Track Questions

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

I am in need of assistance yet again from my Forum friends. Two in one here.

First, what sort of details to track woud I need to do to make a spur look like it’s out of service but still has a car parked on it. I have a siding I built off another siding to park and old hopper to replicate a scence I grew up with in my hometown. There was an old Rock Island hopper parked. I never knew why it was parked.

Second, what’s the best way to fill trackage to look like it’s filled with asphalt as part of a large industrial area? I had looked at the Walthers street insert kit but the amount of track I have would need at least two packages to handle all the straight trackage. Second, the track is all Code 100 while that kit is for code 83. There is also a turnout (#4 Atlas CL) in the mix that needs to operate as well.

As usual, any ideas that can be provided would be most welcomed.

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2

I will only venture a reply to your first question.

I think it would depend on how long you want it to appear that the siding has been abandoned and how long the car has been there. A quick search of images of abandoned train track sidings brought up quite a few pics showing track and cars in various stages of neglect. Vegetation growing under and around the car and track would be the most obvious indicator of abandonment. Some images show grass and weeds sprouting around and under it (and along the track) where others showed bushes and tress actually threatening to engulf the car. In some images, vegetation is shown actually growing out of the inside of the cars. Trash and general debris would most likely also be present.

Regular weathering techniques taken to increased levels would also allow you to give the impression of the car having been there for only a few years or if it’s been abandoned for decades. And, depending on how isolated the location is, there could be excessive vandalism such as heavy graffiti, broken windows (if applicable), missing doors or other parts, etc.

However, I will warn you that some of the images may be disturbing and inappropriate for train fans. Viewer discretion is advised.

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3

For abandoned track, rust paint on rails and ties can look a lot like driftwood color. When laying flex track cut the spacers out between the ties and maybe remove one or two and space the ties out and make them less than 90 degrees to the rail. Next the balllest will have a lot of dirt in it and grasses will be shooting up here and there and railroad junk like unused tie plates etc. with be left randomly and many times I have found a broken air hose left to rot.

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4

Hello All,

In regards to your second question:

Code 100 rail is 0.100" (2.54mm).

For the gauge (inside) of the rails, you will need clearance to accommodate the wheel flanges.

You can use the spike heads as a guide.

I measured the distance on the Atlas Code 100 track on my pike and the distance between the insides of the spike heads is 15/32" (11.87mm).

You can use 0.100" styrene and cut into 15/32" strips to place between the rails while allowing for clearance for the wheel flanges.

Using a trammel you can replicate the curves to cut the styrene.

For the field (outside) of the rails you can use several techniques.

Hydrocal or plaster of Paris comes to mind as you can color it to replicate the asphalt look you are seeking and spread this material right up to the field sides.

Then clean the rail heads of any excess.

Another option would be mat board.

It is available in two (2) common thicknesses: 4-ply; 0.040"-0.520" and 8-ply; 0.125".

To accommodate the spike heads on the field side you can use one (1) layer of 4-ply mat board flush against the ties and then a second layer pushed flush against the field side of the rails.

The styrene between the rail can be roughed up and painted to replicate the asphalt look you want.

For the mat board, you could paint it with a “rattle can” textured product.

As far as the turnouts, on the prototype these would be cleaned/cleared out, so modeling these would mean keeping them free of material on the gauge side.

Hope this helps.

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5

I love making tracks used unkempt and derelict. The way I mimic them is similar to what others wrote. Also helping getting the track to look realistic is copying real life.

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6

Track but no switch, or…

Switch but remove the diverging point, or…

Switch but disconnect the rails between the spur and the switch, or …

If the track and switch are still connected, put a stop sign (rectangular red sign with the word STOP in white) facing the switch at the clearance point.

The spur would have weeds growing in it, the treads of the hopper car wheels would be rusty brown. The rails, including the tops would be rust brown. There might be a couple small trees growing between the rails. The hopper would be rusty and very weathered.

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7

I did an abandoned looking siding for a friend’s module a decade ago. Even though his track was code 100 I had purchased a length of code 70 flex. I removed a whole bunch of ties and distressed the rails so they were wavy and put in dips and sags here and there. Then sparsely blasted and buried in weeds, dirt, and few ties thinned down. To attach the rails to the turnout I flattened half a joiner and soldered them.

On my buried rails. I used tinted plaster troweld on to rail height and used a spare truck with plastic wheels to cut the flange ways. After drying it was just a matter of taking my pocket knife and making them deeper. I have a steam era sorting yard for my gravel industry that’s completely buried in plaster to represent dirt and sand with random piles of stone next to and dragged along in between the rails from leaking hopper doors.

Pete.

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8

To answer the question, the spur is still connected to the turnout. The turnout itself is spiiked (nailed) in such a way that the turnout will not turn to the spur line. (The throwbar on the turnout is missing the part that an above track control would connect to. One I had purchased as part of a collection many years ago, IMS.)

For the era I model the car wouldn’t have been abandoned long as I model mid 70s to the BN-SLSF merger. IMS RI went bankrupt in 1980 so the car should still be fairly clean but I could see putting some grass to show the lack of use.

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9

BTW the Rock Island bankruptcy date may have nothing to do with when the car was abandoned, or why it was abandoned. The Rock’s trackage and assets (cars, engines, etc.) were sold off after the bankruptcy. Many of their cars were sold to other railroads, who just hastily painted over the reporting marks and added their own, leaving the rest of the Rock Island lettering as is. (If you ever watch Virtual Railfan’s “Grab Bag” on YouTube, you’ll sometime see cars like this still in service.)

The car you saw may have been owned by one of these railroads, or might have even been bought by the company whose spur it was on. Maybe the company went out of business, and the car was just left there on their property.

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