It looks like you have some options

Based on the photos (and depending on your scale) I think you could go with a Woodland Scenics or other Fine or Ultrafine Ballast.  The bottom photo looks like sand or dirt with little ballast, and the top one does as well (Just close up). 

Aside from ballast, I'd urge you to think about detailing, weathering and other scenic enhancements.  With a little pigment wash or some airbrushing, you'll be able to alter the appearance of any ballast.

Ballast in Roseburg Yard

It's easy to find out what Joe uses for ballast!  Just order the scenery DVD's from model-trains-video.com!

Kevin, thanks I have all 8

Kevin,

thanks I have all 8 Joe's DVD, but ballast topic is about generic mainline and Coos Bay branch, only

kcsphil1,

airbrush and pigments sound good. I still think having a good texture underneath is very important. I'm in N scale, so fine WS ballast is barely fine for mainlines, does not work for yard tracks. perhaps mixing fine ballast with some other stuff (real dirt?) can do it.

Ahh right you are.

Denny, sorry, I forgot he was only ballasting mainline in the DVD as it is focused on the ten mile creek section...

I envy you having all 8 of the DVD's...maybe someday for me...?

You never know, Joe may come along and share his secret with you.

For yard ballast

A lot of yard ballast hardly qualifies as real ballast. Certainly not much of a ballast shoulder.

You might tray testing a portion of your yard using just zip texturing (with a LIGHT misting of water so as not to turn everything into mud). This will yield a kind of 'pebbled' surface texture. Or perhpas mix zip texturing with plaster/tempra powders with a bit of actual ballast. Weather everything and perhaps add some details like discarding metal band strapping or a pile of tie plates (made from brown construction paper), a bit of broken glass, piles of sand or grain, some weeds around infrequently used areas, etc.

Don't (well probably don't) use the same ballast you use on your mainlines.

Cheers

Charlie

Keving, I subscribed to the

Keving,

I subscribed to the whole Joe's line back in 2003 or something, and I also got the 3 Op Session Live DVDs. Money well spent!

Charlie,

I am posting here right because I definitely don't want to use the same ballast I am using on the main, but when it came down to think about ballasting the yard I suddenly realized that I have no clue what to use

I gave the dirt powder mix a thought, and it would work great for areas where there are no tracks - like 2nd photos foreground. But how to keep the mix from falling onto the rails when I lay it with a tea strainer between the rails? Perhaps laying it dry, then clean up the rail, then lightly mist it could work but it sounds like a pain to do... It might sound like a lots of questions for a stupid task, but I want to do it right

Dirt mix on track

Denny,

I'm getting set to zip texture Mill Bend and the surrounding areas on the BC&SJ this afternoon. Some of the tracks are kind of down-in-the-mud-in-terrible-shap spur tracks. I'm gonna give the zip texture instead of (or with) ballast method a try. I'll report back on how well it works out.

The dry application of the plaster/pigment, brush off the ties, then mist with water (maybe I'll use an airbrush to keep from getting artillery size water droplets) is what I'm planning.

Cheers,

Charlie

Charlie, that's great! A

Charlie,

that's great! A report would be much appreciated, thanks!

I don't know where you live,

I don't know where you live, but I've been to Guadalupe, CA. You also didn't mention in what scale you are modeling, so the technique may differ slightly. Most of the SP yards in southern California look similar-tracks embedded in the dirt with a little ballast around them. If I were modeling this yard, I'd start by ballasting around switches, then pouring a gray/tan plaster mix, or whatever you are using,  so that it runs in between ties and the edges of the ballasting. Then a final light application of ballast. Don't forget a few weeds, locomotive sand, chemicals from leaking loads, etc., but don't overdo it, as the FRA and their friends at the EPA would have made the SP clean it up. I'd also suggest building a few, short, tracks and experiment with different methods until you are satisfied with the results.

Things to notice

Excellent Point

Thomas,

Thank you so much for that insight. I always wondered about ballasting my yard tracks differently, but didn't know why they are somehow different. Great information and tip!

Thanks

Randy

Yard Ballast

I used sanded grout around the tracks making up my small turntable, engine house and service facilities and posted some pics a while ago.  I can't locate them right now but you should be able to find them searching on my name.

Peter

Charlie's Ballast Experiment

I know this is quite old Charlie, but how did your ballasting experiment work out?

-Jack

Interesting subject different ballast needs of yards

Interesting discussion, as I am still at the beginning of the buiiding stage of my layout and had not considered yards as being distinct in use of ballest, though I had consider sidings to be distinct. Some recent ballast that I got seems a bit too fine, so perhaps I will use it in my yards and get something else for the main line. In my smaller yards I need the track spaced a bit wider as there must be room for horses and wagons for off loading and loading freight cars on my team tracks. My small yard will be three tracks wide, not counting sidings for industry.