Seeking Realistic Yard Ballast

Forum member and OGR author Norm Charbonneau is

is a master of track weathering and ballasting. I would

love to learn his techniques and materials whether here

in the forum or better still a 'how to' article in OGR.

I received Brennan's ballast yesterday and I am very pleased.  Here's the little bit I've put down so far...

PRRFAN, Great name by the way! I use Brennen's Ballast, it works great for PRR operations. the pictures below are some complete sections on my layout. But none has been weathered yet. Brennen explains a great way to weather his ballast in the included instructions! Oh, and by the way, the rail yard does look pretty sweet with the ballast almost halfway up on the rails, as mentioned in previous replys above! I also mix in a little bit of finely crushed coal to give it that greasy, dirty, cinder look.

what is the process ? that's the best looking fastrack I have seen

Photo pf my yard

I have used Brennan's yard ballast in most of my main yard, but for some industrial spurs, I use Arizona Rock and Mineral HO Yard Mix, item 1222.  Much finer size than typical O scale ballast and contains a combination of several colors, but is predominately black.  Hard to find at anymore at local LHSs around Chicagoland, so beware when ordering direct they do have a minimum order quantity.

Here is a link to the website.

http://store.rrscenery.com/

Dave

In the two photos attached the track is fastrack  but what do you use to fill in between the track pieces. I wouldn't think that it's all ballast about 1/2 inch thick. Would it be pink foam then the ballast?

 first attempt at yard ballast. with fastrack I think it looks ok might be a little high on the rails

Not as nice as yours but still learning here.

With regard to ballast color, I find Brennan's Better Ballast to be a little too green and white looking. I want a more rustic weathered look. So last night I soaked a bag in a mixture of grey, black and burnt umber acrylic and water. It darkened it a little but not enough. So tonight I'm gonna try the two methods recommended here 1) an alcohol and ink mix and 2) a post coloring spray with Krylon Camo Brown paint. I'll also try mixing a few different batches together to see if I can obtain the right mixture.