Painting & Weathering Track

[GaryHinshaw]

I did experiment with the etched joint bars and tie plates.  I gave up on the tie plates after encountering too many problems with adhesion and alignment, but I do plan to try the joint bars.

I figured you had - I was just razzing you.  FWIW, I saw a sample of track Tom Mann had done with these tie plates and they were all but invisible to me.  I think they're more trouble than they're worth for anything but a photo set.  On the other hand, the joint bars could be awesome.

-gfh

P.S. Just got my copy of N Scale in the post today (finally).  Great Canuck article Tim!

[ednadolski]

P.S. You know Tim, someone of your caliber should really be using  scale tie plates and joint bars....     

Even just that inch or so of sample track was pretty time consuming.   The scale tieplates are so small that just handling them becomes a skill, and it's a challenge to get them to stay where you put them.   In that picture, the only thing holding the tieplates in place is the paint 

That said, I've never been able to paint plastic ties to look nearly as good as real wood ties.

Ed

[BCR 570]

Ed and Gary:

That was it exactly - very difficult to handle, even more challenging to align precisely, and not sure it is worth the effort.


Bryan:

Yes, I believe that was the source although it was quite some time ago now.  I have to find them!


Tim

[VonRyan]

It's a shame they don't do UK type rail chairs, or any of their #4 frogs in code 30. I'd love to do a photo diorama that has protolyptical track, and some #4 frogs in code 30 would aid my quest to do Welsh Narrow Gauge in Nn3 and all i need to successfully get a start is a lesson in hand-laying track and hand-laying turnouts plus a good batch of 9 or 10 code 30 #4 Turnout frogs. 
-Cody F.

[robert3985]

Okay...I appreciate the effort anybody goes to to hand lay their turnouts and rails.  I have done the same with some of my code 40 trackage and with all of my turnouts.

However, sometimes the best methods are the simplest, and cheapest.

I'm gonna go hypercritical here...not of your work, but of the materials you're using for your hand-laid code 40 light-duty track.

First, it appears that the tie strips you're buying from Fast Tracks have the grain running parallel to the rails and not at right angles.  Laser cutting is great sometimes, but ties that have the grain running at a 90 deg. angle from what ALL prototype wooden ties have seems very counter intuitive to me. 

My logic says that you should be able to use the actual grain of your wooden ties (enhanced with a steel wire brush) to make some VERY realistic wooden ties for your lightly-trafficked, not well-maintained trackage.  Woodgrain running at 90 degrees to what is correct just doesn't work to my eye.

If you're going to go to all the effort and expense to hand-lay your code 40 trackage, I assume you're doing it because you think it looks "better" than ME 40 flex.  I think it only looks better in some ways...and that is to take advantage of wooden ties' natural grain.  The Fast Tracks laser cut stuff doesn't do it.

However, I may not be seeing it correctly in your photo.  If not...then forget what I've said so far.

Way back when, when nobody made lo-pro wheelsets and I was turning my own on my lathe, I decided I wanted code 40 trackage on my Park City Branchline.  BUT, I was part of a modular group and everybody else had pizza-cutters on all their equipment, and they buzzed on Railcraft code 40 flex (now Micro Engineering).  So, I decided to lay all of my code 40 on PCB ties (every fifth one) with wooden ties between. 

The first problem was that the PCB material is not as thick as wooden ties, so I laid both wooden and PCB ties to my sanded cork roadbed simultaneously,  let the glue dry...then sanded all of 'em with an 8" pine sanding block with 400 grit sandpaper on it until I could see I was lightly sanding the tops of my PCB ties.  This ensured that all the ties were the same height.

Next, I took a steel welder's wire brush and "enhanced" the natural grain of the wooden ties by brushing them lengthwise until I was satisfied with the greatly increased grain on them.  This also got rid of any burrs left by my sanding block.

I then gapped my PCB ties using a fine sanding wheel on my Dremel.  This doesn't leave a "gap" that's visible...it just dips the tops of the ties a little where the copper is sanded away.  Instead of a series of gaps visible on every PCB tie in the same place with a gap that cuts a slot 20 times deeper than the actual copper cladding, all the sanding does is gently eliminate enough copper so that the tops of your PCB ties will not conduct.

I then scratched the tops of the PCB ties with a #11 Xacto blade turned upside down and especially hit the outside top corners of the ties.

I then painted the wooden ties about three shades lighter than pure "Rail Tie Brown"...with Polly Scale paint thinned about 30% with water. 

I then used "weathered" Railcraft code 40 rail, with the foot and tops of the rails cleaned with a Bright Boy and three-point Railcraft track gauges to hold the rails while I soldered the rails to the PCB ties. 

The "weathering" on the sides of the rails keeps the solder from "blobbing" on the sides of the rails and ensures a clean soldering job.

I use Supersafe Gel Flux and it is better than ANY flux I have used before and is part of the secret of building anything that requires soldering (except electrical connections) because it has no acidic residue and the solder flows extremely well.

After the rail was soldered and all electrical connections were attached and tested, I then painted the PCB ties the same color as wooden ties, except full strength.

I then mixed up three other colors that would add variety to the color of my ties and hit several randomly every half inch or so to my satisfaction and to match prototype photos I have. 

I then mixed up from several browns and a little black a THIN wash that would settle in the grain and cracks of both the PCB and wooden ties.

I then hit the whole length of rail with a very dry dry brush, which lightened the high parts of the ties and left the darker wash in the nooks and crannies.

Yeah...I know...it seems like lot of work, but it actually goes pretty fast once you get used to it and get your techniques down.

The dry brushing also hits the sides of the rails and gives it a nice brownish patina even though I did not plan it and it was purely a fortuitous event.

