Re: [CBQ] Chat or Chatt or Chatts

["Nelson Moyer ku0a@mchsi.com [CBQ]" <CBQ@yahoogroups.com>]

Glen,

Thanks for the description of chat and crushed stone used for ballast on the Q. 
The alignment chart Dave sent also lists gravel ballast. What size was the 
gravel?

I still don't know the color(s) of the rock, gravel, or chat used on the Q on 
either side of the bridge at Burlington.

Modeling chat to scale probably isn't fesible, since it's so small. The closest 
conventional option would be N scale ballast, which scales to 2 to 4 inches in 
HO scale. Most HO ballast scales to 4 to 6 inches. Arizona Rock & Mineral Co. 
offers N scale extra fine yard mix that might work for crushed rock ballast if 
the color is right. It's mostly gray with flecks of tan. I've never seen model 
track with ballast that fine, so I need to experiment to see what it looks like.

Nelson Moyer



On May 22, 2014, at 1:41 AM, "GLEN glenehaug@msn.com [CBQ]" 
<CBQ@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

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> To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
> From: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Wed, 21 May 2014 17:31:45 -0700
> Subject: Re: [CBQ] Alignment Chart for Illinois Junction through Burlington 
> and West Burlington
> 
> Sorry about the lack of knowledge, but what is "chatts"?
>  
> Roy:
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> The Q used the term "chatts" to designate ballast that was crushed stone, and 
> to differentiate it from gravel, which had rock that was more pebble-like and 
> less fractured.
>  
> Chat was smaller than crushed rock ballast, which also was fully fractured, 
> but consisted of larger rock.  Crushed rock was usually 1.5" to 2" size, 
> whereas chat might be 1/2" or 3/4" size.  Sometimes because of the way 
> ballast was graded off the crusher, crushed rock ballast might contain some 
> chat, but chat usually would not contain the larger crushed rock.
>  
> I think that "chatts" might be a term used more by Southern railroads.  The 
> Frisco used the term, but the GN and NP did not.
>  
> Glen Haug
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