Fluesheet's Shelf Layout

[ocalicreek]

Something to consider - when I was watching a modern balast cleaning mechanized rail operation I was perplexed to discover that 'cleaned' balast actually looks dirtier than 'dirty' balast. The reason being is that rain washes grit and silt down from the rails & ties down through the balast to the bottom of the balast pile. The real danger of dirty balast is that it sets up hard like brick as that silt is compacted, heated, dried, etc. Silty soil, as anyone who has ever slipped on wet clay-soil ground knows, can be slippery. Balasted track resting on a hard-pan of silt can slide right off out of alignment or worse the next time a heavy train passes over after a good rain shower.

So after the balast is cleaned, it actually takes on a dirty look. All the silt and grit is stirred up (and in the case of the mechanized cleaning train removed and sent by conveyor into hopper cars) and becomes visible again until a few good rains wash it away again. I've never seen this modeled before, but most of our mainline balast looks way too 'dirty', that is, bright grey or white or pink without a hint of dust or grime other than locomotive drips. Sidings weren't cleaned as often as the mainline since speeds and loading was restricted.

Hope this helps,

Galen