Weathering Track

One of the biggest critiques I have of other model railroads is the lack of weathering of the track. If the rails are left as bare nickel silver or brass, and the ties shiny plastic, it just doesn't look right. It is easy to fix too, so unless you are planning a temporary layout you really should make an effort to do so.

I started by spraying everything with several light coats of Rustoleum Camouflage "Earth Brown" (#1918). Since my layout had no backdrop yet, I could easily access both sides. The paint blended my three brands of track together (steel rails, brass rails, plastic ties, wood ties) into one uniform color that looked old, rusty, and dirty. 

I used a piece of cardboard as a mask so the paint didn't go everywhere, and ran out of the basement quickly afterwards so the fumes didn't kill me. Then, lacquer thinner was used to remove the paint from the tops of the rails. The only downside was the amount of shedding my paper towels left on the layout that I had to pick out with tweezers. I later switched to pieces of old T-shirts to clean the track . (Note: the color of the pictures is different because the one above is my ceiling lights, and the one below is using my portable LED spot lights).

The ties were then randomly painted either dark gray (to look like faded wood), brown (to look like old wood), black (to look newer creosoted wood), or left in their camo color. I didn't do every tie, and the gray treatment was used less than the other colors.

I then went over everything by drybrushing black. This makes the wood grain of the real wood ties "pop" out, and it also adds a layer of oil, grease, and filth to the ties to further blend them together. It is important to use cheap paint brushes for this as they get trashed pretty quick. I only painted the tops of the ties, not the sides (though I did do the ends on the tank car siding), because life is just too short for that.

As a finishing touch, the sides of the rails were painted Tamiya flat brown paint (#XF-10). I did all three rails because I don't like it when the center rail is left black. (Modelers do that to "hide" it but I think it just makes it stand out more). I did both sides of the rails for the sidings, but on the mainline I realized the backs weren't visible so I skipped them. Honestly, I am not sure if painting the rails brown was worth the effort. Oddly, in some areas the Tamiya paint dried shiny so I had to go over them again.

Then, the rail tops were given a light rub of lacquer thinner again to clean off any paint. Unfortunately, I happened to spill some on the foam. Thank goodness I had painted the foam first, or else the damage would have been much worse. It looks like the surface of the moon!

Now, it was ready for ballasting.

A little short circuit!

A little  short circuit can really ruin your day!

After finishing wiring the layout I decided it was time to test it. Nothing formal, just connect leads to various portions of the track with an engine on top. I didn't even bother to clean the rails for the occasion. But, it was important to verify that it worked before I started weathering and ballasting the track. And I am glad I did.

Within seconds I discovered that the right portion of the layout had a short circuit. The left section was fine. So what to do? 

After checking under the layout multiple times to make sure only red feeders were attached to the red bus line, and black feeders to the black bus line, I then printed out my wiring circuit and made sure that I didn't use a red wire where a black one was needed. No wires appeared to be crossed. Perhaps the Atlas crossing I installed should have had gaps cut? I looked online for help and found nothing to suggest I did it wrong. All out of options, there was nothing left to do but cut each feeder (about 20 total) where it joined the bus wire and then start from scratch with new bus wires. 

My wife took pity on me and came to my aid. She offered to operate the transformer above the layout while I reattached each feeder to a new set of bus wires. We had a good scare when she tried different portions of the track and one suddenly showed a short circuit again. WHAT COULD BE WRONG?

Then I saw it. Did you see it in the first picture? If not, look below.

Some of the switches I bought used required me to install jumper wires to connect the inner point rails. The factory bends their jumpers to sit low, but I just used a piece of code 83 nickel silver rail soldered directly to the bottoms of the rails and they were flush with the tops of the ties. I assumed it wouldn't be a problem because they would be hidden with paint and ballast. But... the center black rail had shifted a little and made contact. Barely any contact. But just enough to short out the layout. Using a hammer and a block of wood I gently tapped the black rail back in place then superglued its spikes to keep it from shifting again. I also added a small piece of stripwood in the gap to further prevent any trouble. Problem solved.

Except I still had to go back and reattach all the other feeders. It turned out to be a two-hour job, but at least it had a happy ending. I can't fault the factory for this error as it was entirely mine, but I checked my other switches just in case. And, now I order the jumpers factory installed on the switches! 

