We've come along way in model railroading.. :)

[learmoia]

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Literally styrofoam chunks spray painted gray..

~Ian

[peteski]

Life-Like's (http://play.lifoam.com/lifoam/) main product was Styrofoam coolers (I think they are still being made - I have one bought several years ago), so it seems natural that they woudl use scraps of that material elsewhere.

[nkalanaga]

Looks like some of the lava rocks in the West.  That would be great for portable layouts.

[Joetrain59]

And I believe their ballast was ground up cork.
 Yeh, we've come a very long way from those days.
 Joe D

[ncbqguy]

Reminds me of one of those “Model Railroading Is.....” moments.
Traveling on the Amtrak Capitol Limited enroute to the Chantilly N Scale Convention with dear friend Cas Menke from Montreal in a Superliner sleeper with the car attendant keeping our gin and tonics supplied with ice from a Lifefoam cooler....
Probably the best example of a product born of a Model Railroad item that went on to be found in many places!
Charlie Vlk

[randgust]

Sounds like another quality product from Mainway Toys - Bag of Rocks.....

[MetroRedLine]

I'm sure back in the day, realism was neither a priority or even a possibility in N scale. It's smallness was a mere curiosity and novelty.

Of course, such attitudes change with imagination and technology. Z scale is what N scale was in the 1990s, and N scale today is practically a smaller HO.
And I'm sure years from now it'll be possible to make even T scale look prototypical.

[Santa Fe Guy]

When I started in N Scale back in 1969 I was told to lay foam underlay made to fit the Peco Track profile so it looked like ballast.
Only trouble was I was also told to pin my track! I can still remember the humps in the track.
Now with so many new products, like Static Grass, Grass tufts, new grass mats and realistic looking foliage it is a whole new world for those like me who want to replicate nature as close as possible.
Stained saw dust wow.
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This was the start of my second layout back then.
Rod.
 

[thomasjmdavis]

Yep. Back in those days....
 
We had to build our own kits, no Woodland Scenics prefab.... And kit prices had to compete against the EL Moore articles where he showed you how to build whole cities out of cardstock and paper towel tubes.

And we painted our own figures, and NONE of them ended up with pink pants and a purple shirt, like all the modern figures from China, because the late 1970s hadn't happened yet....

And we walked uphill in both directions, to and from the hobby shop....but at least there was a hobby shop.

[CRL]

My scoutmaster, who introduced me to model railroading, had an HO layout that was partly brass track. Talk about a track cleaning nightmare to keep it running in a humid coastal environment. He was slowly replacing the brass track with nickel silver track, but it was a very slow process.

[bdennis]

When I started in N Scale back in 1969 I was told to lay foam underlay made to fit the Peco Track profile so it looked like ballast.

This was the start of my second layout back then.
Rod.

Ah the good old reliable H&M Duette.. I had one of those also. I still have it.

[wm3798]

I remember that bag of rocks, we used them liberally on my brother's HO Christmas Garden.  I had the old Life Like foam layout for my earliest N scale rig...  This is the only surviving picture of it.  Even then I was striving for that low angle track side effect...



Recently I picked up a pouch of lichen from Michaels.  It remains a popular choice for those making gnome gardens I suppose...  My installation along the front edge of the high line turned out reasonably well, and more importantly, smells exactly as I remember.  The combined scent of lichen, cork and Elmer's glue, along with the Ozone emitting from those old Trix monsters, takes me right back to my youth.  Throw in a puff of cigar smoke and some sawdust, and the aroma of National Premium beer, and it's like my dad is standing right there next to me.

Lee

[Doug G.]

Here's a modern picture of my early days:



Doug