Weathering of tracks


logandsawman said:
How are you applying the weathering?
Click to expand...

I'm applying a first coat of rust powder against the rails on both side with a 1/2" paint brush and then go over with a coat of dark brown powder the same way adding a bit on the center rail and on the outside of the rails. The rust color is applied side ways while the brown is applied from rail to out (hope that makes sense).
 
I think the color and texture are spot on but also concerned about how well they will hold. Wonder if you are going to paint/treat the ties later?

Using a pen like what Woodland Scenics makes it is easier to get the color confined to the ties and tie plates.
 
I agree the pen would of been much easier
I did fold a sandpaper and passed it in the inside and outside of the rails to remove some of the glossiness and oil, so that the powder would stick easier (didn't spend that much time doing it though)

I was going to add a black streak in the middle to represent oil, but will have to read up on how to do it

That particular area (freight area) I wanted to show that it's an old area (20-30 years) with lots of activity going on, the reason for more rust. Would the main line have less rust or the same as the freight yard?
 
All the main lines around here, the track is rusty. In fact, I have never seen track that is not rusty. Note that we have taconite running on almost every track so that may skew what I see.
 
Whether there is much rust on mainline track has been debated to death in the past. However locomotive's and train cars leak grease and oil every time they travel over that section of track. Around here most mainline track appears a dark black/gray color. So I on my layout I paint the mainline black and the secondary tracks rusted up. Of course this was probably more noticeable in the steam era where both locomotive's and wheel bearings on cars leaked copious amounts of bearing grease.
 
I think its too rusty. A stub end spur isn't going to get enough traffic to generate that much wear and rust. MAYBE the uphill track of the ruling grade. New rust is orange, old rust is brown. I would make it a dark brown and use a much narrower brush to only hit the rails and tie plates.

Another common technique is to paint the ties and rails a dark brown, then highlight the ties with blacks and greys, then ballast. I painted my rail with Floquil Roof brown, now that that's gone I will probably paint the rail with Rustoleum Camo brown.
 
Rust is not wear. More like the lack of wear. I do agree it looks better to weather the track before ballasting as the steel gets rusted while the ballast stays inert.
 
Thanks everyone, the to much red or rust is probably due to the lighting, because if you look at the roof corners of the platforms, it's not light brown but dark brown. Just like this new hobby, I'm also new at photography.

But I will give it a touch darker

Thanks
 
Hawkesburytrains:

You're correct sometimes the rust will appear brighter on a photo of a model than in real life. I have taken some photos of buildings on my layout and the rusty streaks are too pronounced but not when seen in person.

Most rails on track I've seen are "rusty brown" in color and not "rusty orange". This for both main line and sidings.

The brown rust started on the rail sides and carried over less pronounced onto the ties plates and ballast next to the rails. I think its better to understate weathering of rails than over do it.

Try painting on diluted india ink for the black staining of the center of the rail. Try different dilution rates until you have the desired effect. Brush on or light apply using an eye dropper. If you model the steam era, there's always some cinders dropped between the tracks form the engines.

Thanks.

Greg
 
I think you made a good attempt to weather the track but it's too orange looking to me. The simple way is to just spray paint the track a rustoleum brown. I use that and then have even gone in and misted a lighter brown over that. That will give you good looking track and is easy to do plus it can be done rather quickly.
 
I believe I may have used a similar product on my PRR layout. It was a Medium Rust from Bargdon Enterprises and came in a rectangular plastic bottle. I airbrushed my track flat black first, per the instructions, then tried a couple of methods, first by brushing it on the rail sides and tie plates with a stiff small brush. It applied well and after vaccmning up the excess, it was very visible, but the powder also scattered over and between the ties. I used Q-tips in alcohol to wash off the excess on and inbetween the ties(lots of work...learn as ya go), as well as the plate tops and it left a much nicer darker rust finish and removed the loose rust. It does stick well when brushed, but is very messy, so I was glad I did mine before ballasting. I did try a different method of application that proved to be noteworthy. I mixed the powder with some 70% alcohol and painted it on, then brushed it in to the rail. When painted, it was a bright orange and the brushing dulled it up to the finish I wanted and left much less of a mess on the ties. I will be using this method for the other half of my layout.

During the clean up of the ties and rails, only the loose rust came off and I was applying good pressure, so the powder does actually stick well to the rails and doesn't wash off easily.
 
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