I'm no expert...

but I would experiment with using Envirotex or Woodland Scenics Realistic Water in a very thin film over the ballast.  I think it would make it look wet and the colour would come naturally.

Gloss medium

John,

Nice prototype, although it's effectively a fallen flag now. I'm thinking that the ballast would be somewhat shiny after a rain, so in addition to a darker color, you might try using dilute gloss medium to glue the ballast down.

I also have one section of track that I ballasted that is over subroadbed that I had painted brown - the dilute white glue sucked the color up off the subroadbed into the ballast, darkening it significanly. Perhaps if your subroadbed & roadbed was painted a dark gray color, it would also do this.

As always, test the methods before putting them into production....

Wet Ballast

Hi John,

You never mentioned what scale you're modeling in,

but start off with any brand of ballast designed for your scale.

Test out the following on a 9" section of track until you're satisfied

with the results:

2 parts light grey, to 1 part dark grey. This was the formula

we used at a club I belonged to that modeled typical SP prototype practices.

Just follow the directions on the product's label and let dry.

Once you're satisfied with the color mixture, try adding acrylic gloss medium

at full strength. If it's too glossy, then try diluting it half-strength, and so on to

your liking.

Good luck!

Thanks every one for your

Thanks every one for your response. 

I'll get some ballast this weekend and try some samples.

John