Reusable, modular layout base in N-gauge

[Admin4]

It only just fits, but only just is good enough. Looking forward to seeing more.

[alan_r]

Latest purchases! 37501 and 37502

37501 37502

[alan_r]

I managed to get hold of a Kato double deck TGV for a good price. A very impressive model

Duplex TGV

Ten coaches total and so smooth running. Money well spent!

Duplex TGV long shot

For now I can ignore the lack of catenary wires!

TGV in the landscape

Here set up with my SNCF fret locos too

SNCF scene

TGV and 2x SNCF fret

[Phred]

Beautiful modelling, especially in such a small scale.

[Mountain]

That is nice.

[timbologist]

I have enough trouble with OO scale need my coke bottles to see what I am doing.

[alan_r]

It has been a while since I have been able to do any modelling, so I thought I'd try a small and manageable activity of making some coal loads for my HAA wagons.
I have had a few thoughts on different options to try, so I decided to make three different variations to see which looked best. They are to be removable to ensure the wagons remain pristine and can also be run empty if required. If any loads look rubbish, then I can also just throw them away rather than ruining a good model (which are getting expensive nowadays!)

First task was to cut some card inlays as a basis. The trouble with HAA wagons is the corners have an indent, so a bit of trimming was needed to allow them to sit slightly below the top edge of the wagon sides:

cut card

Then to stick polystyrene blocks to the underside to support them at the right height and polystyrene above as a basis for the piled up coal stack:

polystyrene blocks

A scalpel then to carve the shape to a little more rounded:

trimmed polystyrene

A bit of filler to smooth the shape:

fillered

Then black paint to hide any gaps in the topping material:

painted black

[alan_r]

Dropping the painted load bases into the wagons shows they fit ok and I am generally happy with the proportions:

Black painted dropped into wagons

I though I would try three variations for the loads
1) beach sand spray painted black
2) coke fines
3) real coal crushed into small pieces

Well beach sand is easy to source - just a few minutes walk from the house.
Coke fines I managed to gather from work (clearly not something many people are able to do!)
Real coal is as easy as beach sand, since in Wales coal just washes up on the beach! All it takes is a quick walk along the high tide line and pick the stuff up
High tide line, showing coal washed up:

Welsh beach

lumps of already washed coal on the beach:

Coal washed up on the beach

[alan_r]

The sea had washed the lump of coal so there was no dust. It looks like a stone, just very light in weight and very black:

Lump of coal washed up on the beach

I thought it would be a good idea to put it in a plastic bag to contain any fragments when smashing it with a hammer:

Coal in a plastic bag ready to be crushed

It turns out coal is very brittle, so didn't take much to smash with the hammer:

Smashed coal

Then to use a rolling pin to further crush the coal pieces, again all contained within the plastic bag. There were a few holes in the bag though from sharp edges, so there was a little leakage, but generally it was a clean operation:

Rolling pin to further crush the coal pieces

[alan_r]

Each of the load bases were coated in PVA glue, then two were sprinkled with the dried beach sand, two with the coke fines and two with the crushed coal:

Beach sand, coke fines and crushed coal on load bases

Once dry, they were up-ended and shaken to take all of the loose material off. The sand was then spray painted black with several light coats from many angles to ensure good coverage:

Resulting loads with three toppings

Sand, coke and coal toppings

They are then ready to drop into the wagons:

Loads ready to go into the wagons

Here are the wagons with the loads inserted. Painted beach sand at the front, coke fines in the middle and crushed coal at the back:

Loads in the wagons

[alan_r]

Here are the finished loads fitted into the wagons. I'm pleased with how they turned out - now I need to decide which is best

Finished wagon loads

Finished wagon loads

Finished wagon loads

Finished wagon loads

Looking at photos on the internet, and for power station coal (which looks very fine and ready to inject into the power station burners?) the sand looks more 'realistic', which is good as it is the cheapest and easiest to source. However it does look a bit like a factory made model in that it is too regular. Maybe it would be better if the piles were a bit less uniform, but the real ones do seem to be very consistent.
The coke fines look much more authentic and 'hand made' rather than factory moulded plastic, so seem a better home made model that pleases the eye.
The crushed coal looks far too over-scale (for n-gauge at least). It might work better with finer crushing, so may need more work on a next batch. However it is easy to source, plentiful and free! It seems quite convincing in terms of visual surface colour/finish compared to the painted sand.

