Rusty Track On Gauge 1

April 12, 2007

A keen model railroader named Keith, has offered to share his ideas on weathering track to give a rusty appearance on Gauge 1 and other thoughts on this fascinating hobby we are involved in. Here are his thoughts. If you would like to offer your ideas on this subject, simply click on th comments tag and submit your thoughts to the blog moderator for publication on this blog.

“Thanks for the model railroading tips and info you have sent me. My own model railroad journey has gone through Gauge O then Gauge N back to O and now into Gauge1 live steam. All this has been over a period of nearly 30 years and almost entirely British outline until recently. “

“The Gauge 1 will eventually be run outside, I am planning about 70 yards of track per loop and eventually 3 tracks wide plus a steaming bay and sidings for rolling stock marshalling. In this scale a scale mile is just under 60 yards. “

“I am using Cliff Barker Code 180 stainless steel track which is supplied as separate 1 or 2 yard rail lengths and moulded UV stabilised sleepers. For realism I am rusting the rails by acid etching, thorough washing then covering with fresh degreased mild steel and leaving this to rust outside for a few weeks before removing the rusted steel and assembling thetrack. The moulded plastic chairs can be painted in suitable rust colour enamels for realism.The rust stains the etched surface and this appears to be quite stable although it remains to be seen how durable this is outside. The nice thing is that the colour has to be right as it is real rust and it has that dry matt appearance of rusty rail.”

“The running surface can be buffed back to bright steel using wire wool.This technique may be adaptable for nickel silver railin other scales. “

“For locos I already have an Aster Flying Scotsman, an Aster Schools class, an Aster Prussian T3 tank loco,an Aster BR86 tank loco and an Aster Lion andhave on order an Accucraft Canadian Pacific Royal Hudson which is due for delivery during the summer. I also have a few items of rolling stock both British outline and German epoch 1 and have ordered 6 carriages to go with the Hudson. “

“I am developing a real taste for North American railroads and next on my wants list is a Burlington Pioneer Zephyr set proper diesel electric in Gauge 1. Just to confirm what a nut I am I have also started to build miniature buildings in 1/32 scale from real brick, slate and stone to go on the outdoor railway. “

“My big problems are time and money as Gauge 1 is incredibly expensive and layout building on this scale requires lots of pre-preparation, planning, materials and continuous time to build the basic structure. From then on lots of the work can be done gradually. At my current speed I expect it will besome time in 2008 before I am ready to run a train. Happy model railroading from a fellow nut.”