Replacing a broken switch

When you buy your track and switches used, you take the risk that they might be damaged. Sadly, one of the switches I purchased was broken but I didn't realize it until it was too late. It looked fine and operated okay when I moved the points by hand with my finger. It was only when I tried to install a ground throw that I realized the problem... the mounting holes where the throwbar attached to the point rails were worn so bad that the point rails slopped around. If I used my finger to push them back and forth they traveled all the way and it was fine, but the caboose industries ground throw didn't push them far enough. I could have rigged some sort of mechanism to try and work around this but instead I did the right thing and just replaced the switch entirely.

I first cut the wires from under the layout that connected to the switch. I tried to pry up just the switch with a putty knife and it started to come free, but suddenly I heard a "schlerup" noise and it popped off the layout taking the wooden tiles and cork roadbed with it. 

It was a simple matter to lay new roadbed and wooden blocks at the benchwork joints, followed by a coat of gray paint.

Finally, the new switch was trimmed to match the specific space vacated by the previous one and installed. Wiring was easier as the replacement already had factory-installed jumper wires underneath connecting all of the smaller pieces of rail. So only one feeder had to be dropped from the two inner rails on the right.

In the future, I will be more careful in my inspection of used switches before installation. 

Two industrial sidings

The right side of my layout will feature a lumberyard and maybe a fuel dealer. I wanted to make the track sidings for each different.

I plan on using the Atlas (formerly Walthers) lumberyard kit for the first, and its foundation dimensions are helpfully available online. So, using full size template I mocked up where the siding leading to it would go. I needed to leave enough room for a forklift to maneuver, and trucks to arrive and depart with their lumber. The scene will be cramped but I can make it work.

For visual interest I wanted the siding leading into the lumberyard to be lower than the main line. Because the layout's base is 2" foam it was an almost-simple matter of marking an outline around the temporarily placed track. I expected to use my newly-acquired hot wire tool, but an issue with its power supply thwarted that. So, instead I cut down with a utility knife along the track and hacked away the middle bits

I did a lot of test fitting as I went along.

I actually cut too much away, so the next step was to use wood shims (pieces of paint stirring sticks) to set the height and cross elevation of the siding. I didn't want it leaning or dipping too much. Lots of caulk and weights held the track it in place until the adhesive cured, and a bubble level made sure it was where I wanted it. Note: at this time the track isn't glued down. It is just laying there.

Then, I generously covered everything with brown paint to protect the foam from any future spray paint. 

After installing feeder wires to the undersides of the rails, the track was finally glued down to the wooden stirrers with caulk.

However, the track was pretty wobbly at this point because it was resting on only a pair of wooden supports. To fill in the cavern beneath it I used some cheap black sand from the craft store I had on hand. No point wasting good ballast on this job as it will all be hidden. The sand was poured in and brushed around, and I tapped the track to help it settle into all the cracks and crevices. I wasn't going for perfect coverage everywhere, as a later layer of dirt and ballast will do that. 

Then, it was flooded with a mixture of alcohol and water and followed up with a copious amount of homemade scenic cement. The entire channel filled up and I could see the sand flow and settle some more. Before it dried I wiped the excess glue off the rails with a paper towel. Note how the alcohol solution I sprayed reacted with the latex paint and turned it green! However, it dried normally.

It took five days to dry and I was concerned that the ties would warp and the rails would rust but that didn't happen. However, to avoid potential issues in the future I bought a small fan from Amazon that I can prop on the layout to get better airflow. This will significantly speed up the drying time.

For the fuel distributor track I wanted it to look older and less well maintained. I started by pre-bending it to shape and then I cut away some ties and re-spaced the remaining ones.

It was laid over a single strip of cork which left the ties hanging over the edges. This will be useful in the future when I ballast this track because the ties will stick out and look old. It doesn't jump out at you in the picture below, but it will be more prominent once the scene is finished.

I may need to extend the track further to all for some more space for a proper bumping post on the end of the siding, important when handling railcars containing dangerous fuel.

This marks the end of my track laying for now. I still have to lay the two sidings on the left of the layout but that area has lots of tools and stuff on it and I haven't quite decided what I want to model industry wise. So it will just sit and wait.

