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Black diamond coal slag for coal loads or ballast? General discussion
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Super User 3,627 posts eastwind Super User 3,627 posts
eastwind

I saw a video made by a guy who was using Black Diamond Coal Slag blast media for his aquariums (in the bottom, to make some pretty black sand) and wondered about whether it would be useful in ballast.

I don't know about the conductivity, but I suspect it is conductive. Whether it would be conductive enough to cause a problem, especially if mixed with other ballast components, would have to be tested or at least understood by someone who can understand safety sheets. 

Here's the link to the SDS. 

Anyway, even if it's no good for ballast, it should make awesome coal loads for coal hoppers and tenders, and since it comes in 50 lb bags, one bag should be a lifetime supply, even if you're doing live coal loads in 100-hopper trains with a working rotary dumper.

They sell it in various 'grades', i.e. pre-strained to different particle sizes. I expect one of these should be about right for HO scale, but someone else will have to do the math. Here are the sizes in 'mils':

(grade: particle mil range)

1240: 3.5-4.5

1630: 3.0-4.0

2040: 2.0-3.5

2850: 1.5-3.0

3060: 1.0-2.5

4080: 0.75-1.5

And their web site:  https://www.blackdiamondabrasives.com/products/black-diamond-coal-slag/

I don't have a price on the stuff, but given its intended use I don't think it's going to be too expensive. The guy using it for his aquariums was buying it because it was cheaper than fancy colored aquarium sand. The difficulty will be getting to a retailer. Most of the 'where to buy' places seemed to be in the mid west. Unless you're going to pay for shipping, which is going to be more than the cost of the stuff I expect.

So: could someone tell me which sizes are appropriate, and can anyone figure out from the SDS whether the stuff is unsuitable for ballast?

You can call me EW. Here's my blog index
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Darren Bock prrfirefighter Active Member 48 posts
Darren Bock prrfirefighter

Vendor and Pricing

I can't comment on the conductivity but I was able to find that Tractor Supply is a dealer for the manufacturer and their pricing is $8.99 for a 50 lb bag.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/black-diamond-fine-blasting-abrasives?cm_vc=-10005
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Bob Stetser New member 27 posts
Bob Stetser

DON'T DO IT!!!!!

I once used a product sourced from the same type of stuff, I can't say it was the exact stuff.  I did an area 1' X 30'.  OMG!!!  there must have been a million points of shorting.  I was getting conductivity measurements with my multimeter just across the ballast material.  I even ran a magnet through the stuff, before gluing it down, but it wasn't enough.

Run from this stuff, whatever it is.  I had to tear EVERYTHING out.  Five tracks, 30 feet long with Peco turnouts. 

Bob 
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Avel Active Member 63 posts
Avel

MSDS from the website.

bad copy and paste, but includes 18-22% aluminium oxide and 5-12% iron oxide

 

* * *Section 3 - COMPOSITION / INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTS* * * CAS Number Components of Coal Slag Percent % 60676-86-0 Amorphous Fused Silicon Dioxide 40-50 1344-28-1 Aluminum oxide 18-22 1309-37-1 Iron oxide 5-12 1305-78-8 Calcium Oxide 15-22 12136-45-7 Potassium Oxide 0-1 13463-67-7 Titanium Oxide 1-2 1309-48-4 Magnesium Oxide 3-5 1313-59-3 Sodium Oxide 0-1 14808-60-7 Crystalline Silica as Quartz 0-0.6 14464-46-1 Crystalline Silica as Cristobalite < 0.01 7440-41-7 Beryllium 0-0.00005
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kjd Frequent poster 575 posts
kjd

weight

Another consideration is weight, cars live loaded will be massively overloaded compared to NMRA standards.  Mostly because of the weight issue, I use crushed walnut shells that I dyed black with Rit dye.  In addition to black dye, I would add some green to counteract the purple hues from just black.
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Lancaster Central RR Frequent poster 574 posts
Lancaster Central RR

Doesn’t look like a smart

Doesn’t look like a smart idea. Did you factor in the cost of using a respirator every time you work with the stuff? Live loads would be a horrible idea. 

I don’t see how it’s worth saving a few bucks. I would rather keep my lungs and spend the money on real ballast. 

If your that cheap steal some ballast and take a hammer to it. 

Lancaster Central Railroad &

Philadelphia & Baltimore Central RR &

Lancaster, Oxford & Southern Transportation Co. 

Shawn H. , modeling 1980 in Lancaster county, PA - alternative history of local  railroads. 
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MtRR75 Regular poster 100 posts
MtRR75

Real Coal for Coal Loads

I picked up a bag of fine grain anthracite coal at a train show.  Most of my coal hoppers are Accurail or Athearn.  I purchase the plastic coal inserts that fit the hoppers.  I spread diluted white glue over the plastic coal load, then sprinkle the real coal over the glue.  Sometimes I need to file down the underside ends of the plastic coal load to make it sit low enough in the car.

Looks realistic and does not add much weight.
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eastwind Super User 3,627 posts
eastwind

Oh come on. The respirator is

Oh come on. The respirator is for when blowing the stuff through a sand blaster, it's not going to turn into dust just sitting there. It should be less dusty than unburned coal.

You can call me EW. Here's my blog index
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