New layout in new house underway after several years and wanted to pick up on latest practices in track weathering since being away from the hobby for awhile.
Wondering about track weathering. Seems like simply spray painting a single rattle can color has become popular. That’s appealing to me since I’m not so hot with airbrushing. Doesn’t seem too prototypical however to have rail and tie the same colors but seems acceptable in the community. I’ve had some previous mixed success with WS paint pens but difficult to get consistent results across long track sections and the WS tie color is pretty dismal. Not looking for museum quality but would like suggestions for a simple, reasonable result for the average modeler. Thanks.
I was disappointed in the WS pens. They jumped over the tie plates leaving an unweathered spot on the rail.
I prefer rattle can (Camo brown) because it’s fast. You can then paint individual ties or groups of ties grayish, or black either with a brush or rattle can.
Exactly! The pens leave a lot to be desired. Seems to me once I get the rails, web and tie plates looking good (and rail head cleaned) I can simply go back over the ties with an approriate sized brush and various color shades you mention closer to prototypical findings on main line vs spurs and indutry areas. Thanks.
This is what I do. I lay tracks (even turnouts) out on a large sheet of cardboard. I use rustoleum matte camo brown. I then wrap a wood block with paper towel and run it across the top of the tracks. After it dries, I brush some watered down railroad tie brown acrylic in a haphazard pattern and then use some rust colored charcoal in some spots. I was very nervous using rustoleum on the turnouts but it has no impact on the mechanics of the switch. Always been happy with the final product
No fan here about the pens. Instead, I use Micro Engineering weathered track. For unpainted track, I suggest you avoid paint on the track unless you want to start using a method to remove it from the tops. I also paint burnt umber or another rust shade on soldered spots to hide them.
I used a 1/2" brush to paint both sides of all rails (even those not normally visible), and every once in a while would also brush-paint some of the ties.
When that was done, all of the track was ballasted, using both Woodland Scenics material and real limestone, along with Black Beauty blasting medium and also real coke, collected (and size-graded) at the steel plant where I worked.
All of those materials are also used as loose (not cemented together) loads in open hoppers and gondolas.
I always found using a brush for rail-painting to be a relaxing past-time.
I start with weathered rail and use either rust all. or thinned paint of a rust color. over the weathered rail. The pics show examples of the results. variing the concentration depending on how heavy use the rail gets.
One of my NMRA clinics on track and trackside detail shows how the darkened colors/rust from rails, tieplates and spikes DOES in fact tend to color the nearby ballast over time. So a certain amount of slop in painting the rails is OK
In a few spots on my layout I also used Micro Engineering pre weathered flex track. However, I also tried to “weather my own” using the liquid patina fluid that Micro Engineering sells, or sold, and I found to my disgust that it does not in the least replicate their own pre weathered track. So now I have some green rail I need to address…
For MOST of my layout I weathered the flex track BEFORE it was in place using rattle cans of various camouflage browns and dark reds – one can in each hand so the two colors were being applied simulaneously, for a nice somewhat random effect. I built painting stands out of foam core so I could paint seven or eight pieces at the same time. I also built curved stands to my radii and the flex track I used (PSC and Micro Engineering) is still enough that it holds a curve
However I noticed that for final track laying any adjustment would uncover a little unpainted dot of nickle silver where the rail had shifted on the flex track. I had good luck using a painting pen that Testors offered in various weathering colors over the years. Originally a Floquil product then rebranded to Testors itself. Perhaps no longer made given how Testors buys up good companies, blows its nose in them like a Kleenex, and tosses them aside.
I did experiement with spray painting track once it was already in place but of course ran into a problem of paint getting where I did not want it to go. So I made a sort of little “stage” out of a cardboard box that could be moved along the track. The back and side “walls” of that stage would catch the errant paint.
In a different clinic I give on track laying for beginners, I pass around the room a small board on wh
I spray paint mine. Did a small section with added paints but they didn’t look better unless you were going to do camera work. Some are adding powder weathering after the paint, if well done that can take it to the next level.
I weather before laying the track. I brush ‘paint’ the sides of the rails with Neo-Lube from Micro-Mark, which dries to a flat dark gray. Then with a small brush (like a small flat brush) I paint some of the ties brown and some dark gray, leaving about half black. Clean the tops of the rails with a Bright Boy.
After several bad experiences trying to solder to Micro-Engineering weathered track I only use it on stub-ended sidings now and solder the feeders to the ends which I clean with a wire brush.
My mistake…you are correct. A friend gave me a large bag of Central Valley tie strip, so I went to the nearest model train shop, and bought a bundle of code 83 rail and a small amount of code 70, too, for a planned small town on the partial upper level of my layout.
All of the mainline track is in-service, but I still have a bunch of industrial sidings to add.
I’ve been using code 55 rail joiners (that was the only size that a nearby now-long-gone hobby shop had, and I quite like using them, as all it takes is a couple passes with a cut-off disc to alter the rail ends to accept the smaller joiners, which become almost unnoticeable.
I’ll be putting down the cemented-together tie strips using gelled contact cement, and likewise for adding soldered-together lengths of rail, too.
Time now to get back to finishing some boxcars, and maybe more painting of LPBs, as there are still a couple hundred to be done, not including horses, cows, and other wildlife.
By the way, thanks for the correction on the track photo.
I use a paintbrush as well, but I’m not sure about the relaxing part[:)]. I start with a base coat of charcoal grey. After, I use a thin brush to paint the track sides a dark rust color. After the ballast is applied, touch-ups are usually necessary to remove some of the marks left by the glue. After that, I lightly brush on a thin coat of chalk powder that is similar to the color of the ballast to harmonize the colors. Near the roundhouse, I also applied some black washes.
In a similar thread here some time ago, the modeler described a two-stage process in painting the track.
With an airbrush held at near-ground level next to the track, he painted the sides of the rails with a reddish-orange-brown color to represent rust on the web of the rails.
When step 1 was dry, he painted the rails and ties a light medium brown - holding the airbrush directly over the track, pointed straight down. The rust color on the web being shielded by the top of the rail. The result being a sutble two-tone effect.
I have used this technique and its quite effective. I also paint individual ties various shades of browns and grays.
