Weathering track - what next?

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

I have laid track using the Fast Tracks system with both wood and PCB ties. It is code 83 track from ME. The roadbed is Flexxbed. I have pretty much followed the advice of Fast Tracks in painting the track. I airbrushed both rails and ties with Floquill rail brown. I then used a rust colored Floquill paint marker pen to paint the rails, bleeding a little bit of color onto the ties to create the illusion of tie plates which of course the Fast Track system does not normally have.

This all looks pretty good and I am quite happy with the results. The only “problem” is this was all too easy. I wouldn’t mind putting some additional effort into making this look even better, perhaps getting away from the somewhat monochrome look of having the ties all airbrushed with a single color.

Finally, my question is this: what else could I do at this point to add more realism to what I have now?

Keep in mine that I have PCB ties interspersed with the wood ties. What I have done so far does an excellent job of hiding the differences between them. So I am looking for ideas that build on top of the foundation layer of rail brown Floquill. I was thinking maybe there was something I could do using a dry brushing technique for example. I’m looking for some specific ideas, because painting and weathering is not something I’m very good at.

Keith

2

You could make some gussetts and turn it into jointed rail!

3

You could dry-brush random ties with white and/or grey paint, to break up the uniformity. If you want to model recently-maintained track (steam or transition era, before it was all automated) you can paint an occasional tie with deep brown paint to simulate a newly inserted tie’s heavy creosote.

My suggestion is to go lightly down this path. It’s easy to overdo things and end up with a caricature.

Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with concrete ties)

4

Rails look fairly uniform from place to place over a km or so on a well-used main line. Where traffic is slower, say in a yard, and where lubing is undertaken during opportune moments, you would see streaks of grease. So, as Chuck hints, you can detail your rails that way with marking of other colours, notably dark grey, and you could even mix in a tiny amount of gloss medium to keep it looking truly greasy.

In photos that I have looked at, and during opportunities in person, the rails do tend to look fairly uniform, as I said, so I wouldn’t be trying to undertake a super-lengthy super-detailing of my rails. But it is a personal decision.

Crandell