I would appreciate any comments from the forum on the best means of ageing both ballast and track for a Swiss line. The track is Roco Geoline.
Thank you
Michael
Thank you
Michael
track weathering
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Hi Michael, welcome to the forum.
Generally, if the track is already laid, the only effective way to take off the shine is to use a fine brush. Adding a little grime and rust here and there. If you can do it before you lay the track you could airbrush it.
For ballast, an airbrush is the easiest. Depending if you run steam, electric or diesel, the ballast with be dirtied in different ways. Research what you are looking for by studying photos of the real thing. Mask the tracks and apply the grime. Apply light coats and build it up. Keeping the mask off the track will obviously dirty the track too, but sometimes the ballast may have black grime, but you may want to keep the rails red with rust. If that's what you're after, you'll need to mask the rails.
I lay ballast and then use my airbrush to take the 'newness' off a bit. I use a dirty grey/brown.
Remember that stations, sidings and loco yards will have more grime. This is where the crews would oils and clean the engines so ash and oil would be everywhere. So a loco yard would be a mucky place.
Generally, if the track is already laid, the only effective way to take off the shine is to use a fine brush. Adding a little grime and rust here and there. If you can do it before you lay the track you could airbrush it.
For ballast, an airbrush is the easiest. Depending if you run steam, electric or diesel, the ballast with be dirtied in different ways. Research what you are looking for by studying photos of the real thing. Mask the tracks and apply the grime. Apply light coats and build it up. Keeping the mask off the track will obviously dirty the track too, but sometimes the ballast may have black grime, but you may want to keep the rails red with rust. If that's what you're after, you'll need to mask the rails.
I lay ballast and then use my airbrush to take the 'newness' off a bit. I use a dirty grey/brown.
Remember that stations, sidings and loco yards will have more grime. This is where the crews would oils and clean the engines so ash and oil would be everywhere. So a loco yard would be a mucky place.
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QUOTE So a loco yard would be a mucky place.
As a "professional doubter" I feel bound to ask whether "electric" yards, as I expect predominate in Switzerland, would be quite so mucky or do traction motors leak no matter what the source of the electricity (I'm discounting hydraulics).
David
As a "professional doubter" I feel bound to ask whether "electric" yards, as I expect predominate in Switzerland, would be quite so mucky or do traction motors leak no matter what the source of the electricity (I'm discounting hydraulics).
David
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QUOTE (dwb @ 7 Nov 2008, 05:17) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>As a "professional doubter" I feel bound to ask whether "electric" yards, as I expect predominate in Switzerland, would be quite so mucky or do traction motors leak no matter what the source of the electricity (I'm discounting hydraulics).
David
No they're not, however there is still leaks of lubricants etc.
All the suburban trains here are electric and I spend plenty of time staring at the tracks in the moring when I take the train to work.
David
No they're not, however there is still leaks of lubricants etc.
All the suburban trains here are electric and I spend plenty of time staring at the tracks in the moring when I take the train to work.
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2,342 Posts
Hello Michael
Welcome to the forum
with your Geoline , have you ballasted around it? as the track comes on a base that has something on the lines of a very fine ballast , you could try Dry ( nearly dry paint) brush the sleeper grime and dirt colours and hand paint the rust color on the rails. Kain (Harkens77) hand painted his rails in one of his posts and it looked quite effective (N scale)
See details Here
Hope this helps
Regards Zmil
Welcome to the forum
with your Geoline , have you ballasted around it? as the track comes on a base that has something on the lines of a very fine ballast , you could try Dry ( nearly dry paint) brush the sleeper grime and dirt colours and hand paint the rust color on the rails. Kain (Harkens77) hand painted his rails in one of his posts and it looked quite effective (N scale)
See details Here
Hope this helps
Regards Zmil
Thank you for your helpful advice on Swiss track weathering. It is most appreciated.
We were moving around Switzerland last month and on the basis of the photographs I have, there is some variation. Zurich was grimy, Interlaken Ost was pristine and Lausanne and Geneva were grimier still.
'Grimy' does not really go with 'Switzerland'. What a place, especially when you come from a country with hills and a lot of dust on them for scenery.
By the second day in Zurich I was thinking longingly of my old Roco set, (you know, the one you bought for your 6 months'-old son in the eighties). By Interlaken, things were looking pretty bad. A week or so later in Lausanne, I told my wife I was going to get a new train set. I find saying this abruptly during a partner's own shopping, then walking away very quickly is the best way to deal with this sort of sort of situation. I only wish I had taken more photographs.
We were moving around Switzerland last month and on the basis of the photographs I have, there is some variation. Zurich was grimy, Interlaken Ost was pristine and Lausanne and Geneva were grimier still.
'Grimy' does not really go with 'Switzerland'. What a place, especially when you come from a country with hills and a lot of dust on them for scenery.
By the second day in Zurich I was thinking longingly of my old Roco set, (you know, the one you bought for your 6 months'-old son in the eighties). By Interlaken, things were looking pretty bad. A week or so later in Lausanne, I told my wife I was going to get a new train set. I find saying this abruptly during a partner's own shopping, then walking away very quickly is the best way to deal with this sort of sort of situation. I only wish I had taken more photographs.
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I take the mainline from Dijon to Zurich every now and then and it is quite grotty - especially if you look at the sidings and see all the old equipment sitting there. A mixture of electric and diesel. I suppose that it depends on which line you are modelling and what epoch. Steam would have been different again.
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QUOTE By Interlaken, things were looking pretty bad.
The prices in the principal model shop in Interlaken would definitely keep you on the straight and narrow. There's a great range but it's all top dollar or exceedingly highly valued Swiss Franc
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Austria beckons next summer I think.
David
The prices in the principal model shop in Interlaken would definitely keep you on the straight and narrow. There's a great range but it's all top dollar or exceedingly highly valued Swiss Franc
David
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