Who weathers their rails

[jecorbett]

Up until now this hasn't been important to me. It's something I don't really notice when I'm operating the layout but the shiny sides of the rails seem to stand out more in photos. I have decided to at least try weathering the rails on the section of the layout I am currently working on. It is a 15 foot section of double track main with a couple spurs. I've already done about a two foot section and I have to admit, it does look better that way. I am wondering how many modelers take this step. Also, is it more common among HOers and larger scales or do a lot of N scale guys take this step too.

[selector]

I do it, and that is with full thanks and acknowledgement to our intrepid jfugate (Joe).  As for the ratio of those who do versus those who don't, I have no idea...if you press me, I'll say something like 1/4 of us get around to it at some point if a layout ever gets near 85% complete, but I see tons of photos where it isn't done.

As for the difference between HO and N, again, no idea, but I would be surpised if there is a statistical difference between the two on a per capita basis.

[perry1060]

I've got about 1/4 of my layout rail painted with the product linked below. It does have a strong smell so I usually wait until a windy day, and open the house during painting. The product works great!

http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=60104

 

 

Of course with 3 rails, I needed a little more paint then others.

 

 

My web

http://home.mchsi.com/~ironmaster1960/wsb/html/view.cgi-home.html-.html

 

 

[SpaceMouse]

I do.

[railroadyoshi]

I will. Will I?

One of those to dos that will probably never get done. :-(

But I do strongly feel that unpainted rails takes a huge amount of quality out of a composition.

I've often wondered if it's better to superdetail the mainline or the yard. While ooperators (at least in my plans) spend much more time on average in a yard or industrial situation, it seems a person would be more likely to bend down and observe the scene more in a mainline setting. Not that it really matters, all of the trackage should be dressed up.

[modelmaker51]

It's always been part of my track laying routine. Just before ballasting, the track gets painted and weathered, (more weathering will follow in the scenicing phase).

[loathar]

I paint and weather mine. That's the first thing I look at in a picture. You see these beautiful painted and detailed layouts and then you see shiney black code 100 ties and bright silver rails. It's like nails on a black board to me.

[SOU Fan]

I painted my rails and ties and it makes a HUGE difference.  Black ties to brown ties and shiny silver rail to rusty rail makes a world of difference.

 -smoke

[orsonroy]

I do:

And I agree: it DOES make a lot of difference! Track is a model too, and if it's not properly painted it just looks goofy.

[ARTHILL]

I have done a little, but I like trees and mountains more, so it is slow going.

[Anonymous]

I do!

Unpainted rails and brick buildings without mortar have been running rampant in MR over the last year or so, hope they get a handle on it soon!

[modelalaska]

Excellent job on the weathering of your rails Karlb. That is one of the best jobs I have seen. Could you fill us in on your method?
Peter

[jecorbett]

I use Atlas code 83 HO track which is already brown so the color is not the problem. The thing that jumps out in photos is the shiny sides of the rails which has caused me to have second thoughts about weathering my rail. As I said when I started this thread, it really only became an issue when I began taking photos and posting them on this forum. You see things in photos that disappear when you operate. I have a large layout so weathering the rail is not going to be a small investment in time. Originally I had no intention of doing this thinking there was a better use of my time but I am having second thoughts. The first priority is to color the sides of the rails which in my observations are usually a dirty, rusty brown. Second is to weather the ballast between the rails which I see as also a dirty, grimy brown. That seems like a simple thing to accomplish with a thin wash after the ballast has been glued down. I'm going to weather the rail on the 15+ feet of double track main I am working on now and then reevaluate whether I think this is a worthwhile expenditure of my time.

[Don Gibson]

An application with a cue tip & alcohol (to remove oil) then Some dirty roof brown with a small brush applied to the sides, makes a big difference.

Oversized rails look smaller - more prototypical - and it's so simple! Any 'slop' spots on tops come off easily with a brite boy.

Step Two is to pint paint ties different shades of dulling gray / brown. Ties age differently. Seldom are they all same shade of brown. Do a section of track, and see.

