I have a few Atlas rerailers and want to use one as I lay track on my layout. Has anyone used them and painted them for a more “realistic” look (photos or website references would be appreciated)? Any suggestions as to paint type, color and method of installation, such as finishing with ballast, etc.
I do realize they are not “prototypical”, but being more frugal these days, I hate to waste them.
Thanks for any feedback,
Cedarwoodron
Minnesota, Sioux Lake & Western Railroad- a GN subsidiary.
Don’t have any photos or specifics for you , but I do know that a number of folks use them in several ways.
Yes, you can paint them for road crossings. Use a weathered wood color, then wash it with either a little dark or light wash to break up the constant color.
Several posts refer to using them inside tunnels, in far enough not to see, to help reduce derailment problems in the “out of sight.” Also, they are used in staging areas, that may be hard for the operator to see or get to easily.
I have seen them used on portable layout that use them at their access gate. They put one each side of the cut, both ends, where the track goes on and off the gate. Even though they had good alignment pins for correct alignment, the rerailers added a little extra security. You could paint them your earth color and add scenic materials along the edges to match the surrouning scenery. Between the rails paint them to match your ballast color. A textured paint might make them even less obvious, if you can find one that matches your ballast.
I strongly believe in using the rerailers, especially in places where a derailed car isn’t readily accessable, like in a tunnel or at an area that is just a little difficult to reach. I use them in all of my tunnels and also on each track of my staging area. It makes it easy to place cars on the staging tracks. Where they are up close I have scribed parallel lines to represent boards and weathered them to look like wooden crossings. I know they aren’t prototypical but they are practical.
The Code 100 re-railers were always designed to “look like” an actual road crossing; that feature was lost with the Code 83 versions. Really shouldn’t be that hard to disguise (as mentioned by farrellaa and cowman).