At the time, I attempted to place scale sized rail joint bars I had made from strip brass, embossed on my NWSL "Riveter", but it wasn't worth the effort.

I really like the way my code 40 rails look...except for no tie plate and spike details.  It really contrasts with the U.P. mainline running next to it which is built using Railcraft 55 flex.  The tiny spikeheads on the old Railcraft flex (MUCH smaller than ME's 55 flex) is pretty obvious...just as they are prototypically...especially on U.P. mainlines where the tie plates and spikes are a rich brownish, rusty color.

In the present day, when laying any code 40 (except turnouts) I use ME 40 flex because of the tie-plate and spike head details. On my foreground turnouts, I use Proto87Stores frets of super detail NS parts and on ALL my points, I use Proto87Stores throwbar details, which eliminates the de-soldering problem so common on hand-laid turnouts and looks exponentially better than an HO scale throwbar between N-scale headblocks.

ME flex is also MUCH less expensive than laying PCB trackage, and goes MUCH quicker...and when properly painted and weathered, I think it looks better because of the tie-plate and spike head details.

Just my thoughts.  I think you're expending a lot of effort to hand-lay your non-turnout trackage that won't look any better (maybe worse) than ME 40 flex. 

Yup, the spikeheads on ME 40 are way too big nowadays, but...not having any at all is WAY too small!  What's worse?  It's a preference call, but to me...I prefer to see 'em.

Cheers!
Bob Gilmore

[GaryHinshaw]

I'd love to see a picture Bob, especially of the turnout throw bars in place.  [A picture is worth 1000 words...  ]

-Gary

[rschaffter]

I'm painted my flex track before it was laid using a method George Sellios wrote about in RMC years ago.  First I spray it thoroughly with flat black, and allow to dry.  I then paint from directly above using Rustoleum flat brown.  I clean the railhead off after each coat while it is still wet using the corner of a piece of extruded foam (a block of wood would probably work as well) wrapped in a paper towel.

Here is the result; from front to back; unpainted Atlas Code 55, painted Atlas Code 55, preweathered ME code 40:



For turnouts I cover the point pivots and ends with bits of masking tape...

EDIT Here is some in situ in East Staging...



I need to turn down those flanges one of these days...

[rogergperkins]

Some of us  are old enough the remember the MR series on an N-scale Clinchfield.
The flextrack was laid and then painted in that series.  I have tried that using Polly S Roof Brown applied with an airbrush and was very satsified.  I was not trying to model any area or prototype; just liked the improved appearance of painted track.

In my experience, spray painting flextrack tends to cause rail to adhere to the ties.  I would be very hesistant to paint before laying flextrack unless one has a method that prevents the track from becoming rigid.

[rschaffter]

There wasn't much problem, Roger. Some pieces were a little stiff, but they flexed OK.  Of course, there were some shiny spots where the spike heads sat when the track was straight that needed to be touched up... 

[VonRyan]

I have to say Bob, your method seems very useful and i have been pondering ME's code 40 flex, only problem is as i saw in your photograph is the molding of the ties leaves something to be desired in that i can see flash on almost every tie that gives them a rounded and more toylike appearance rather than prototypical but the pre-weathering is dynamite. I'm sure a quick run with an xacto and #11 blade could really bring out the look of track that has been hit by a shrink-ray but i think ME could stand to try and mitigate the problem. Now, poor ties or not, if they did code 40 bullhead rail with molded chairs... 
-Cody F.

[BCR 570]

Bob:

Thanks for sharing your methods.  Not very apparent in the photo I posted, but yes the grain on the ties does run the correct way ie. perpendicular to the rails.

I was planning originally to use the ME Code 40 flex track, but the process of removing all of the flash was just too time consuming.  I have gotten much better at assembling the straight and curved track and do not regret the decision.

I have a few new tricks to try this weekend, including the Raw Umber in place of Burnt Umber, Railroad Tie Brown, and Neolube on the rails.


Tim

[VonRyan]

Are you planning on using an airbrush or a bristle-brush? I've used Duncan ceramic paint "chocolate brown" color applied with a normal bristle brush and it looks like your usual dark brown rust that you'd see on almost any rail.

-Cody F.

[Mike C]

You may have good results with Blacken-it instead of neo lube as well. I think the gun glueing you can get at wal-mart may work good. I know MC Furijawa did that on his small logging railroad and it turned out really nice.

I tried Blacken - it B4, but had a hard time getting even coverage. I think the rail is a bit oily as it comes from the factory. It may work if you clean the rails first.....Mike

[BCR 570]

I experimented this morning with some of the suggestions offered to me in this thread, for which I thank all of you sincerely.

I applied the Neolube to some unpainted rail and it looks good but seems a tad too dark for what I am seeing in pictures of the Dawson Sub.  Also, it does not appear to stick well to the solder which is a problem with handlaid track.  I am happy with the Floquil Rail Brown and will use it for my rails.

I applied some Floquil Railroad Tie Bown over the Light Grey.  It looks good for newer ties but is too dark for my tastes, and is more difficult to apply in a wash.

I applied some Raw Umber in lieu of the Burnt Umber I tried earlier, again on top of hte Light Grey, and it is the best option so far to my eyes.  I am interested to know what others think.

Here again is a close up of track on the Dawson Sub:




And here are some close-ups of some hastily assembled track painted Light Grey, ties washed with Raw Umber, and rails painted Floquil Rail Brown:








I think that the next step may be to do a short section on roadbed with ballast for the 100 per cent finished evaluation.

Your thoughts welcomed,

Tim

[VonRyan]

No doubt in my mind (or my eyes) that you've captured the look of ties as they appear after exposure to the elements. Looks like you've some work ahead of you!

-Cody F.