Matt Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 Fellow Scottish modellers I'm looking for some guidance! I am starting to ballast sections of my layout now and am looking for advice on suppliers for ballast. Layout is set late 80s / early 90s in central scotland - am guessing i need red granite ballast though am not sure as most photos not clear that I've seen (layout set Greenhill Junction). Assuming red ballast is the right option I'm looking for advice on suppliers - I've actually bought 2 types to date and am not happy with either: first lot was bought at Model Rail Glasgow this year but can't recall who from. Is red granite in bags labelled as N gauge (my layout is OO but figured N gauge might be more suitable). However the ballast has a massive distribution of sizes in it from dust to 5mm blocks making it virtually unuseable - anyone seen real ballast over 1' in size? Short of reseiving myself i'm struggling to see this as an option - shame i bought loads of it and lugged it around all day at the show... second lot is from Carrs via Nairnshire modelling supplies. The size of this looks perfect however the colour seems far to vivid a red to my eyes (the colour of the granite above seems more real). I haven't tried gluing as yet so may fade with glue? So my question is - what have you guys used? Is red ballast right for my time / location? Any recommended suppliers you could point me towards? Thanks in advance, Matt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
arran Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 HI Matt Grey ballast from Clatchard Craig quarry from memory. Regards Arran Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Alex TM Posted May 15, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 15, 2013 Hi Matt, I grew up five miles from the junctions at Greenhill, and, as with Arran, it was grey ballast that I remember too. I actually can't remember when I first saw pink ballast 'in the flesh' but it wasn't for a few years after then. Regards, Alex. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted May 15, 2013 Author Share Posted May 15, 2013 Guys, thanks for this. Saves my quest looking for pink ballast! Matt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waveydavey Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Earliest picture i've noticed of pink ballast was of a class 50 just south of Carstairs in 1968. Most of the ballast was grey but there had been a recent drop of pink ballast. Cheers David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strathyre Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure that the red ballast was used more in the old Lanarkshire area, fro local quarries - certainly on the roads network, the old Lanark County Council roads were distinguishable by the use of red stone in the tarmac, the boundaries with other council areas was very distinctive (and abrupt) and, from memory, Lanarkshire railway lines were similarly, but not exclusively, so treated, certainly in the 60s and 70s. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin Road Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 The red stone comes from cloburn quarry near Lanark nowadays . There may have been others in the past in the area . If you do a search they have a site showing their products . I have collected bagged products from here in the past . Mike b Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
asa Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 That is correct about the Lanark quarry,I've seen lorrys tipping the ballast into wagons at Carstairs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violets49 Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 Red ballast is actually quite rare even in Scotland. I agree that its mainly to be seen in Lanarkshire. Around wishie and Motherwell there is an abundance of red stone buildings. I would imagine that has to do with the ironstone deposits in the area. I suggest that the best ballast is Woodland Senics which is available in a wide range of colours (Including red and black ash.)and also various grades as well. Woodland ballast doesn't discolour when fixed with dilute PVA. It is expensive though. Its available in bags or in large plastic jars. Hope this is of assistance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peak experience Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 does anyone have any idea what year it was first used on the west highland? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad McCann Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 I've heard 1965 banded about as the first year that red ballast was used for rail purposes. Unfortunately I can't remember the source but it may have started as a big contract from ScR in relation to the upgrading in the mid '60s of the Caley to allow higher speed running in connection with future electrification. MM Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Red ballast is actually quite rare even in Scotland. I agree that its mainly to be seen in Lanarkshire. Around wishie and Motherwell there is an abundance of red stone buildings. I would imagine that has to do with the ironstone deposits in the area. I suggest that the best ballast is Woodland Senics which is available in a wide range of colours (Including red and black ash.)and also various grades as well. Woodland ballast doesn't discolour when fixed with dilute PVA. It is expensive though. Its available in bags or in large plastic jars. Hope this is of assistance. The stone from this quarry is a granite that seems to have a high feldspar content. The stone used for the buildings is more likely to be a red sandstone, possibly Devonian (Old Red Sandstone), as this underlies the Carboniferous in many locations. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Scottish Modeller Posted April 18, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 18, 2014 Fellow Scottish modellers I'm looking for some guidance! I am starting to ballast sections of my layout now and am looking for advice on suppliers for ballast. Layout is set late 80s / early 90s in central scotland - am guessing i need red granite ballast though am not sure as most photos not clear that I've seen (layout set Greenhill Junction). Assuming red ballast is the right option I'm looking for advice on suppliers - I've actually bought 2 types to date and am not happy with either: first lot was bought at Model Rail Glasgow this year but can't recall who from. Is red granite in bags labelled as N gauge (my layout is OO but figured N gauge might be more suitable). However the ballast has a massive distribution of sizes in it from dust to 5mm blocks making it virtually unuseable - anyone seen real ballast over 1' in size? Short of reseiving myself i'm struggling to see this as an option - shame i bought loads of it and lugged it around all day at the show... second lot is from Carrs via Nairnshire modelling supplies. The size of this looks perfect however the colour seems far to vivid a red to my eyes (the colour of the granite above seems more real). I haven't tried gluing as yet so may fade with glue? So my question is - what have you guys used? Is red ballast right for my time / location? Any recommended suppliers you could point me towards? Thanks in advance, Matt Hi Matt, The multi size ballast is a common thing that occurs with the particular make I think you have bought. You need to invest in a set of sieves to be able to grade it. I have 3 different grades of sieve that I use. The extra fine that goes through all of them does not go to waste though - it gets addes to other fine stuff for general ground cover and then gets painted to suit the effect required. The large stuff that does not go through the first sieve gets used for riverbeds, rock scree areas etc. That leaves me with 2 grades that are useable for 4mm and 2mm size dependent. Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasp Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Hi Phil What mesh sieves do you use and where did you get them? I have looked for fine mesh sieves for aluminium oxide powder to remove impurities etc but can only find laboratory sieves in the correct mesh sizes which are very expensive. Your help would be appreciated. Jim P Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Hi Phil What mesh sieves do you use and where did you get them? I have looked for fine mesh sieves for aluminium oxide powder to remove impurities etc but can only find laboratory sieves in the correct mesh sizes which are very expensive. Your help would be appreciated. Jim P How fine do they need to be? A decent kitchen shop will have a range of sieves with different size meshes, and a lot cheaper than laboratory-quality ones. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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