Lots of railroady pics 
Anyone using Chicken Grit in Southern California? And if so, where did you buy it?
John Miller said:I hold quite a bit of stock in "Chicken Grit" so please consume!!
Anyone using Chicken Grit in Southern California? And if so, where did you buy it?
The only problem with chicken grit, is that it is very expensive in the quantities we need.
http://www.soildirect.com/pricing/decomposed-granite/16321-santa-anita/ca/92649/0-5/ = 200 ft x 6in wide x 1 inch deep was what I used for $$ calc
Steve Featherkile said:
The only problem with chicken grit, is that it is very expensive in the quantities we need.
Anything bagged is expensive in the quantities we need 
The problem with the chicken grit and crusher fines is a good rain will wash them out. I use the 1/4 inch gravel. I donāt screen it and there are pieces larger than 1/4 inch. It stays in place and the water flows through it. The road and parking lot are what they call stage 2 paver base. Probably the equivalent of your leveling sand. Looks like dust when first applied. Then looks more like gravel after a few rains. Eventually all the small particles wash out and you have to add more. Ralph
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/cabby/_forumfiles/House047Med.JPG)
Ouch!
Iāll stick with the fine limestone for $13.00 3/4 ton. The decomposed granite donāt look right to me.
Itās nice, but it looks too fancy for Railroad bed.
David
mike miller said:
http://www.soildirect.com/pricing/decomposed-granite/16321-santa-anita/ca/92649/0-5/ = 200 ft x 6in wide x 1 inch deep was what I used for $$ calc
I use patio base from Lowes, it is small pieces and dust of gravel. It washes some but once the dust is gone, it holds well.
CL Beeson said:This is a question Jon Radder and I went through about 10 years ago. What we found is what is sold as the same product is regionally specific. He had stone dust and I had sand in what was basically the same bags from the same company. Makes sense that there is little profit in shipping bags of rock wast great distances, when there is a similar product used regionally. I was quite shocked to open a bag and find a nothing but sand, when Jon had recommended this perfect ballast product.
I use patio base from Lowes, it is small pieces and dust of gravel. It washes some but once the dust is gone, it holds well.
CL Beeson said:
I use patio base from Lowes, it is small pieces and dust of gravel. It washes some but once the dust is gone, it holds well.
I will add a āsecondā to the use of patio base from Lowes here in Tennessee. I liked the scale appearance for use in photography. Here is a shot with the Lowesā product supported by some regular limestone drainage rock. The track is floating as well.
(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/flat3640.jpg)
Doc Tom
I have great luck with the stone dust. Once it is wet down the dust packs down nice and holds the track down and the small rock then shows. Eventually want to use something with no rock to look more like a backwoods logging line. Some sort of dark sand. Havent found what I want yet.
(http://i51.tinypic.com/2r420s2.jpg)
Once the dust packs down
Ric Golding said:I remember that discussion. I had even posted pictures of the bag for you. As looking for those photos when this discussion came up, but they must have been left behind at one of my old hosts.CL Beeson said:This is a question Jon Radder and I went through about 10 years ago. What we found is what is sold as the same product is regionally specific. He had stone dust and I had sand in what was basically the same bags from the same company. Makes sense that there is little profit in shipping bags of rock wast great distances, when there is a similar product used regionally. I was quite shocked to open a bag and find a nothing but sand, when Jon had recommended this perfect ballast product.
I use patio base from Lowes, it is small pieces and dust of gravel. It washes some but once the dust is gone, it holds well.
Funny thing is, about 3-4 years ago the local Home Depot changed suppliers and what they sell now under the same name is coarse sand just like what you found.
Shawn said:You have tons of it out in the back 40. Just need to haul and sift the DIRT.
Eventually want to use something with no rock to look more like a backwoods logging line. Some sort of dark sand. Havent found what I want yet.
Iāve used peat moss for that effect and it works great. Spread it dry then mist it. Peat Moss is very hard to get wet but once it does it knits together very well and looks cool. Cheap too.
Here is my $0.02.
I worked as an engineer in a rock quarry company. So here is what I can tell you about stability.
First, the guys that suggested the material you use have flat sides is exactly right. The flatsided rock locks against each other better. Rounded-sided rock will just roll past each other.
Second, the ādirtā or as we like to call it, fines. Is also a desired trait to your sub-base. This is because the fines settle in-between the larger rock and prevent the rock from moving around. Sand is a very subjective term and many here have already touched on the variation of the term āsandā. One word of caution is to not buy āsandā that is washed, like playground sand. This usually has the fines washed out of it so it does not ālockā into place.
Third, the suggestion to go to a local rock quarry is correct. We used to bag some of our product and sell it to the hardware stores. The price difference was a lot higher for bagged product. You will probably save 50-75% if you go to a local quarry and get a load.
Finally, the construction of your roadbed. Start with a solid sub-bed. Use a gravel or something that has a 1/4" and smaller, along with the fines in it. Lay this down and pack it down. I suggest 3-4" deep if you can. This layer is for the stability of your roadbed. Also, if its packed well, water will not soak in as much and thus cause frost heave. Then lay you track down. Dress up the top to look more like ballast with a small clean rock, with no or very little fines. The top layer is just for show. The sub-bed is where your stability and strength are.
Finally, a suggestion for the type of material for the sub-bed. I prefer limestone, although most think it is a pourous rock, it works very well at repelling water when packed in properly. Some granite material is very pourous, be careful what you use. The less pourous, the better to prevent water soaking into the base.
I lied, one more thing. If your doing a floating roadbed, expect to have to do maintenance. You will have to occationally replace the top layer of rock. Hopefully, if youāve packed the sub-bed well enough you wont have to mess with it much. Make drainage ditches and make sure to install areas where the water can drain under your roadbed. Dont let it pool up next to the roadbed or youāll have a washout. Think like the ābig guysā they have many culverts and stuff installed to control water. You have to do the same. Good luck.
Welcome Jake - Great advice!
Welcome Jake
Welcome aboard Jake. Sound advice
We looked everywhere for black cinder like ballast. Couldnāt find anything even close to what looked right at any of the quarry/rock places in our area. But then I had an idea to use the real stuff. So, after getting permission, I was able to fill a bucket of Durango & Silverton ash from their ash pit. It looked great, but washed away after one winter. Probably not a viable option for most though, but it did look nice for one season. Hereās a photo that sort of shows the cinder āballastā:
(http://imageshack.us/m/710/1441/rockwood.jpg)
I thought about reballasting every summer, but we simply get too much snow for any loose ballast to stay around and not get washed into the soil as it melts. So it seemed like too much work to reballast every summer. In the photo below, the loco is where that red pickup truck is in the other photo. What you donāt see is this area where the tracks are is actually raised off the ground about 2 feet. And this was about 1/3 of the total snow height accumulated for that year. So you can see just how much snow we can get:
Here is the new stuff I found about 1/4 mile from work, at the time it is $4.03 for a 5 gallon bucket, called Sierra Limestone 3/8. This is after 3 hail storms and an inch of rain.
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/johnn/ballast%201.jpg)
