Black Sleepers, Brown Sleepers, or Concrete Sleepers

I use all ROSS and Gargraves wood ties. I keep it simple. Everything gets a spray from a can. I use the “Camo” colors that Rustoleum or Krylon sells. I also spritz it with a little grimy black. Wipe off the rails before it dries with a clean cloth. Get off the stubborn with a little lacquer thinner. The color is Camo Brown.

if spraying indoors, make sure you have plenty of ventilation.

That works for me and looks pretty good. On my layout I bought a case of cans and used everyone.

Donald

@3rail (Donald) - I was expecting a lot more response to this topic.  I have seen the "Camo" colors you mention.  They are almost always available at Wal-Mart.  I really like the Rust-Oleum textured spray paints.  My favorite is the Aged Iron for pavement and Desert Bisque for things such as concrete piers, etc....  However, the texture size is only good for O scale.  I'd like a finer texture for HO scale.

I'd have to put some covering over the rails.  With my aim, I'd get more on the rails than the ties.

As for concrete ties, a different ballast is used.  I'm not sure what the appropriate modeling medium would be.  It looks almost like sand from a distance but I suspect it's some mixture of materials.

FYI: I never spray paint indoors.

Anthony

@A. Wells posted:

@3rail (Donald) - I was expecting a lot more response to this topic.

It happens to all of us.

I do not try to take any special precaution when I spray. After I do a section, I take a square I cut out of Masonite and run it along the top of the rail. This picks up a lot of paint. Also, a clean section of an old t-shirt works too. Any paint that is too stuck, I use a rag and a little lacquer thinner to clean off. I used this method for the 800 feet of visible track on my layout. 5 years later and no issues.

I work with maybe 3' at a time.

I wear latex gloves and a fan to help dissipate the "paint fog" if I am working in my train room and not out in the shop.

Good luck. All your ideas you posted above will work well for other items.

Donald

well , just call me old-fashioned ,  but I stain my wood ties, with a half a dozen deferent shades of stain from grey to dark walnut , then I hand spike my code 148 weathered rail , and after its ballasted , do a final weathering with my air brush!

For what it's worth, on this continent we refer to them as "ties". Isn't the term "sleeper" used in the United Kingdom?

I put a coat of 3-in-1 oil on the rails before I spray with Rustoleum Camo Earth Brown.  I spray everything, ties and rails.  Let dry, but only partially, then wipe clean with a cloth.  Works well for me.

Cheers,

Ed

@A. Wells posted:

...  I'm starting to see a lot of offerings for concrete ties on HO track now.  I'm assuming that option will be (or is) available for O track in the near future.

AtlasO at one time made their 40" straight flextrack in a concrete-tie versions. According to a recent Worthpoint auction page, a 12-pack was item# 6054.

---PCJ

Personally, I use the original colored sleepers that come installed on the track. 

This is a nice video (https://woodlandscenics.woodla...odelRealisticBallast) but he doesn't show nor say what marker he is using for the rails and ties.

Shame these are no longer available: (https://www.walthers.com/paint...lroad-tie-brown-rust)

@Hot Water posted:

For what it's worth, on this continent we refer to them as "ties". Isn't the term "sleeper" used in Great Briton?

For what it's worth, in this country (and others) we refer to it as "Great Britain."

In fact, the proper name for the country is the United Kingdom.

@RailRide posted:

AtlasO at one time made their 40" straight flextrack in a concrete-tie versions. According to a recent Worthpoint auction page, a 12-pack was item# 6054.

---PCJ

It does not show much of the Atlas concrete track but the right track is the three-rail version. I had bought two cases (minus one section) at one time when I thought about a combination two and three-rail layout. The Atlas outer rails are insulated so that would have been no problem but I have decided against the three-rail portion, except for maybe an outer loop.

Ties in these parts start out a brown so dark as to appear almost black but weather, like almost all wood, to a variegated gray.

I believe that the UK is the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland."

The Rust-Oleum Carribean Sand textured spray paint might improve the appearance of cement ties considerably.  And then they can be lightly weathered.  I might have to put this on my to experiment list.

@Professor Chaos posted:

For what it's worth, in this country (and others) we refer to it as "Great Britain."

In fact, the proper name for the country is the United Kingdom.

Thanks. Corrections made (good old spell check).