Charlie b's layout

[Charlie B]

Here's a video by a guy who's done some distressed track. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://vimeo.com/17870094">http://vimeo.com/17870094</a><!-- m --> If you go through his thread here <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.thewhistlepost.com/forums/ho-scale/11046-winter-new-england-mark-ii.html">http://www.thewhistlepost.com/forums/ho ... rk-ii.html</a><!-- m --> you can find a lot more of his ideas on muddy track with pumper ties, etc

Thank you, that is exactly what I have in mind. He gets away with a lot more than I thought would be possible in HO.
The 12" = 1' line I took over to operate had track beyond what he has, and Conrail derailed almost every time they made the run. We put in 300 ties the first month and never had a derailment after the first trip where the locomotive spread the gauge on a curve and dropped in. The FRA track inspector told me he had written 684 violations the previous year (on 3.22 miles of track) so you can imagine what it was like. 300 ties over 3.2 miles was a good start but it took a lot more over the years. There wasn't one bolt in any joint that wasn't flopping, and at one joint there was a 5 inch gap .

Charlie