How to - Episode 7 - Weathering track

[@ConrailQuality1]

You put most track weathering jobs i have seen here in the states to SHAME! Superior work Sir!

[@bloodmarine77]

very good video once again.it just goes to show how simple it is to add a touch of realism to a layout.getting rid of the shine of the rails and adding abit of dirt makes a real differance.i think buying my compressor and air brush was one of the best things ive ever purchased.good video, good layout, good work, well done!!!

[@JohnDerby-ym6vv]

Hello. I'd like to commend you on your superb layout. I've taken away tips from your methods of ballasting and weathering Your layout is one of the best privately housed layouts. Well done!

[@waynestrickland1763]

Thanks for showing this very valuable piece of footage. It is a great instruction piece and helped me understand the subject a lot.

[@downhill240]

I'm not a train hobbyist but I have to say I really envy and admire you for your attention to detail! Thanks for sharing your wonderful creativity!!

[@SimonWAtack]

Thank you for such excellent commonsense presentations of your skills. You make great scenic work and weathering effects possible to everyone. Please keep sharing your modelling ideas as they are superb to watch and easy to follow.

[@daviemaclean61]

A great series of videos. Think I've watched them all and been inspired to make my own loft layout slightly bigger and way more detailed. Keep up the good work.

[@Namerifrats]

Good looking layout you have there, and the weathering looks very nice. Getting ready to start weathering my track.

[@TiberiusWallace]

Those look very real. It brings back unpleasant memories of standing on the platform on the way to work feeling sick and seeing tracks looking like that. Only that time there was a scrap of dirty loo roll there as well.

[@lesliedickinson198]

I'm just on the start of making a model railway so all these tips are very helpful and realistic.

[@eloscilatore]

Your videos are great inspiration. I love how you make the procedure simple. Other tutorials sometimes require at least degree from arts to do that, but this is something I can do at home.

[@Sharpslade]

looking good mate... Brilliant to see that your static grass has developed nicely

[@theborge442]

Great video, you would have one of the most realistic layouts I have ever seen. Thanks for sharing.

[@cd82156]

Cracking Video thanks its helping us trying to make oo gauge layout set in North Wales in the 60's/70's

[@Richardsrailway]

@EverardJunction , great idea !, i'm approaching this stage very soon as i've already ordered some woodlands scenic grass and static grass from Hattons, i think woodlands scenic is a decent range of scenic material, although i'm not to keen on some of their track cleaning idea's, thanks for the inspiration.

[@trackspike64]

Look mate your layout and methods are awesome .you sure have a goo deye to making your rail way look good

[@EverardJunction]

@cubeproduktion 'NEM' is a term used to describe a coupler that has been made to agreed industry standards. Kadee's are a type of NEM knuckle coupler. I find them much more reliable than the standard tension lock couplers that come with hornby and bachmann trains.

[@oaklandsdad]

looks great, locos are perfectly weathered!

[@lonesoldier33]

Very nice work. You can really see how much more realistic weathering makes it.

[@rainsboroughcentral]

Great Video. I have just invested in an airbrush to do my track. I will probably paint after ballasting like you have done. It's all looking good.

[@hovermotion]

this is by far the best way to weather track but getting my air brush out in the attic is a big no no unless i rig up my comercial works fume extractor... great vid...jim..

[@EverardJunction]

@ps3nut17 To get the track working with the select, get 2 wires running round the layout that plug in to the controller. 1 wire is + and the other is - Then use the clips to draw power from the bus wire wherever needed.

[@Synthematix]

this is my favourite part of your layout, whish i had the skill to do something like this, its bloody awsome friend well done!

[@DeanPark]

Good point, glad they are enamels...I prefer working with them. I shall get my order of Rail match paints made up!!! cheers

[@Ryanb20496]

WOW,your layout is really taking shape,lovely weathering,love it!

[@EverardJunction]

@Pearson4472 It is electrofrog and yes it is quite complicated. The right hand wire on it goes to the right hand point motor, the left hand one for the left point motor. The rest of the wiring is normal I think, but it was a long time ago when I wired up mine.

[@rauti73]

Well done ! It´s really a huge improvement to the Track. Regards Andre

[@CamJNoble]

Thanks very helpful just gone out and bought a D/A airbush (dual action) and compresser all for £40 I looks like the same compresser as you have.

