Question about yard tracks

[Charlie B]

[quote="eightyeightfan1"]Thanks Doc.
Not a big rail painter. Tried it a couple of times, and had operational problems after cleaning the rails real good.
Sooo....I don't paint the rails.

Dear Ed
When I got my track down, the first thing I did was to use rust colored Floquil paint and a small brush to paint the sides and base of the rail. I never paint the surface for the same reason you state, to many problems.
It takes a while to paint rail by hand but the results are great. I had one fellow ask me if there was a way to stop my rail from rusting. That made my day.
But putting that aside, That is a terrific scene just the way it is.
Charlie

[foulrift]

Charlie-Before I painted my tracks,which I did before installing them. I found it easier for me to do it this was instead of installing then first.Not a lot of touch up.I read many articles to see how other modelers did their track and what colors they used. I found a formula that a modeler used and the result was good. He used Poly Scale acrylics.1/2 oz rust and 1/4 oz tarnished black. To avoid having to mix more than one batch,I doubled his formula. The bottles were one oz which made it easy.I used a clean jar with a lid for mixing.I also used rail tie brown for the ties which I haven't weathered yet.

[upnick]

Hi Guys,

Great tips here on the tracks good timing as i have started to ballast the N scale layout all looks ok up until the ballast is laid i drybrush the ties with interior stone to give a used look and then matt varnish the rails while wet dust with light rust/ dark rust and black Bragdons powders giving a good efect and have a ballast similar to Waynes Medium WS buff but when it is in place it looks to new and bright ...... do any of you apply a very thinned black wash to tone it down any ?

Also i have seen both inner and outer rails painted does this last on the inner rails with locos/stock going over and not gunge up the wheels on them or impede the signal DCC.

[foulrift]

Nick-when I ballasted my track I tried to avoid ballast buildup on the inside and outsides of the track but missed some areas,but was able to remove it. In an older post doctorwayne posted his method of ballasting track.Try doing a search for it.It was real helpful.
Bob

[upnick]

Nick-when I ballasted my track I tried to avoid ballast buildup on the inside and outsides of the track but missed some areas,but was able to remove it. In an older post doctorwayne posted his method of ballasting track.Try doing a search for it.It was real helpful.
Bob

Hi Bob,

Thanks for the tip i'll do a search

[doctorwayne]

Here's a link to A simple and effective way to ballast...

For painting rail, I used PollyScale paint (no odour), applied with a fairly stiff 1/2" brush. The wider brush holds more paint, so there's less dipping into the bottle for another re-fill, and the stiffer bristles make it easier to work the paint around the moulded-on spike detail. I generally paint 10' or 15' of track, both rails, both sides of each, then use a dry rag stretched over my fingertip to wipe the tops of the rails - the paint is dry to the touch but not fully cured (that usually takes about 24 hours, so don't run trains for at least that long). If you press down so that your fingertip "squishes" over the inside edge of each rail, the paint right at the top along the inside edge will be removed, too. This is usually sufficient to restore full electrical contact, as the wheels of the train have a fillet between their flange and the tread which provides the main lateral contact point - in most cases, the wheel flanges don't touch the rail.

As for the ballast looking "too new", certain colours do actually look overly bright when first applied. In the photo below, the Grand Valley tracks, diverging to the left, are ballasted with Woodland Scenics Grey, while those of the Erie Northshore, on the right, were done using Light Grey.
[album]807[/album]

The colour has toned down somewhat over time, but, when I finally get around to it, some weathering should make it look more believeable. Painting the rails is the only weathering applied, so far, but I do plan to add some airbrushed grease and oil along the outside of the rails and also some evidence of traction sand on the grades.

Wayne

[upnick]

Hi Wayne answers all my questions i'll take a look at the link then some time put in with the ballast

[foulrift]

Wayne-On some layouts,especially those running diesels I noticed an oily streak in between the tracks staining both the ballast and ties.
Bob

[doctorwayne]

Yeah, it will depend on the era which you're trying to replicate. The prototype varies over time, too, even within an era, as shown below.

I'm not sure when this was taken, probably in the '80s:


Here's the same location, taken last year - the two tracks on the right are the same ones shown in the first photo:


And here's the same spot (almost), but looking in the opposite direction, taken a year prior to the second photo. The new track, seen here on the right, had just recently been completed:


Despite the weeds, the new track and the centre one are the main lines, and are among the busiest in Canada (except when I'm there, hoping to photograph a train).

Wayne

[jglfan]

[quote="upnick"]Hi Guys,

when it is in place it looks to new and bright ...... do any of you apply a very thinned black wash to tone it down any ?

What I do is when I am ready to apply the glue/alcohol mixture (or water w detergent) is add some black (or dark brown) and the result is fastening down the ballast and weathering all at once.

Gary

[doctorwayne]

Good suggestion, Gary, and so obvious that I completely overlooked it.

Wayne

[MasonJar]

I do plan to add some airbrushed grease and oil along the outside of the rails

On some layouts,especially those running diesels I noticed an oily streak in between the tracks

And there you have another difference in era... The well lubricated, open running gear of steam engines, and grease-soaked friction-bearing trucks of the steam era tended to deposit gunk along or outside the rails. Diesels, with many more "inboard" moving parts, tend to leave a track down the centerline...

Andrew

[foulrift]

Gary-as Wayne stated-good suggestion.My rail is down already so what I'll probably thin out some oily black paint and use a pipette to apply it to the center of the track.
Wayne-those track pictures are awesome. I just got some scenery material so I can add some realism to my tracks.
Bob

[upnick]

[quote]

What I do is when I am ready to apply the glue/alcohol mixture (or water w detergent) is add some black (or dark brown) and the result is fastening down the ballast and weathering all at once.

Gary



Hi Gary,
As Wayne said i had overlooked it too one of those ''why didnt i think of that '' moments :mrgreen: ...... off to mix a batch of glue/meths with a splash of black thanks for the idea

[viperman]

So far, what little I've done to weather my tracks is to paint the ties boxcar brown. I haven't finished yet, but when I do the work, I make sure not to cover everything, still leaving some of the original black from the plastic ties. I plan to eventually hit this with a wash of black to tone it all down and give it a grimy look. I also plan to ballast the tracks with a mix of gray and throw in some black/brown to add variety. After this, hit the middle of the tracks with some wash again to get the oil drips like Wayne showed in his pictures.

-See my thread in my sig for pics

I've also seen at Hobby Lobby a "kit" that has three paint pens in it for detailing/weathering tracks which I also plan to purchase at some time