For those of you who just love to paint your rails that hideous red/orange, take note of the photo below. Note how the rails blend in with the surroundings. Nothing stands out...except of course the trespasser.
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Big Jim posted:For those of you who just love to paint your rails that hideous red/orange, take note of the photo below. Note how the rails blend in with the surroundings. Nothing stands out...except of course the trespasser.
Excellent point!!!! Those who model in the current/modern era, note that the rails are NOT rusty.
Even when it rains in CA, there's no rust.
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The best way to duplicate the rails in the picture would be to airbrush Polly Scale roof brown then after that dries completely go back and fade with an airbrush using diluted dolphin grey. Lastly you could spot fade the sides and joints using flat black then raw sienna.
Or you could just run trains and forget about it.
A layered approach is best as that is what you are seeing in real life. New rail should have a blackish/brown color on the sides and beef rough textured due to the hot rolling and heat treatment. Then you have the layered dirt and duse along with oil and other grime. Some oxidation should exist but not severe based on the typical grade used for rail. Somewhere along the lines of a 1080 type in believe us typical.
petrifiedagg posted:Or you could just run trains and forget about it.
I agree 100%. I've yet to see any really believable weathered rails. 
Track is the one scenic element that should be the most believable. Look at highly detailed layouts in any scale that fail to weather the track and it seems the scenes don't work as they should.
Scrapiron Scher posted:Track is the one scenic element that should be the most believable. Look at highly detailed layouts in any scale that fail to weather the track and it seems the scenes don't work as they should.
Bingo! The track is a model in and of itself and should be treated as such IMHO.
Chris & Elliot - I couldn't agree more. With all the money we spend on this hobby and then to not make the track look as realistic as possible just doesn't make sense to me. Hot Water has done an outstanding job with his track, very realistic looking as is his entire layout. Once you have seen one done right, it is hard to be satisfied with anything else in my humble opinion. And it doesn't cost that much either, just takes a good color eye.
Art
Yes, good thoughts. I have never seen chrome-plated track (GG/Ross - please - all 3-rails-blackened? Please?) or Orange Crush track.
I sprayed all of mine (even the old Lionel 042/027-profile tubular deep in the yards) with flat camo brown (Krylon or R'Oleum) before I laid it. Easy touch-up afterwards. This includes switches.
The color is a near-match to the top photo in this thread - and an actual dead-match to some rails. Some actual rails do show, in some places, a true lighter, rusty color, but most I see are a dark warm brown - even black.
It can't be a Hi-Rail 3RO layout with shiny rails.
GG track, painted before laying:
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D500 posted:Yes, good thoughts. I have never seen chrome-plated track (GG/Ross - please - all 3-rails-blackened? Please?) or Orange Crush track.
I sprayed all of mine (even the old Lionel 042/027-profile tubular deep in the yards) with flat camo brown (Krylon or R'Oleum) before I laid it. Easy touch-up afterwards. This includes switches.
The color is a near-match to the top photo in this thread - and an actual dead-match to some rails. Some actual rails do show, in some places, a true lighter, rusty color, but most I see are a dark warm brown - even black.
It can't be a Hi-Rail 3RO layout with shiny rails.
GG track, painted before laying:
Now that looks great.
Flat camo brown you say? Did you also spray the ties? That's probably the best rail/tie weathering I've seen.
What 99% don't think of is that rail and ROW color all depends on the region, era, type of operating equipment that emits brake dust / oil along with some other factors. If 3r were code like H.O. that would also add to the answer. 
I grew up around a cinder mixed ballast ROW and commuter train traffic, thus the color chosen. Spray paint works for me on everything.
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I've always admired the track on Neal Shorr's (PRRMIDDLEDIVISION) layout. It has a greenish gray color like I see on the old PRR main lines.
GRAY would be correct color for the PRR in PA. 
Interesting, but whatever you call it, bare steel rails will oxidize to some degree and that is called rust with the color of the rail varing accordingly.
PAUL ROMANO posted:Interesting, but whatever you call it, bare steel rails will oxidize to some degree and that is called rust with the color of the rail varing accordingly.
Well, not really. What with all the composition brake shoes and other "road dust", the sides of the rails tend to pick up a sort of preservative that prevents "red rust" oxidation.
SIRT posted:What 99% don't think of is that rail and ROW color all depends on the region, era, type of operating equipment that emits brake dust / oil along with some other factors. If 3r were code like H.O. that would also add to the answer.
I grew up around a cinder mixed ballast ROW and commuter train traffic, thus the color chosen. Spray paint works for me on everything.
Love the look of that cinder mixed ballast.. Brings back a lot of memories growing up in Bergen County along the EL mainlines.. That stuff seemed almost "knee deep" along the sidings leading up to the old factories...
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Doug
That sure looks good with all three rails weathered
Clem
Some very great rail tracks. That realistic rusty rail look is similar to the rusty, used 027 track I used! Had to sand paper the rail top and pins to get good operation. Interesting post. Thanks
Charlie
PS: Walmart quit carrying that 96 cents red primer but they are now carrying the gray at $1.64 or so around here this month. That is the new economy for you.
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Ben Snyder posted:
Now, all that beautiful scenery and weathering sure does make that gloss black center rail jump right out of the photo.
Yea gotta work on that center rail, just haven't found a color that satisfies me yet.
Ben Snyder posted:Yea gotta work on that center rail, just haven't found a color that satisfies me yet.
Why not paint it the same way & color as the two other rails and ties? That's what I did with our track. Besides, any different color than the surroundings will IMMEDIATELY draw ones eye right to it.
Some years ago I did a simple experiment about coloring rail. My office was right next to the NYC (PC, Conrail, now CSX) short line around Cleveland and there was a road bridge over it that I could easily walk up to. I borrowed a Pantone color chart from the art department and went up on the bridge on a sunny bright lunch hour.
The color that most represented the sides of main line rail was a medium olive green.
Lou N
For late steam early diesel era no one does it better than Hot Water.
Be noce if he posted some pictures here.
OK, see if this photo works:
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Jack are you feeling ok? You posted a photo 
Laidoffsick posted:Jack are you feeling ok? You posted a photo
Actually no, it's cold and windy here. I never could figure where all the photos went, but when the hard drive in the Mac had to be replaced, last year, the nice folks at the Apple Store got them all back for me. Since my wife and the dogs are taking a nap, I figured I would try and find a photo, and wonder of wonders, I was able to figure out the new OGR photo posting process.
I may just try this again someday, if the spirit moves me.
OhOh Doug ! You should not have teased him, Now we will have a bunch more pictures.
I hope 
