Rusty Rails and concrete sleepers

Hi All,

I wonder if anyone has any tips on how to create rusty looking rails... I've seen it on many OO/HO layouts and presumed people must paint the sides of the rails but I'm planning on using N gauge with about 60 yds of track - painting would probably be a life-time's work!

Also, Peco do concrete sleeper flexible track but not points etc. Does anyone have any tips on how I might "convert" points to concrete sleepers or again, is this a tin of grey paint and a fine brush?

Thanks,

Matt

Reply to
Matt Sharp
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Points don't use concrete sleepering

Reply to
David Smith

In message , Matt Sharp writes

Leave it out in the garden over the winter.

Where I live there aren't any concrete-timbered points and crossings, but there is lots of concrete-sleepered plain track.

You're welcome

Reply to
Jane Sullivan

This company makes concrete sleepers and also make "crossing bearers" which are used on points as sleepers would be in the traditional sense.

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They also have all concrete "sleepers" under the points at my local station, Basingstoke.

Thanks,

Matt

Reply to
Matt Sharp

I thought about soaking it for a few nights in a bucket of water, but Peco track is made from nickel-silver which doesn't rust :o(

Reply to
Matt Sharp

A few hours; I'd guess one could paint more than 5 yards per hour. I've done it with enamel (eg. Humbrol) paint before.

Pick a suitable rusty colour from the paint rack (almost anything vaguely rusty-brown will do, not too bright). Paint down the outside of each rail and then the inside. No need to be particularly precise about it, or to get the colour uniform - so long as the rusty colour washes over the rail, it will dull down the excess brightness of the nickel-silver. Don't worry about a bit of paint on the chairs or edges of sleepers (though don't over-do it!).

Whilst wet, use a cloth held tightly with thinners on it to clean the running surfaces, including the inside edge of the top of the rail (where the flange might strike).

- Nigel

Reply to
Nigel Cliffe

"Matt Sharp" wrote

It does oxidise though, and turns a dark grey/black colour.

John.

Reply to
John Turner

"David Smith" wrote

That statement would have probably been correct about twenty-five years ago, but times change and there are most certainly now points with concrete timbers (I don't think they use the expression 'sleeper' when referring to pointwork).

John.

Reply to
John Turner

"Matt Sharp" wrote

Why not spray paint the track and then just clean the paint from the head of the rail?

John.

Reply to
John Turner

Ah, now that's interesting... so maybe I'll do that just to take the brightness out...

Thanks,

Matt

Reply to
Matt Sharp

My only worry would be I'd have to somehow protect the sleepers and chairs to aviod getting them covered in paint.

Reply to
Matt Sharp

If you soak or brush on or leave them in Goddards Silver Dip ( used to clean silver) Its tarnishes the metal brown/black. it also does not effect the electrical conductivity

You'l find it in Tescos and its a jar of clear liquid in the cleaning section

Reply to
IOOA

Disagree... Milton Keynes has some at the junction south of the station... (can't remember it's name.) However the new, rationalised, trackwork at the south of BNS is almost entirely crisp clean wood... was a tad surprised to see that.

Reply to
Uncle Wobbly

Is N more difficult than 00 to slide back in if you remove it for weathering then?

Guy

--

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"To every complex problem there is a solution which is simple, neat and wrong" - HL Mencken

Reply to
Just zis Guy, you know?

Many thanks, I'll give this a go... presumably I can then polish the tops of the track to make them shine like the real thing?

Matt

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Reply to
Matt Sharp

"Nigel Cliffe" wrote in message news:d125r2$5k9$1$ snipped-for-privacy@news.demon.co.uk...

I don't use concrete sleepers, but my method in detail is:

I do it once the track is in situ... the level ballast is quite forgiving. First major point is - don't try this method on pointwork - you are going to be doing that by hand.

Mask from the inside so one rail is entirely covered and the chairs on the rail to be painted are exposed, mask the otherside in similar fashion. Don't be tempted to over-adhere the masking tape - it only has to stay in place while you paint, not survive a gale. And remove the tape as soon as you are finished painting - I prefer to do it before the paint is dry. Spray with red primer from halfords (don't do a thick all over... just good coverage is enough). I then gently dust it with dark grey primer and matt black to take the uniform look out of it - but again, don't over-do it... there should be more rusty brown than anything else. Keep the nozel well away from what you are painting or you'll put put a thick coat on before you know it. Once it is dry, I go over the tops and insides of the rails with a fine file (abrasive paper clogs too readily). The end result is very passable. Don't forget to stain the centre of the track (i.e. half way between the rails) with a light dusting of whatever you like - usually a subtle black streak looks good, but I have seen white shading from chalk slurry dripping from trains... You won't be able to do this with a spray can for N coz the spray is to wide for delicate work like this... buy a good spray gun *** and practice well first *** lots of air and little paint is the key! Also, notice that in stations and regular stopping points, the entire track can be covered with several millimeters thick of black grease and dust/dirt. this can be simulated very effectively by filling (plaster) the ballast and sleepers lightly in these areas to remove some of the relief - a very runny paste smeared in with a paintbrush works well Then a spray wth satin black... fade it on either side of that track section and again, tone down with a dark grey, you get a nice weathered look... the rails will not be rusty at these places... also around the blades of points will often be black and greasy. It is a long process but persevere and just try one bit at a time.

It can take quite a while and can be very time consuming, but don't lose heart and don't rush it (I sense from your OP that you wish it was all done

*now*)... you will get to enjoy doing it if you aren't working to a time table. When you think it is looking good - STOP. From my experience, attempting to make it even better ultimately ruins what you have. Study ***LOTS*** of photos - then net is full of resource for the modeller here. Textures and colours can be difficult to discern but don't try and do it with all one colour and definately try to mimic what you see.

As an aside here about textures, I have never had much luck at weathering brick paper and such, so I've been experimenting with printing stuff out from photos, scaled correctly. I have just scratch-built a plate-layers hut based on photos at Kensington Olympia in good light (a rarity in London - I know), having corrected for perspective etc. The results are really very good. If you have a colour printer with at least 600 dpi, I would encourage you to think about posters and wall textures and stuff - even doorways, doors platform awnings - anything with a view to printing them at scale from genuine photos. Microsoft Word is really good for setting the exact dimensions of a graphic to be printed.Cut them out with a sharp scalpel on good cutting mat, tone the white edges with a suitable colour felt-tip. Gonna post some pix of my hut in a few days. See what you all think.

Reply to
Uncle Wobbly

new junction going in at Filton Abbey Wood:

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Pete :)

Reply to
mutley

Is someone suggesting I'm wrong then. :-)))

Sorry guys

Reply to
David Smith

Afraid so! Have a look at Model Railways online magazine, Issue 5, page 8 onwards:

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is an article on British Railways Switches and Crossings including photos which covers exactly this.

Graham Plowman

Reply to
gppsoftware

In message , Matt Sharp writes

Depends what you mean by rust. If you leave it out in the garden long enough, it gets a distinctly dark-coloured coating, which is a jolly good insulator, and which to me is the equivalent of rust even though it is (obviously) not an oxide of iron. Since we are modelling, it doesn't matter that it is not iron oxide, what matters is that it looks like scaled-down track rust.

Reply to
Jane Sullivan

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