Distressed Ties

[Fluesheet]

I was looking at the shelf layout I'm building a few months ago and decided something was wrong. All of the ties were in FAR too good of condition - especially considering it was a low speed industrial area. I have strong memories of ties in all kinds of conditions while tagging along with my dad on a tourist railroad he helped found (early 1970's). The shortline that runs near my house is no different.

I use Central Valley Tie Strips on this layout and they have an advantage for modeling deeply rotted ties - they are hollow. Not much plastic need be cut through to get a deep crevass. Some are also oversprayed with various levels of white to further weather the tie. The color balance on some of these photos is off, but they show what I'm trying to do.

For your inspection - thoughts, comments welcome:


Full sized image:http://goodman312.zenfolio.com/img/s11/v...272015.jpg


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[FCIN]

Nice detail there Matt and a real plus for a switching layout. The tie color looks just great too.

[ezdays]

Quite impressive weathering there. The aging and splitting are a change from just the consistent look that you find on a lot of layouts (including mine).

[Gary S]

That looks really really good.

I'll have to go back and do the same to my track!

[mountaingoatgreg]

Those are looking good,

One thing with ties is they usually go bad in groups so distressing some more ties in one area leaving some "new" ties in between to keep the rail in gauge can really further the effect. I have been wanting to buy some of the Proto87 tie plates and crudding up some real wood ties in order to model some ties that have shifted or have bunched togheter over time. Keep up the great work on your layout and keep posting your pictures!!

[Fluesheet]

Thanks for the comments, guys.

Those are looking good,
One thing with ties is they usually go bad in groups so distressing some more ties in one area leaving some "new" ties in between to keep the rail in gauge can really further the effect. I have been wanting to buy some of the Proto87 tie plates and crudding up some real wood ties in order to model some ties that have shifted or have bunched togheter over time. Keep up the great work on your layout and keep posting your pictures!!

Agreed. I'll be distressing more here and there - the more that are distressed, the more that need it.

Be careful with the proto 87 ties. They are:
1 - Very small
2 - Somewhat addictive
3 - Will make all your other tie plates look too big