What is this?

[Marton]

The other day I saw what looked like 'mini' ballast piled on the track - mostly on the sleepers.

Can someone satisfy my curiosity as to what it is for?

Photo attached

 

[PaulLothian]

Horticultural-grade vermiculite to encourage weed growth?

 

[tsr]

It looks like a coarse type of chemical spillage absorbent, but I'm pretty sure that it isn't!

 

[Bald Rick]

Granite clippings, or if you like, mini ballast.

It's what stone blowers use to get track back into position, literally by blowing this through small tubes which are inserted into the ballast below the sleepers.

 

[Hydro]

Chippings are also used for shovel packing. Stoneblower chippings tend to be the larger sized of the chipping variety.

 

[moonrakerz]

Spillage from a passing stone train ?

 

[ainsworth74]

Spillage from a passing stone train ?

If the OP is posting about the station I assume they are (which would be Marton ) then there isn't any stone traffic there (hell I don't think there's any freight traffic at all!).

 

[MggW]

Bald Rick and Hydro have given the answer

 

[Marton]

If the OP is posting about the station I assume they are (which would be Marton ) then there isn't any stone traffic there (hell I don't think there's any freight traffic at all!).

Thanks for the various comments.

It is Marton and there isn't any freight.

Booked for just 142s, 156s and the leaf clearance trip, but that has finshed
for this season. There are also a few excursions and steam locos en route to/from Grosmont.

 

[The Informer]

The other day I saw what looked like 'mini' ballast piled on the track - mostly on the sleepers.

Can someone satisfy my curiosity as to what it is for?

Photo attached

If you look closely you can see where the tubes have left little pockets in the ballast. Another tell tale sign is scrape marks down the sides of the sleepers from the tube ends.

 

[Hydro]

If you look closely you can see where the tubes have left little pockets in the ballast. Another tell tale sign is scrape marks down the sides of the sleepers from the tube ends.

...and yellow paint dropped every so often.

 

[The Informer]

...and yellow paint dropped every so often.

How could I forget!!!
BTW the yellow paint is dropped for reference markers for the machines computer. Usually every 50m.