[ezielinski]

I'll be the first to chime in and say I don't.  I'm building my first layout, so it doesn't bother me.

[johncolley]

Not only do I do the rails, but as I do them with a "00" brush, I also do the tie plates to match. I do mainline different than I do the sidings and spurs. Even code 83 and 70 look like the real scene, and that's the whole idea, eh? Have fun! jc5729

[Metro Red Line]

I do, but to be fair, Micro Engineering should take credit for doing that even before I bought the track :) :) :)

[nbrodar]

I do.  Normally, I use a brush and paint the rails and ties the same color.  I also use different colors for the mains, branchlines and industrial tracks.

Nick

[mikelhh]

 I do  In HO and OO

[jackn2mpu]

I haven't yet, mainly because what I've seen in the model press looks to be weathered way more than would be allowed to happen on a running train line. To my eye, if the prototype was a rusty as what shows in model magazines, I'd wonder how the rail is strong enough to support a train. It may be the way pictures print, it may be lighting, I don't know. I don't doubt that there are rails somewheres in the US that look and are really rusty, I just don't see that much here in the East (NJ,PA,NY). Gray, yes. Splashed with dirt, yes.

But back to the spirit of the question. For those that do weather rail, do you do both sides (front and back) if all you can see is the front? Do you do all the rails in turnouts (guard, frog, points, etc.)? And do you weather the rail before you install it on the layout? Seems that it would be easier to do before hand (I'm using Atlas code 83 with the brown ties, so I don't have to necessarily do ties). 

[PA&ERR]

On my last layout I painted my ties and weathered my rail and as others have said, it makes a world of difference.

On this layout, I've bought my HOn3 flex track pre-weathered. However, I feel that it is a little too dark and will probably end up re-weathering the rail after I paint the plastic ties.

-George

[spidge]

I model the Southern Pacific and if I didn't at least give it a bit of weathering the trains would look like they were on a foriegn RR. On the other hand since the UP has taken over the maintainance in my area the track along with ballast looks well groomed.

So, yes I do paint my track. It helps to tie the scene together if you ask me.

Although most of the track looks dingy black I have seen a few locations where it was brown leaning towards rust. Its all in your personal experiences and desires if you ask me.

[Dave-the-Train]

Micro Engineering do bottles of whatever stuff it is they use to weather their pre-weathered track.  I haven't used it yet but I imagine that you can just wash it on with a cotton bud on a stick.  As it actually chemically colours the rail rather than puts a coat of paint on it, it should be a lot less effort than painting.

(I don't know how this stuff gets on with other makers tie material).

If you have a big fixed layout you only need to do the sides of the rails that will show in photos.  This should save you a whole heap of time and effort.

It is amazing how little judicious detailing will make a model look more real in a photo.  Very often we tend to think that if we start to detail we must do every single millimetre.  What we need to do is get most of it right up to the level that the eye/brain takes for granted and then add little things that stand out.

In this way a replaced tie with disturbed ballast brings a whole length of track to life.  Whether the old tie is left at the trackside is a question of era and taste.

[jxtrrx]

I did just a few feet of track one day "just for kicks" to see what it would look like.  The improvement was so HUGE, I've done much more and will ultimately do the whole layout.  I think it may be the single most impressive thing you can do for the overall appearance of the layout.  And I find it to be really enjoyable too!  I'm not much of an artist, so I find it to be much more fun than stuff that requires me to be a little more meticulous.

Obviously, I did mine after the track was laid.  And I think that adds to the quality of the appearance since the rust and discoloration spots spill onto the earth as they would in real world.  I just use watered down acrylics.  Works fine.  Looks fine.

[eric719]

I'm an N scaler and do weather my track.

Eric

[R. T. POTEET]

I never did weather my rail when I was in HO - but, as I have confessed here on the forum, except for a couple of briefly existing layouts 1962-64 when I was VERY new to the hobby, I only constructed two HO-Scale layouts in the period 1978-82 before switching over to N-Scale.  Although I did not use it on my first N-Scale layout I have been using Rail Craft/Micro Engineering weathered flex for at least the last twenty years and wouldn't go any other way.

