Large Scale Central

Building streets & roads on the ground

Track and Trestles
#21

Ralph the stone dust I use on my RR also comes with concrete mixed in. Might be something like Kevin uses. Try going to a patio/stone place and see what kind of stone dust mixes they have.
How many bags would you need from that place in Conn? Maybe between Jon and me we can bring it to York as long as its not too much lol.

Matt I would love to get that look on my RR. Like others said it would be one muddy mess out here in the rainy east. Thats the nice thing about living in a semi arid environment you dont as much rain.

#22

Shawn has got it for a suggestion.

The engineer in me says, find some small rock with a little cement mixed in it. It works great for stabilizing the material but will still allow a little flexing. I would use a material called -4 Fines. This is quarry rock that will pass trough a -4 sieve (little less than 1/4") all the way down to the dust. Then purchase a bag of portland cement. Mix the Fines and the cement into each other dry. I wish I could give you measurements as to how much cement, but I can only do it by eyeing it. The thing to keep in mind is dont mix a lot of cement, a little goes a long way. Next place your mix where you want. Spray down with a graden hose and let dry. THe cement in the mix will harden up and stabilize the rock. It will crack a little as it moves but nothing like poured concrete. You can always brush over the cracks with a broom to fill them back in or add more mix to the big cracks.

I would suspect the Gator rock is a very similar material.

#23

Good idea Jake. We call that material Stone Dust in these parts. I’ve mixed it with mortar mix and water in the past to get a fine concrete mix. I like the idea of the dry Portland cement mixed in and watered after being spread. You can probably use concrete dyes with it as well to achieve a more dirt-like color. Our local “dust” is gray.

#24
Jon Radder said:
Good idea Jake. We call that material Stone Dust in these parts. I've mixed it with mortar mix and water in the past to get a fine concrete mix. I like the idea of the dry Portland cement mixed in and watered after being spread. You can probably use concrete dyes with it as well to achieve a more dirt-like color. Our local "dust" is gray.
I should try that with the dyes in a few spots to make small dirt paths etc......
#25

The Gator Dust is a polymeric, rather than concrete. The advantage being it has a little “flex” and won’t crack like the cement.
The Gator Dust is a little coarser than the usual polymeric sand used between pavers. Polymeric sand instructions indicate it is to be used on gaps up to one inch.
The Gator Dust can be used up to 4.5 inch gaps. And Kevin has successfully used it on his roads 7 inches wide.
Ralph

#26

Ralph, based on that info…

I think if I were to use it, I’d try some Gator Dust for the base road, then use some Polymetric sand for the top finish of the roads…

Just a thought…

#27

I like the idea of using polymeric sand. I’m not crazy about using 90# roll roofing. The natural dirt idea looks great, but as has been pointed out, makes a mess of buildings. And it would be too much to think about if I had to cover all of my buildings every time rain was forcast. Moving the pine needles is easier than moving leaves off the tracks, for me at least.

I have but one road in my garden railway. I made it using 8" x 16" patio blocks. Then I installed a track down the center. Finally, I coated the entire assembly with Latex floor leveler, available at Home Depot in the ceramic tile section. I used the rail head and the edge of the pavers for a screed. It’s been in place for about eight years. I live in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

#28

Matt, great idea using storage bins to protect your buildings. If I ever build my outdoor railroad (don’t hold your breath) I will consider doing that (covering my buildings).

As for grit, dirt, etc, I’ve been down that road–at least discussing the subject–before and my vote goes to decomposed granite or the stuff some in the Northwest call “bridge mix,” which is some kinda fine gravel. I saw it on a fantastic layout near Seattle during the National convention a few years ago. If they have one in that area (Wash/Ore) again, you should go, as there are some incredible layouts there, right Richard Smith?

#29

Joe Rusz said:

Matt, great idea using storage bins to protect your buildings.

And when I bring everything inside the garage during the winter for storage, the bins are a great place to store railroad items without them getting bumped or damaged if they were otherwise out in the open in the garage.

#30

We have used asphalt driveway patch. Cut out a trench an inch or two deep 7 to 8 inches wide, overfill with patch, pack it down a bunch. Looks great and has held help well. You can buy it by the bag and it usually goes on sale in the sprong.

#31

Ralph

is there nothing at your local quarry that would suffice?

#32

I’ll second Kevin’s suggestion of using polymeric sand (gatordust is one of the brands out there). It holds up pretty well to light foot traffic and is easy to mend spots that get beat up with more of the stuff. I mixed it about 50/50 with stone dust.

#33

Kevin Strong said:
@ Ralph, I believe it is the Sahara Beige. @ Matt, the only problem with natural dirt is that it splashes up on the buildings when it rains or I water the railroad. That’s what I originally had in place (can’t beat it for realism) but I was forever rinsing the dust off the buildings. Later, K

You can have this same problem with poly sand in areas that have steady rainfall.

Poly sand is not a “glue” that dries and becomes hard forever. It is designed to re-moisten and flex with temperatures. In landscape brick installations it lasts about 5 years ( with gaps less then 1/8 inch

Poly Sand is not recommended by manufactures for gaps of more then 1/2 inch because rain well erode the binder material quickly. Here in NY the Poly sand used on my railroad requires yearly maintenance just as much as using stone fines ($30 for a 70# bag of Poly Sand vs $15 for a ton of stone fines)

Fortunately I’m a landscaper and use the left over bags to touch up eroded spots because the look of poly sand is better then stone fines IMO.

#34

Matt Doti said:

Kevin Strong said:
@ Matt, the only problem with natural dirt is that it splashes up on the buildings when it rains or I water the railroad. That’s what I originally had in place (can’t beat it for realism) but I was forever rinsing the dust off the buildings. Later, K

That’s a really good point. I use storage bins to combat rain splashing dirt on our buildings. The bins keep the buildings clean and also gives some protection from falling tree branches. So whenever the weather report is for rain or heavy wind I cover the buildings. You can see some of the bins in the background of this photo:

Matt, didn’t you have a picture with your “Container covers” in place?

#35

Ric Golding said:

Matt, didn’t you have a picture with your “Container covers” in place?

Here’s a few I could find:

(http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/1956/darnboxes.jpg)

(http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/2753/60206349.jpg)

And I wrap a tarp over two steel bridges. Protects a full trainset from rain. Although in this photo it is not fully secured.

(http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/3812/sheeptarp.jpg)