Fluesheet's Shelf Layout

[Fluesheet]

Matt...I don't think it was the alcohol that caused the rust effect. Alcohol vaporizes much faster than water, so I doubt it has a chance of causing any rusting. I've used a mix of water & alcohol all over my layout without any problem. I use NS rail exclusively. Are you using steel rail ..?? If so, that may be the source of the rust.

I'm using ME rail on Central Valley tie - so nothing ferrous from that standpoint. You make a good point about alcohol flashing off quickly. At that particular place, I was using a weird (relatively) combination; Smith & Son's ballast, Alcohol wetting and Future Floor wax for the adhesive. Something didn't agree with something! That experiment was what led to the track crew digging out ballast scene I'd posted earlier in this thread; I was happy to have their help!

I have a few updates - I've combed the grass out a bit using a set of curved point tweezers. This also thinned it, and I think it looks a little better. Cinders aren't very fertile after all (in fact, one of the advantages of using cinder ballast was it's ability suppress vegetation). I've also used some grass tufts and ballast up to (almost) rail level at the end of the warehouse spur and a few other spots. I'm not sure if it's over done or not, but it's a good start. These tufts have another benefit in that they are stiff enough stop a rolling car dead without a problem.

Two crewmen inspect air hoses - with a bit of seasonal help.