeah, its a big enough state. Davenport might be near there. I’ve driven the hwy 70 route between Indianapolis and Iowa on the way there when I was in grad school at Indiana University.
For my work, I sometimes drive down to Pittsburgh area. I prefer the west having lived around and the northeast winters are not my cup of tea. I’ll be looking forward to getting out of the central NY area when I get the chance to move. I sure miss Sacramento at times like this! I mostly grew up in Davis, a college town near Sacramento (6th grade up thru 4 years of college) including Sacramento State University.
Driline,
Thankyou for your kind remarks.
I work for a shingle manufacturer; we buy granules (the little colored stones) primarily from 3M out of Wausau, WI, 200-300 tons per day (not a typo, that’s an average of 8-12 semi loads daily). A friend tried ballast with granules and didn’t have much luck because of a low level of kerosene (used to eliminate moisture clumping) in the granules. I’m guessing that loose gutter rock would work fine. I’m further guessing that new granules may work if flushed through with a grease-cutting detergent and a thorough rinse, then dried. Sifting would also be a good idea, as there is quite a variation in granule size.
Good luck scraping them off of shingles: they are pressed into a HOT asphalt blend and will have considerable residue (maybe the competition’s product will come loose easier[:-^]).
I’m nowhere’s near the point of needing ballast yet, so have not inquired as to the chances of liberating any production spillage. Gary
I like the WS fine ballast though it does tend to appear to have the consistency of sand. So I mx in a little medium as well. About 70% fine and 30% medium. Sometimes I just use fine talus.