Lastspikemike Almost all real track is built up above grade to some extent if only for drainage.
I guess you haven't railfaned old branch lines before their demise or some short lines that that operates on a shoe string budget.
Some industrial leads hasn't seen ballast in decades. The rail could be 80 or more years old.
Seeing it can cost up to $150,000 per mile to ballast track why bother ballasting a industrial lead or branch line that has very little revenue return?
That's why railroads use defered maintenance and 10-15 mph speed restrictions on these lines.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Ringo58Thank you for the tips! Will be posting some pictures soon on the progress in the next few days here but heres a teaser with my new FVM gp60
Ringo.. If you already have the cork roadbed in place, leave it. It is easy to build up the area next to the track to accomplish the look you are wanting, and that will be less work.
Larry's advice above for static grass weeds will look great.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Ringo58 I'm at the stage of laying track and can't decide to use roadbed or not. I want to model a almost out of use branchline so the track will be slightly decrepit too.
I'm at the stage of laying track and can't decide to use roadbed or not. I want to model a almost out of use branchline so the track will be slightly decrepit too.
The roadbed should be like the rail and ties that has seen years of defered maintenance. Some weeds between the rail would enforce the run down branch line look. Just be sure the weeds is low enough to allow train movement and coupler trip pins. Short static grass should work well for this.
Ringo58...( strange to see ATSF up here but I'm planning on patching it out for WSOR, hey if they got gp7us from them in my universe they also got a gp60!)....
One of the many benefits of freelancing.
Wayne
Thank you for the tips! Will be posting some pictures soon on the progress in the next few days here but heres a teaser with my new FVM gp60 ( strange to see ATSF up here but I'm planning on patching it out for WSOR, hey if they got gp7us from them in my universe they also got a gp60!)
Ringo58I think I'll use the sanding tecnique for the sidings...
I used #36 garnet sandpaper for that job, mostly because I have hundreds of sheets of it, part of a much larger cache of sandpaper of all types, acquired when we bought an investment property. I sold a lot of it at work, and took a half-load (to the top of the box of my 3/4 ton pick-up) of wet/dry paper in many grades, to an autobody supplier shop.
I still have a locker full of various types, much of it cloth-backed.
If you can't find such really coarse sandpaper, a Stanley Surform works almost as quickly.
I think I'll use the sanding tecnique for the sidings and I'm definitely going to be using static grass. I can't wait to start the scenery but I've leaned to take my time
I too would suggest adding some form of roadbed. The noise factor alone is a reason. I use it on my layout and very glad b/c it makes the layout look more realistic.
I use cork roadbed under most of my mainline track, but use sandpaper to taper it down to the plywood sub-roadbed for industrial areas and sidings.
Even if you're modelling an older branchline, it likely would have been built on a base of some sort, perhaps with drainage ditches along one or both sides of the right-of-way. You can impart the look of age and decay by mixing dirt with ballast, or in some places using mostly dirt as the ballast, and of course, the weeds and trackside trees will be trying to reclaim the line, too.
Were I trying to model a similar scene, I'd use Central Valley ties strips, and once they were in place, paint most of the ties to reflect their age and lack of maintenance. When adding the rails, code 70, or even better, code 55 rail would enhance the impression of age and neglect. If you really want to go with that theme, use a razor saw to score the top of the rails at 39' intervals, then add glue-on joint bars.
Judicious use of static grass will also enhance the look of neglect along the track.
While the photo below, of a team track, is a work-in-progress, it attempts to show that such track often doesn't get the same maintenance as the mainline...
That teamtrack's ballast, and the gravel in the yard is composed of a mix of limestone dust and actual dirt, the latter also dust-like due to it being collected from a site used by heavy trucks and trains. You should be able to get a similar texture using very finely-ground foam, such as is available from Woodland scenics.
I hope that once you've got the track in place and commence the scenic work, you'll share some photos with us here.
SeeYou190 I do not think what you are describing needs roadbed. -Kevin
I do not think what you are describing needs roadbed.
Then I sure am glad it's not glued down yet!
Ringo58I want to model a almost out of use branchline so the track will be slightly decrepit too.
My two cents...lay the track right on the subroadbed. I haven't used roadbed in years. With proper ballasting it looks just fine.