Saving Money

[hindmarch]

Hi All,Everybody likes to save money,i had a couple of ideas while building my layout,We had a storm a while back and it blew down some pine trees in our garden,while sawing it up for logs some of the bark came off,i looked at it and thought this looks the same as a rock wall,while it was still damp i laid it flat with a weight on top ,when it had dried i cut it to the size i wanted and painted it over with a wartered down plaster filler and then with different colours ,you can make it any length and size but don,t go cutting down trees.The second thing was ballast for the track etc,i used aqarium stones ,they come in many different sizes and colours and you can buy a 25kg sack for the price you pay for a small packet in the hobby shop,i used a black one as coal substitute in my wagons as this is ground granit and weighted the wagons without lead weights and is enviroment friendly.greetings from Germany Bryan

[pdlethbridge]

Its great when you can use natural things for scenery. But a word of caution, watch out for bugs. Cook your dirt or anything else at low heat for a while to kill anything growing

[Loco Bill Canelos]

I just bought a 25 pound bag of granite chicken grit at my local farm store for $5.97.   It goes a long way.  The medium seems to be very nice for 1:22.5 & 1:20.3, while fine may be better for 1:29 and 1:32.   Be sure to get the granite rather than the oyster shell type.

Now if I can find some cheap bulk ground foam!!!!