[alan_r]

Here are the wagons on the layout.
Painted sand:

Beach sand

and the coke fines:

Coke fines

So, what do people think?
Which do you think works best, is most realistic or suits a model load?
Do you agree that it looks better as what the eye expects to see (coal/coke), or the painted sand which is more true to real wagon loads, but looks a bit 'manufactured'?

Looking forward to any comments. Thanks for looking

[Dad-1]

An interesting paradox. I tend to agree that real coal doesn't look as good
as an artistically modified alternative. The same as water, another element
that doesn't scale very well.

I don't make things difficult for myself by working in 'N' scales. The other variable
is what type of coal was being used at what historical time ? The block trains used
for taking coal to power stations during BR times onwards seemed to be quite fine.
My '00' choice has been Woodland Scenics 'cinder' ballast, can't recall at this moment,
but believe it may have been their fine grade. It isn't black enough and real coal tended
to have a reflective element. My dodge has been to paint after being securely glued in,
using heavily thinned gloss black enamel.
Again no expense spared in my yard as all my loads where fitted are permanent. In fact
I no longer have any empty 21 Ton hoppers, just 20 loaded. I do have a lot of 16 ton
steel minerals mostly made from the affordable Dapol kit so I have 4 sets. Coal loaded
and empty. then Chalk loaded and empty.
I think that's why I have so many wagons in my fleet - pushing 600.

Earlier coal loads, in wood wagons in the 1920's & 30's seem to be much more random
in size with a greater percentage of larger pieces. Apart from that observation I've not
really looked into coal grades, I do remember buying coal for our open fire, the only
home heating we had when in a rented cottage back in the 1960's and there were at
least 3 different priced grades available to us - This was in deepest Hampshire on the
edge of the New Forest.

Geoff T.

[Phred]

They all look great to me although, if pushed, I would have to lean toward the coke fines.

[alan_r]

Since real-world track ballast is about 2inches in size (~50mm), in n-gauge this would scale to 0.33mm which is much closer to beach sand than the granite chippings typically sold for modelling. I thought I would see how it looked by creating a super-micro scale model. First some polystyrene blocks and an offcut of track:

Polystyrene materials for MicroTest track

Then filler and a coat of sealing paint:

Assembled, fillered and painted MicroTest track

Next scatter the sand over the track, soak in PVA/water/soap, wait a little, then flood with more sand:

Dried beach sand laid on the track and glued

Once dry, it was upturned, the loose sand shaken off, then spray painted:

Pre and post spray painted track

Close-up of the spray painted beach sand ballasted track:

Close-up of spray painted beach sand ballast

Pre-painted it looks rubbish! After painting then perhaps a little better, but the sand isn't as easy to 'sculpt' as granite chippings and doesn't hold its shape. It also soaks up the solution differently and ended up quite flat and unrealistic. Although according to the calculator this is authentically scaled, like with the HAA wagon coal load test, it doesn't quite seem to look how the brain expects to see it, so I'm not convinced. Admittedly it is only a very short run, so somewhat difficult to judge - maybe I need to try on a bigger diorama?
My 'big layout' which has evolved over time presents an interesting take on ballast scale. The first modules used 'fine' n-gauge ballast which was quite big and chunky up close. When I built the later modules I used 'extra-fine' ballast which looked much better. What I have since noticed is that the older modules which have been relegated to the back of the new layout configuration are quite far from the viewer, so actually having larger ballast means the eye can see the texture more easily (the brain can see what it 'expects' to see) - perhaps if it had also been extra-fine it might have got a bit lost, so maybe this has taught me about relative detail depending upon how deep it is located on the scenery.
If beach sand is to be used, it would have to be right up close to the front, but of coarse then it would have to be very well laid to be convincing!
Considering the cost is effectively zero with no postage cost (the beach being a short walk away!), I'll try a bigger micro layout and see if a bigger run with additional scenery works or not.
Does anyone else have any experience of alternative materials for track ballasting other than traditional granite chippings?
Is there a reason why granite chippings have become the default? i.e. it just works better than anything else!