[@jwhful]

Your track does look very realistic, think I will try an airbrush myself having hand painted previously. I have snipped of the pips for connecting a point motor to the tie rod on all my points makes the point look more prototypical.

[@SimonWAtack]

Humbrol 29 Dark Earth makes a very realistic rust-weathered rail colour. I find a 50/50 mix of enamel and thinner, (to the consistency of milk) airbrushes really well without spatter and looks amazingly life-like with your choice of sleeper grime.

[@diederts9899]

Hello, thanks for this very helpful how to series, I am learning a lot. I also have a suggestion: it might be helpful for people if you give a list of the jobs and the order in which they are done. This might help people remember things better. Bye

[@electron2601]

your layhout is very well done! superior in terms of realism compared to most layouts i've seen.

[@EverardJunction]

@ApacheBravo If the track is very close to the wall I don't bother painting the other side. The airbrush is quite small and I can just about turn it around to paint the other side on the closer track.

[@EverardJunction]

@noelwilliams07 The airbrush and compressor is from ebay, the grass is from scenic express in america.

[@TiberiusWallace]

When I was at college my microbiology lecturer was on the team that put forward the recommendation that the hoses for filling water supply in the carriages weren't left sitting on the tracks for that reason.

[@EverardJunction]

@ichabod0391 It's important to weather ballast as well as track. So I paint when both are in place to save painting twice.

[@Bklynviathebridge]

Nice vid man. Good videographer you have there...steady hands...most of the amateur train bids give me a headache from the camera work. Good stuff. Nice layout. Cheers from Miami.

[@EverardJunction]

@EWS60008 Thanks mate, a full respray vid will be made at some point.

[@masterdeeable11]

Great Track Work! Very Good!

[@EverardJunction]

The compressor is an ACS-AS182, the airbrush is an iwata HP-CS

[@ortez2011]

Thanks for clarifying this for me. I think I will also go for the 100 as I have some older models from the 80's. Fingers crossed I can convert them to DCC and repair some of the broken ones.

[@TheAndrewFernandez]

That was very well done. Cheers.

[@EverardJunction]

@ConrailQuality1 Thanks mate. I was very pleased at how well this came out.

[@EverardJunction]

Very true, buy the best you can afford.

[@DeanPark]

Hi, not surprisingly I am starting to watch weather videos as a new airbrush is soon to be purchased for weather track, after I have ballasted. However your relay boxes caught my eye! They look weathered and rusty around the hinges. Firstly, where did you buy the relay boxes?, secondly what colour of grey did you paint them and how did you weather it? cheers

[@ipodwindow]

That area looks Great.

[@EverardJunction]

I would mask up the important areas of the point if its your first try. You can finish of those areas with a brush afterwards.

[@EverardJunction]

@110samec The compressor is an ACS-AS182, the airbrush is an iwata HP-CS

[@EverardJunction]

@HortonRoadTMD each board is 2ft wide, the top deck covers about 24ft of space.

[@neilrross]

Once again great advice

[@liveti1till160]

Well done, thank you for sharing

[@EverardJunction]

@zaccee1996 The concrete will get weathered, the ballast might get dulled down a bit.

[@TheHST98]

Brilliant video Everard

[@EverardJunction]

@fgstf The paint wont affect anything. Just as long as the rail top is clean, trains will run fine.

[@EverardJunction]

I have the same issue. I paint the track wearing a mask and when done I leave the the attic for a few days before I return to do anymore work.

[@7YearWar]

First vid I see from you, but very nice and clear explanation :) Also love the Mr BEan mini at 06:06 :P

[@rttx]

Excellent. Looking at some of your other videos, I was wondering how you weathered your track. It looks great.

[@EverardJunction]

@toffie702 This is my new layout which I have been building for 2 years. My old 1960s era layout was broken up in 2008 to make way for Everard Junction.

[@DeanPark]

Do you use Railmatch acrylic of the enamel for weather track and locos? And why do you chose that's particular type of railmatch paint, ie Acrylic or Enamel?

