HOW TO REPLICATE MODERN ENGINEERS’ BALLAST LOADS
George Dent creates a seldom‐modelled facet of the modern railway, with the help of some laser-cut paper kits.
Offering a stark contrast to traditional engineers’ train loads, bagged ballast provides modellers of the contemporary scene with a realistic – and eye-catching – wagonload option.
PHOTOGRAPHY: GEORGE DENT
OO GAUGE 8 hrs
Having assembled a rake of Accurascale’s recent MHA ballast/ spoil wagons, thoughts immediately turned to how I could give these lovely models the finishing touch. Weathering was an obvious option, but what about a convincing load?
Over the years, I’ve seen rakes of MHA wagons loaded with all sorts of materials, from sand and spoil to recovered permanent way material, signalling equipment and scrap level crossing gates. But one thing I’ve been meaning to recreate for some time has been the humble bulk bag of ballast.
The folks at Scale Model Scenery had clearly been thinking along similar lines when they produced a range of packs of laser-cut paper bulk bags last summer (MR303). Having assembled a handful for use by the lineside, I soon realised that they would also make for an interesting wagonload –something I haven’t seen done before in miniature, despite being a regular facet of contemporary operations.
Providing a perfect modelling task for the winter evenings, the bags are easy to assemble and come with Network Rail branding for extra authenticity. Loading the bags with ballast chippings provided the main challenge, as the paper limits the types of adhesive that can be used.