"Rail Brown" questions

ypu only paint the sides of the rails, so no conductivity issues. floquill made magic markers for this purpose. I still see them at train shows for sale. pretty easy to use.

Roger, Micro-Mark still has rail brown in acrylic paints. I used Woodland Scenics paint pens for my track. It is oil based and I have no problem with either Lionel or MTH command systems.

John and Paul,

Yes, I have seen the pens advertised but didn't know anyone who had used them. If I paint, I was thinking of using Q-tips. But the pens seem like a good idea. How much coverage do you get out of one pen?

Roger

I have only used them on display tracks so I Don't know how far they will go. I have the same one about 5 years now, still works.

Recent thread on Rusty rails.  Click on the underlined phrase to access. 

Mike

Instead of trying to match model paints and opinions, here are two suggestions:

Camo "Brown" or "Earth" (brand-dependent - go to hardware store) is what I use to

spray my track before it gets used. Do it outside. After it dries, I use a fine sanding

sponge or block to clean the rail tops.

Or, if the track is already in place, go to your local rail yards and mainlines. Observe.

Never mind Floquil or whatever. LOOK at the rails. Real rails. Take some good digital

photos. Go to different areas. Around here (warm, humid climate) the rails are a

dark blackish brown. In the desert, they will be a different color. Go to Home Depot (etc)

and get some paint sample cards that approximate the colors you want. Look at your

photos; go back to the REAL rails. When you have a card that 90%+ matches, go to your

favorite paint store and have them match it and mix up a quart of flat-as-possible latex. Use that to paint your rail sides. Thin it or not, as you like it. Last you forever. Cheap. Based on REAL rails, not someone else's interpretation of someone else's interpretation.

I'm sure that your digital photos could be used for matching somehow, but that's beyond me.

Don't use "Oxide Red" spray cans. Nothing is that color except some boxcars and cabooses.

I have used the floquil "Rail Brown" pens and they are wonderful to use. Just like a magic marker and easy to run along the side of the track. Used on Atlas and MTH.

I bought some prewar AF track recently that is painted.  The paint got into the rails along side the pins and insulated the pins.

Rail isn't brown, except on seldom-used spurs.  Before ballasting -- in fact, before being laid onto the sub grade -- my main line track was painted with Rust Oleum Camouflage Green (which looks grey when dry) center rail, ties, and all, and then, while the paint was still fresh the top of the rails were wiped with a rag dampened with paint thinner.  The yard tracks(which have dark cinder ballast were done the same way with Rust Oleum Camouflage Brown.  I went over the top of all rail with a bright boy before ballasting, and again after.  I think it turned out to look realistic.  The attached photo shows both main and auxiliary tracks so you can see the comparison:

When I did my first 3 rail layout I used the Rustoleum camo brown.  Spray it and then just wipe the rail heads with a old rag wrapped around a wood block while it's still wet.  Her are some pics of that work....

I am using Rustoleum camo brown on all my track and love the look.  I spray any new track outside before I install it and then immediately wipe the rail heads before they dry.  It's harder to do installed track because of the smell.

Art