Weather 00 track and ballast without airbrush?

[Toopoor]

Does anybody have any idea/methods for weathering ballasted track without an airbrush? I don't want a very heavy weathering since I plan to have both locos from the 1940s like my Scotsman, but also be able to run my 395s and 66 without them looking out of place, I mainly want the track sides rusted or dirtied? I'm not sure what the sides of rails have on them, I'm pretty new to a proper layout, most of my time with trains has been a quick loop on my bedroom floor so apologies for not providing enough information if I haven't

 

Thanks

[Chrissaf]

Whilst you wait for a reply, perhaps you would spend a few minutes reviewing the TIPs in the TIP page link below:

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See also – further TIPs on how to get the best user experience from this forum.

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Unable to make the link clickable at present due to the forum BUG. Copy and Paste the URL text manually into your browser.

 

[Bulleidboy]

Hi Toopoor - you can paint your rails. I suggest you have a look at the track at your nearest station and decide on a colour. Rails are only rust coloured when they have not been used for years or are waiting to be fitted - often lying beside the operational line. I painted mine a matt dark brown - it didn't take long. With the ballast you could use a pipette (available from most art stores and Hobbycraft), and pour a diluted grey/brown paint and let it soak in - use a weak mix first, you can always add more - again look the track at your local station - the ballast is usually darker between the platforms than out in the countryside. Also at the ends of the platform where either a steam loco or a diesel would sit when stationary - a lot of muck gets dropped on the track.

Watch some youtube videos. BB

[Traincliff]

Hi Toopoor. I paint the sides of my rails with "Rusty Rails" paint from Phoenix that is my preference but it is indeed a matt brown paint so you could as Bulleid Boy has said use other makes. There are other paints for sleeper grime and paint dust etc but I usually weather my ballast with a watered down mix of artists acrylics. I just mix up on a pallet until it looks right and then dab it on the sleepers and ballast. It just tones it down. At places where locos stop such as platform ends I mix up a thicker blackish mix to paint on top of the ballast and sleepers to represent the oily mess that develops at these positions.

[Toopoor]

Thanks all for the replies, I will try both of your examples on spare track and ballast and take into consideration about the use of the track and positioning such as a station ect, thanks again

[Bulleidboy]

Thanks all for the replies, I will try both of your examples on spare track and ballast and take into consideration about the use of the track and positioning such as a station ect, thanks again

If you have some spare track do build a test panel. I had six six-inch lengths of track which I track-pinned to a board, and then using various colours and mixes of ballast, decided what I liked. Personally, I prefer the 00gauge ballast, many prefer N gauge on their 00gauge track - I think the N gauge looks like dust - but whatever suits you. If you use PVA to set the ballast, you only need a 70/30 mix - 50/50 is to thick. It will look awful initially, but left overnight, it will look brilliant. You can also use this test panel to paint the rails and again, see what you like. Just go over the track with a track rubber when the paint dries - your bound to get some on the top of the rails.

[81F]

Even well used track will have rusty sides so I used Humbrol 113  rust to brush paint the sides of my rails and/or a Woodland scenics pen. Although I feel using brush and paint works out less expensive, it can take a little longer than the pen.

 

To save time I generally only painted the sides of the rail facing the viewer. However, since I discovered that my wife likes painting the sides of rails I just let her get on with it and she does both sides!

 

Just one cautionary note, be very careful around the point switching blades so as not to affect electrical conductivity.

[Toopoor]

Even well used track will have rusty sides so I used Humbrol 113  rust to brush paint the sides of my rails and/or a Woodland scenics pen. Although I feel using brush and paint works out less expensive, it can take a little longer than the pen.

 

To save time I generally only painted the sides of the rail facing the viewer. However, since I discovered that my wife likes painting the sides of rails I just let her get on with it and she does both sides!

 

Just one cautionary note, be very careful around the point switching blades so as not to affect electrical conductivity.

 

[Toopoor]

Sorry, I'm still trying to work the quote system out, thanks 81F

[Rog RJ]

@Toopoor

 

Quote system.  Basically don't use it, just type your message in the text box and click on the green reply button.  We can usually work out who is being replied to but if you need to direct a reply to a particular person just put @ and the persons name, as I have done to you.

[Chrissaf]

@Toopoor,

Full instruction documentation on how to use various aspects of this forum is published in my 'How To' thread ... see link below. I direct you to TIPs 1, 2 & 3.

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TIP: As a newbie poster on the forum, just be aware that the 'Blue Button with the White Arrow' is not a 'Reply to this post' button. If you want to reply to any of the posts, scroll down and write your reply in the reply text box at the bottom of the page and click the Green 'Reply' button.

.

See also – further TIPs on how to get the best user experience from this forum.

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/tips-on-using-the-forum/

.

Unable to make the link clickable at present due to the forum BUG. Copy and Paste the URL text manually into your browser. And this BUG also prevents images being posted as well.

[The Doc]

How rusty you want the rails to look is a matter of opinion.  If you look at many photos you will see the rail sides vary from an obviously rusty colour, to a dark brown/grey.  I prefer to use a thin layer of dark brown on the sides of rails, but you could gradually blend in towards a more rusty colour in sidings which see less use.

[atom3624]

I think it'll more likely be old sidings, rarely used, or just occasional rolling stock storage which become the most fatigued.

 

Mainline rails will likely be in pretty decent condition, with little surface rust.

So frequently used, they're probably replaced through wear and deformation before they have a chance.

 

Al.