[@elmister6668]

For a better control over the air action for the airbrush (vertical movement), but also paint regulation by the trigger, I recomend you using your pointing finger instead of the thumb, since it has more parts (I'm sorry I don't know the real name... I mean the thumb's divided onto two parts and the pointing finger in three). Just give it a try so you can see if it works better for you. Good luck

[@EverardJunction]

@HortonRoadTMD Helixes will be explained when the layout is extended. I use 2nd, 3rd and 4th radius curves for it.

[@andrewdengel]

Very good - just about to start ballasting - gave me some great ideas. By the way you really sound like Bill Bailey!!

[@Knight3792]

like yo style...keep up the good work looking good

[@EverardJunction]

I use peco steamline code 100 on my layout. I would recommend going with code 75 for the more realistic look though. I went for code 100 because some older models have trouble running on code 75, models from the last 6-7 years should have no problem running on code 75..

[@EverardJunction]

I always use enamel paints for everything as you get a far better finish from it. Acrylic paint is fine for small jobs, but I much prefer to use enamel.

[@EverardJunction]

The relay boxes in this vid are the Hornby ones. They come out of the box like that, not sure if they are still available.

[@gtacrusher123]

@EverardJunction ok cant wait to see it weathered and i cant wait to see the tmd i will probably re do mine once some new track is down because i did it in the middle of the tack and it derailed every train so i will use your method without filling inbetween the track

[@EverardJunction]

@Sharpslade Thanks mate, the grass has made a nice improvement.

[@EverardJunction]

@anthony566 I waited for the paint to dry and then used a track rubber to rub it off.

[@timrichardson3449]

great tips, thanks for sharing, also interested in what the make and model of the air brush you use, like the choice of control Thanks again Tim,

[@JPMiller14]

very good video. I have been looking at the close ups of the points and wondered is it possible you could have snipped off the plastic pieces with end studs that form the manual throw seeing as they are operated electrically by point motors?

[@EverardJunction]

@bloodmarine77 I have the august issue, I could do with some more mags. From my research ballast varies a lot in colour, quite often the track is weathered and the ballast looks very clean. Good luck with the weathering.

[@RD32792]

Fantastic layout

[@EverardJunction]

@Grimlock257 I really have no idea. I would have to find and add up over 2 years of receipts. It's probably cost me around £1500. The rest of it is down to gifts from birthdays, Christmas and A level results.

[@bloodmarine77]

@EverardJunction yeah im addicted to painting to.it was you that made me decide to get one,so you have set a trend now.i just need to get myself a static grassmater now.what brand and colour ballast do you use?

[@EverardJunction]

That wouldn't suprise me, back then toilets flushed straight out the bottom of the train. Todays trains store it in tanks that can be emptied later.

[@EverardJunction]

I use railmatch paint to weather the track, numbers 403 and 406.

[@EverardJunction]

You could do that. Obviously don't weather any track already on the layout as the can will spray far too much paint onto any scenery and ballast.

[@EverardJunction]

The compressor is an ACS-AS182

[@EverardJunction]

@ipodwindow Thanks mate, The oil spills on your layout are looking good.

[@JohnPW22]

Big improvement! Me needs me a compressor!!!

[@DeanPark]

Hi, Just practising my weathering on a piece of test track before going for it on the real layout. See when you paint the sides of the rails with sleeper grime, do you aim to completely cover the rail sides to make them completely brown? or just a dusting over the shiny nickel rail? I tend to find I have to make several close range passes with the airbrush to get the rails covered. Don't want to over do it!! Although I am going for a heavily weathered effect on some of the platform rails! Your advice please? Cheers Dave

[@EverardJunction]

DaveClass47 Hi DaveI try to get them fully coated. Multiple coats are usually required (about 3ish). Track can get very dirty as I'm sure you've seen. Station areas are some of the worst depending on volume of traffic so don't worry about overdoing it too much.Couple of questions..Whats your ratio of paint to thinner in the airbrush?Whats the pressure setting on the compressor?What type of paint are you using?

