Large Scale Central

Rock outcropings

General Discussion
#1

Has anyone figured out how the folks at the zoo and other amusement parks make those foam rocks that look great but weigh just a few pounds?
I think that would be a big asset for the garden railway, unless squirrels like to eat them.

                                                                                                             Smokebox
#2

Funny you should mention that. I got a catalogue in the mail this week from a Garden Supply place that carries that kind of stuff.

http://www.gardeners.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Gardeners-Site/default/Link-Keywordsearch?DefaultButton=findSimple&q=rocks&x=221&y=19

#3

Thanks Ken,

I ordered a catalog for my business. The rocks look great.

Chuck

#4

spendy.
I’ll give you some real 500 pounders…

#5
John Bouck said:
spendy. I'll give you some real 500 pounders...
I'll take as many as you can spare.
#6

Free rocks are great. Moving them is the hard part. My brother-in-law was excavating a parking spot at his house a block away last fall. Uncovered a huge boulder that his contractor was willing to drop in my yard for free. I passed on the offer 'cause there was no way I could ever move it without a machine. Must have weighed a ton or more.

I have the advantage of living on a man-made lake with a rocky shoreline. Every summer I bring home a bunch of rocks on the front of the pontoon boat. Last summer I got one on the boat that I couldn’t lift alone. It ended up staying on the deck until we towed the boat home for winter storage.

Jon

#7

If I ever get to meet any of you face to face, ask me about trying to move the BFR that threw me about ten feet.

Thanks for posting the link the curved raised bed wall might just be the missing link I needed to get some more land grant and right-of-way.
JimC.

#8

HEy!!! I thought I coined the term BFR…Great Minds think Alike!!!

#9

I used to work in a factory that made rock for landscaping and home construction. We would get rocks that weighed 15-20 tons and run them through hydrolic shears and made little rocks, it was my job to sort them and put them on pallets, by size.
Talk about hard labor!! The things a person would do for 11 bucks an hour!!

                                                                                                                Smokebox
#10

Sorry I realize that has nothing to do with trains and was off topic, I will not do it again!!

                                                                                 Smokebox
#11
Rob Wright said:
I used to work in a factory that made rock for landscaping and home construction. We would get rocks that weighed 15-20 tons and run them through hydrolic shears and made little rocks, it was my job to sort them and put them on pallets, by size. Talk about hard labor!! The things a person would do for 11 bucks an hour!! 
                                                                                                                Smokebox</blockquote>

Didn’t they use to call that place prison?

Tony G

#12

'Cept they only get 50 cents an hour makin lil rocks outa big ones…

#13

I found another place for faux rocks. I made a plant delivery to this place yesterday and noticed they had an area with fake rocks displayed…

http://www.bissettnursery.com/Hardgoods/Faux-Rock/hg_ura.htm

Here’s a link to their supplier…

http://www.universalrocks.com.au/

Quite an assortment…

#14

Ken,
Those two sites are a great find. Thanks. I have tried to contact them to get a price list.
JimC.

#15

I know that Bissett’s is a wholesale only, so you may need some kind of tax number or contractor’s ID to do business with them. If you know anybody in the nursery business you may need them to get a price list. If not let me know, my son is in the business. I could get one for you through him…:wink:

#16

To get back to the original question, they find a rock that they like and make a mold of it. Usually out of silicon rubber. Then they cast a foam rock out of somesort of foam product (their are several to choose from). Color can be added to the foam or they can be colored after they are cast or both. I have made foam rocks using that method for my HO railroad for years. Reciently I have been mading foam coal loads for my Aristocraft hopper fleet. You can also do the same thing with concrete although obviously it is heavier and harder to move into place.

#17

Bob Treat out in San Diego uses heavy aluminum foil to make the molds for his rocks and casts them in concrete. He had an article in GR a few years back. I’d like to give that method a try, but so far haven’t a need to do it. PA grows rocks…:wink: