Looking for honest input and opinions. While track ballasting, weathering, and rusting has been addressed several times, I wanted to throw out the attached pics for input and thoughts. Some may already be taking this approach as well. I know there’s a current post regarding weathering Rokuhan track. To add to that discussion, I took the approach of weathering mine using Apple Barrel’s Burnt Umber matte acrylic and a brush. Rather time consuming, especially on a very large layout, but I like the effect. As you can tell the top two tracks are weathered using this approach. I am working on a rather large layout and am using MTL roadbed track. So I thought I’d try a small scale test for ballasting to see if the appearance is viable or not, and honest opinions are welcome (critical ones appreciated too). Although, I would say that one caveat is that we are looking at pictures and not the actual product with the naked eye. Pictures certainly draw out more detail and small imperfections when it comes to Z-scale. However if the pics look good, then to the naked eye it won’t work all the better. On that note, what I have attempted to do here is first weather/rust the tracks as noted above. Next I ballasted the sides of the track staying well clear of the ties themselves. That way there is no concern with picking up anything in the loco running gear. I inserted a filler piece between the tracks prior to ballasting, in order to save ballast and also to negate the appearance that there is a ditch between the two tracks. However it became painfully obvious in doing this, that the standard separation of 25 mm between track centers is glaringly unattractive, as even Robert Ray has expressed in the past. I am thinking that a small V channel, albeit a very minor one between the tracks, would add more realism. Again this is all experimental. As you can see there is no applied ballast down the center or the near side of the rails. This concept would also bode well for turnouts, as it keeps the ballast clear of any working mechanisms. Again, we always have to be mindful that we were dealing with Z-scale here. But anything we can do to achieve more realism will only make the scale more viable in the eyes of everyone. All input, ideas, experiences welcome!
I did something very similar on my extension layout. I played around getting the ballast with just enough cinders to make the grey look more natural. My track is MT and I hand painted all my rails a light grey because I didn’t want the rust as much as main line lines in my area seem more grey not rusty. i went just over edge trying to just touch ties. Nothing in middle other than slight chalk powder. so yes it’s painstaking….but I think it’s worth it so I believe you’ll be fine….still be careful around turnouts because they slide underneath and you don’t want glue under them.
NICE --and well noted on the grey instead of the rust look on the rails. Nice touch. It appears as though you have a small trench or trough (very minor) running between your tracks ???? Or is it a photo-illusion? I am most likely going to add that to my final layout. The track spread at 25MM from the centers is not visually correct, but lines up with the turnouts, etc. And anything narrower on any "S" style curves, could be a mess for two passenger trains passing in the night. Noted on the turnouts as well. I am burying all of my switch motors on the underside of the turnouts, so one does have to be careful of the slot opening on the side of the turnout. Ballast would certainly gum that up.
Thanks. I got my idea from ztrains now it’s the raildig.com. He did a nice little pictorial about it several years back. The trench occurred naturally. I used a small amount just on the sides sprinkled rather gingerly so as not to over do it. I think that’s what created the trench Another thing I did by turnouts was carefully brushed straight white glue on sides and sprinkled ballast on that so no dribble was used to prevent it seeping. Also did same thing with all the track first straight glue to make it stick to sides. Then added more where needed then the alcohol mist followed by dribble.
Oh and while the glue was wet, on edges I used brown earth cover to blend the ballet as if the weed killer was just hitting grass on sides burning it out.
Some time tested ideas? The Saying: Trackwork is a model too! The Meaning: It looks best when ballast, rusted, and weathered. The Saying: Nothing looks like a material, than that material itself! The Meaning: Plastic ballast is shiny drastic ballast, Crushed walnut shell ballast looks like symmetrical termite pellets, so avoid Woodland Scenics ballast, Real crushed rock is the only thing that actually looks like real crushed rock. The Saying: Kill That Shine! The Meaning: The only shiny things you see in real life are automobiles, window glass, and the tops of regularly used rails. Use Dullcote or other flat clear finish, use chalk powders, sifted dirt, and randomize it some. The Saying: Variety is the spice of life! The Meaning: Don't make everything look too consistent. Kill the symmetry. Vary the width and height of your ballast every few inches slightly, paint a random tie gray or black, brush everything with slightly different shades of chalk powders, sprinkle some sifted dirt randomly between the rails and plant a weed or two, drop a couple rail ties here and there, drop a scale spike here and there. Make sure nothing is shiny, then use a track eraser to polish the tops of the rails. Most important is to have fun, when it's not fun walk away and come back to have fun again later. If it takes you 2 years to get that just right look for your track, then it takes 2 years. Do a few inches here and there. It's not rocket science!
You got that right. It took me a few months. And the other thing to add if you don’t like it…just redo it! So often I’ll look at a result and say naw…let’s do it again.
Sage advice Robert in everything that you posted. Indeed the world is not a perfect place and a well done layout won’t make it look perfect either. There is randomness in the order. My goal (at least in my own personal building efforts and on my layout) is to achieve the most realistic effects possible in Z-scale — to the naked eye. I used to do a lot of model car building many years ago and there was something we called the “gotcha factor”. There were guys that were pulling off paint jobs on 1/24 scale model cars that literally looked real. There were other guys that were perfectly plumbing carburetors on 1/24 scale model cars. The “gotcha factor” is when everyone stood there at the contests and looked at a car in awe and wondered how it was done.
Hey you guys, Nice ballast and track weathering techniques! Rob, good points. I'd like to know what you are using for ballast? Scott
I did extensive research and testing long ago, and selected Arizona Rock & Mineral Copper Range Green Granite N Scale Ballast. I found it has a varied natural appearance, holds a steep ballast profile while applying diluted white glue without floating ballast, holds track firm like cement, can be moistened and removed easily, and it looks just like the ballast the Northern Pacific used west of the Cascades. It is gray with a slight green tinge in places that resemble moss or low weeds growing due to the Pacific Northwest rainforest conditions. It's perfect to me! Here is the Copper Range Green that I applied to MTL Roadbed Track, Note that I had not polished off the paint off the rail tops. I brush painted the rails with Floquil Roof Brown, painted the plastic ballast with white glue, then sprinlked on Arizona Rock & Mineral Copper Range Green Granite N Scale Ballast, then randomly dusted with Bragdon's weathering powders, leaving areas that look like cars were parked there while rain rusted the car wheels and left the rust to drip down on the ballast. This is what I mean about random instead of symmetrical weathering. So I put it to you, is not Track a model too?:
Thanks for your thorough replies rray. I went ahead and ordered a couple bags. Your tracks look terrific.
EXCELLENT PICS --- and it's inspiring to see that ballasting is viable for Z-scale, and can be done without looking gaudy or unrealistic. What it does take though is patience and an unrelenting desire to ensure that the final product is well thought out and visually accurate. ....and YES, track-work is it's own "model" and need I say, a work of art in some cases....
Rob, Thanks for posting the results of your research. I ordered one bag of B&O N scale ballast. I felt that best matched the color I have seen and described for Connecticut. Scott
So what I did was ballast several pieces of track with several different ballasts available in 2003, and took super macro 10x photos of them, in natural sunlight, and compared them. Most of the ballast floated away, with Woodland Scenics being the worst offender. All the N Scale sized real rock ballast held a good profile without floating away. There was some Z Scale ballast from a long gone company I can't remember their name, and it not only floated away, but the glue would not soak in, even if misted with soapy water first. I also tried silica sand, but it was too fine and did not look good, also too even in color. Once I found the best material, I went back to The Train Shop and bought every gray-ish color from Arizona they had, and settled on the Copper Range Green. I contacted Arizona directly and ordered 30 bags of the N Scale Copper Range Green which really upset the guy, because he said it was the hardest rock they had and crushing to N Scale was too much work, but he reluctantly agreed to do it, and I still have enough left for my retirement years. I hate to run out of something, so I always order a goodly supply!
Wow, 30 bags. I guess my first attempt at using this stuff will be on my NOCH Cortina layout. I have no idea how much I will need. I better start doing that sooner rather than later, while this stuff is still available.
Second that. There N scale ballast (-1 suffix) is "1/2" the size of Woodland Scenics and 'Highball' ballast. www.armballast.com Click the Ballast link for colors but it is a terrible mishmash of pictures. I simply flow it out the creased edge of the bag, wiggling enough to slightly overflow the ties. Then run a 1/4 round cheapie brush out of a 3-size set from Michaels $5 set. Once all the ties are cleaned of (and inside of the rails, I do the same wiggle bag on the outside of the rails. Using a lady's fan brush (https://tinyurl.com/ux3warra) available everywhere beauty supplies are. Just hold at the very end (more like just hold it so the fan floats at a angle along the ties and ground. Use its fine edge to clean up loose stuff in the rails and inside rails. Get a QUALITY sprayer that MISTS, not spit and fill with water, then a couple of drops of dishwash soap. Just roll the bottle, don't shake it. TEST SPRAY for a MIST, several times. NEVER hold the nozzle area of the ballast, craters are bad and cannot be easily fixed once wet! Mist it until it starts to look almost wet. This should take no more that 10-20 seconds for several feet of track. I use a 'Condiment' squeeze bottle (from a beauty supply store that has an offset to the edge of the bottle, not the middle). Fill 3/4 full of water FIRST. Then add White Glue and start shaking ! A couple of minutes. THEN add a couple of drops of dishwash soap and swirl the bottle, not shake it (MAKES BUBBLES - BAD). Put your finger on the nozzle, tilt the bottle over and run it down each rail until it floods. It will look quite milky all over. Walk away and come back hours later (overnight) and it will look WONDERFUL and hard as a rock.
You are so correct about the mist sprayer being really fine. I can say I used my wife’s old Aussie hairspray bottles for that. Don’t know why they spray so fine but truly that is so important.