I detail the right of way by taking a three foot length of rail, cutting it to a (scale) thirty-nine foot length, heavily rusting it, and then laying it randomly on the ballast as I frequently observe on railfan outings along the prototype's right-of- way.  

[ezielinski]

Looks like I'm the minority...  Hopefully I won't give in to peer pressure

[train18393]

I do weather my rails. I weather both sided as you never know what will show up when you are using a camera. I do have a very short tripod and I do take pictures up against the wall sometimes, and the back side of the rails are visible then. It is just so much easier to do both sides at the same time rather than have to go back and finish the job. I use an old  boxcar to spread a little fine oil on the tops of the rail. A small drop on each rail spread over about ten feet of track, mask between the rails and the outsides of the rails. I then use an airbrush. I have a bottle of paint that gets the last little bit of paint from a paint jar that is empty. The color comes out kind of brownish/black depending on what paint was dumped in there last. I strain the paint through used pantyhose, add thinner to get the consistancy correct, then soon after being done I pull up the tape, and scrape the still soft paint off the rails. It comes up pretty easy since a fine film of oil was put down before spraying. After the rail dries about 5 days it is once again my weekend and time to play with the train. I use a centerline track cleaner and/or  a pink pearl eraser to clean up any remaining oil or tape residue before it gets spread on all my wheels and all over the train layout. That being said it does not detract from my enjoyment of someones layout if the rails are not painted. You are the President of your railroad, there is no right or wrong on your layout. If it is fun do it. If it is boring, tedious or beyond your abilities put it on the to do later list.

 

Paul

Dayton and Mad River RR

[train18393]

Concerning color it depends on the location of the track and what era the layout is set in. ie:if it is the modern era out in the desert by a flange oiler there probably won't be alot of rust but the rail will be the color of the local dust plus the grease from the flange oiler. Backwoods engine shed 1920? I bet the rail was black, along with the ties. Also track from the steam era was a different color than from the modern era.  

Out in the wonderful midwest, the track dont weather and there is always the smell of fresh spring flowers the air!!! ;) Thats my story and I am sticking to it.

 

Paul

Dayton and Mad River RR (Yes its in the Midwest...how did you guess?)

[Dave-the-Train]

I detail the right of way by taking a three foot length of rail, cutting it to a (scale) thirty-nine foot length, heavily rusting it, and then laying it randomly on the ballast as I frequently observe on railfan outings along the prototype's right-of- way.  

I like this!

There are many variations of the same.

To some extent they depend on RR, location and era.

39'rail length is most comon for the USA but, if you model the modern stuff, you could solder lengths of rail together (end on) and lay them in pairs down the middle of the track or down one side.  Then again you have a choice of one each side or one one side and one down the middle.  Thgis gives you have ribbon rail that has been dropped ready for use - if you paint is a consistant dark grey (really new) or darkgrey/brown - OR you can have a load of ribbon rail that has been taken out and is waiting collection - this is all the rail and dirt colours.  These days old ribbon rail seems to be more frequently sheared into manageable lengths and sent for melting.  The way it is sheared leaves to ends angled from mid rail toward the end sloped from head to foot.  A chunk about 6"-9" of rail head often gets left behind.  You can twist your ankle on these lumps   When the rail is new it is almost always dropped (gently) or placed upright.  Old rail tends to be tipped on its side.  I guess that you would glue these rails down.  If there were any problem of movement with a long length I would put a pin into the roadbed and solder the rail to it before painting/weathering.  New rail often has "chalk" marks on it - at least at the ends.  Old rail tends to get sprayed with road-line marker - both to highlight/warn of the ends and to mark break points ... so that the machine operator can see the break intervals fast in the dark... each break also ends up with at least some paint on it as well.

Lengths of ribbon rail almost always end with an expansion joint on the real thing.  This isn't a mere gap between rail ends but a thing ike two switch blade points face to face in each rail.  The inside blades are fixed while the outside blades can slide.  Anyone got a photo they can post?