[@DeanPark]

Hi, thanks for that reply. I have compressor at 15psi max, its the same paint you use, Railmatch enamel sleeper grime etc. The ratio of paint to thinners is about 70% paint, 30% enamel thinner (ish!). Don't like watery mix! I have a twin action iwata airbrush with gravity feed. Started tonight and focussed on giving it several light coats, its looking pretty well coated in grime now. Gave the ballast in the middle a light dusting of sleeper grime and will go over it with a dusting of roof dirt (as you do in your demo). Looking at photos of Edinburgh Waverley/Edinburgh Haymarket from the late 1980s the rails/ballast is filthy! Absolutely grimed up!! Don't want to over do it,but too little looks patchy, especially on the rail sides. See when you go over it with the roof dirt - is it a general over spray to tone it down or do you focus on individual detail? I know he points need a dirty and oil up appearance, but how do you apply it to the track? Thanks or your help so far mate, its been invaluable! Dave

[@EverardJunction]

DaveClass47 You might find you get better performance with a little more thinner. A thick mix can cause your airbrush to 'spatter' and clog up resulting in a small spray. As for paint I start off with a general dusting of roof dirt after the sleeper grime. Then I focus on specific areas, such as where locos often sit and points. A small amount of black in those areas also helps a lot. Your bay platform strikes me as a potentially dirty spot. All those DMUs sitting there with those Leyland and AEC lumps leaking all over the place!

[@DeanPark]

EverardJunction Cheers! I am almost finished the sleeper grime, hope to do the rest tonight. Then I will go over a light dusting of roof dirt and I will be focussing my oily black on those platforms and on the thru platforms where the locos usually stop. The paint is coming out fine, I have in the past only airbushed aircraft, using Tamiya and humbol paints, but I am impressed by the railmatch stuff so far! Once the weathering is done it'll be a build up of rail side signage,station items, details, lighting etc Looking forward to making the scene more complete! I ordered some Silfour static grass from ID models but its out of stock so awaiting that so I can get stuck in about my scenic areas near the eat end of the station, at the bridge.

[@fgstf]

Excellent videos......when weathering the tracks, does the spray when it hits the inner part of the rail, not effect the running of the Locos?

[@EverardJunction]

Any paint that gets on the top of the rails needs to be rubbed off with a track rubber, otherwise the trains wont work. Once the paint is dry it comes off quite easily.

[@EverardJunction]

@SuperPalf Mask up the rails that have to touch each other. Then no paint will get on them and they should work.

[@EverardJunction]

@hihat101 I thin it down. About 50% paint to 50% thinners.

[@EverardJunction]

@downhill240 Thank you mate, glad you like it.

[@EverardJunction]

I use railmatch enamel paints for most of the weathering jobs. I get them from howes models.

[@BristolSpotterHD]

might sound strange but is it possible to weather the ballast like you done when wetting the ballast? using the squeezer bottle? spray the weathering paint onto the tracks? i'm tempted to weather mine when i get round to it but i'm on a budget.. just thinking of less cost effective techniques

[@EverardJunction]

Mask up the point blades and clips. Anywhere electricity needs to pass from one rail to another needs masking.

[@EverardJunction]

@bloodmarine77 Thanks mate, it has made a real improvement. I'm seem to be addicted to painting now!

[@45binksy]

Hi, this is great, i have just invested in a air brush and am not sure what is the best paint to use,you say you use just three,railmatch sleeper grime, roof dirt and black, railmatch do two lots of the sleeper grime and the roof dirt one is code 406 and the other is 2406 for sleeper grime roof dirt is 403 and 2403 could you please tell me which one's you use and do you use matt black as the black paint, i hope you dont think i am stupid as i am new to this air brushing Paul

[@pd150]

Hi There, interesting video on weathering the track, I see that you spray the sides of the track, does the paint need to be removed off the tops of the shiny part in order for this to look realistic and the trains to run as I could not find any reference to you doing this in the video.... many thanks.

[@EverardJunction]

I use a small track rubber.

[@EverardJunction]

@corkthompson I used woodland scenics medium grey

[@Sgt_Hest]

Your trains run really smooth on the layout. Do you use any kind of dampening underlay under the tracks?

[@bloodmarine77]

@EverardJunction thats what i use.but i was thinking of using a lighter colour ballast.have you got sept issue of model rail magazine? there is a very good modern layout in it with perfect weathered ballast.that is what im aiming to get my ballast to look like.well i can only try and hope!!!

[@EverardJunction]

I use woodland scenics medium grey

[@EverardJunction]

@nordenstation You can brush paint the track but it will take much longer. I will be doing a weathering vid soon when the weather warms up.

[@EverardJunction]

@Yorkiepudd1966 thanks mate, I also used to focus on modelling the steam era