Make it Real and Your Model Railroad Will Amaze Visitors To Your Layout

One of the problems with most stock model railroad track is realism. HO and N-scale track in the larger codes is nickel-silver in color and shiny with black ties. Some codes from some manufacturers are available in brown with brown ties as well. However, a trip to view the rails of a prototype railroad will reveal that rails are not consistently colored along their length. There are less-used sections that show more rust, mainline trackage might show a high polish on the rail tops but rusty sides, and different weight rails in sidings and yards will have a different appearance. Where there is locomotive and rolling stock servicing going on, there is likely to be a large amount of oil and grease on the ties between the rails.

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Prototype railroads spend a lot of money to make sure the grade and gauge of all the rail they employ is consistent. However, nature isn’t quite so precise and it’s easy to find sections of track where the rail isn’t arrow-straight or level, and ties are more widely spaced and less uniformly shaped. Exceptional pains are taken to insure that high speed mainlines are straight and level, but sidings and low-speed yard sections are not so carefully controlled and built. You might want to spend a few nights learning how to hand lay rails in order to make your small sidings more realistic while still maintaining the precision and alignment of flex or sectional track on your main lines.

When you are installing and weathering turnouts, going for accuracy must take a back seat to reliable operation. That means that you can’t spray weathering paint willy-nilly around entire turnout. The switch points MUST be allowed to make good electrical contact with the stock rails, and the pivot points must be able to move freely with no binding or sticking. Keep paint OUT of those locations, and if you accidentally hit them with the weathering, go back and carefully remove it with some fine grit sandpaper or emery cloth. Also, since turnouts are all potential derailment locations, make sure that the transition from line to turnout lead has no gaps or rail height disparities.

The same cautions apply to ballast. Most rail modelers use a white glue mixture to retain ballast, which can easily get between the turnout points and stock rails, or get in the way of moving the points at the pivot points. Be very careful to place the track ballast in such a way that it causes no interference to the turnout operation before soaking it with adhesive. One other area to watch for, as it is in mainline track, be sure that the ballast lies completely between the ties and does not cover them. This will prevent trains and rolling stock detail or trucks from catching on high ballast spots.

The Finishing Touches Could Make or Break The Overall Impression

It’s not uncommon to find discarded sections of rail and old ties lying next to a switch location awaiting retrieval by a maintenance crew. In the steam era, speeder storage huts were a common sight at junction points where routes diverged. Poorly maintained right of way might have growths of vegetation between and alongside the rails, as well as oil stains and discolored ties between the rails. Remember the clearance advice, though. Leave a generous amount of space for those rolling stock overhangs when placing trackside features.