My Little Helper

While Harrison has his own Lionel layout, he has really taken an interest in the O scale layout I am building. As such, I try and think of projects we can work on together. So far, he has helped me squeeze closed "suitcase" connectors during my wiring projects; he has squeezed the trigger on my cordless drill (while I hold it steady) to screw in wiring clamps; and he is always willing to test track clearances and such.

After all the "work" is done, he likes to test out the track by rolling some of his trains back and forth. He has to stand on a stool to reach, but he is learning to be careful and balance properly.

Sarah and I were discussing recently whether his interest in trains will last throughout his life or wane as he gets older. I have no idea, but as she put it: "You really do a lot of train stuff with him". It is true. I don't mind if he has other hobbies in the future, but I will always try to include him in mine if he wants.

Until then, I will take all the help I can get!

PS: I have learned to add temporary buffers to the end of the tracks to keep the trains from rolling off. So far, they have worked.

Installing Ground Throws

I am using Caboose Industries #208S sprung ground throws to control my switches and I needed the two long headblock ties to mount them. Ross switches come from the factory with long headblock ties on both sides for flexibility in mounting the switch controller, but many of my switches were used and the previous owner had trimmed some or all of them away. So, I had to cut and paste new headblocks where necessary. Naturally, I first had to paint and install cork roadbed under the headblock ties to firm them up. 

To mount the ground throws I used #0 wood screws which were 7/16" long. I bought a bag for a couple of bucks on Ebay and they work fine as long as your use the correct sized screw driver. Otherwise, you will easily strip out the screwhead.

It was during this time that I realized one of the used switches I had bought had been abused to the point that the throw rod didn't work properly. There was so much slop in where it had been worn that it wouldn't close properly. I wish I had noticed this before installing it. I really wished I had discovered it before I went to a train show where Ross was selling switches so that I could have easily picked up a new one, but I hadn't. So, I will need to order a new switch and have it mailed to me. Boo.

Oh well. I would rather get it right now before everything is painted and ballasted. In the future I will avoid buying used switches unless I can handle them myself first.

C. P. Mandarin Orange Express boxcar #35893

Chinese New Year is January 29, 2025. For those wondering why I am mentioning it on a train blog, here is a brief railroad history lesson...

My wife first spotted a Micro Trains N scale car at a train show. She liked the way it looked, and I love oranges and Chinese history, so it seemed a natural purchase. I was a bit envious of the fact that it was for her N scale layout but that was okay. 

Then, at the Springfield train show I found an O scale model by MTH and I had to add it to my collection. I figured it would sort of fit the theme for my next layout (New England railroads, 1970s-1980), it was a true O-scale car, and the graphics looked even better in the larger scale. 

I became curious and wanted to learn more about the prototype. Digging around online, I found out that the popularity of Mandarin oranges in Canada is due to Japanese immigrants there who would receive gifts of oranges from their family back in Asia as part of the lunar New Year celebrations. Whole trainloads of insulated and/or heated boxcars carrying oranges would be shipped across Canada during the winter months from Vancouver to Toronto and Montreal which have large Asian population centers. 

In 1978, Canadian Pacific chose a single boxcar to paint in a one-of-a-kind scheme of black and white with orange slices. Each side was reversed, with the white artwork on one end and the black artwork on the other. It was usually located right behind the locomotives and C.P. featured it in a media campaign that year. Some additional interesting information about the Mandarin orange shipments can be found here and here.

For even more information, check out the book Canadial Rail Car Pictorial, Volume 1 (which features the car on its cover!):

My O scale car was weathered to look like the the above picture. You will note that the artwork isn't perfect for the car, as there is an extra panel of white on the right-hand side. I think the oranges on the MTH car should have been wider, but I am not sure. However, unless you have the prototype picture next to it, you won't notice it. It is a fun car to occasionally pull out and run. 

As the Chinese say: "Gong xi fa cai" ("Wishing you Great Happiness and Prosperity").

The problem of size

One of the issues I face as I plan my layout is just how much space O scale takes up. Mathematically, an O scale model takes up 8x as many space as its HO scale counterpart (2x longer, 2x wider, 2x higher). But my brain isn't experienced enough to think like that. For 30+ years I have modeled in HO or N scale, and I have a pretty good grasp of what I can do with those scales in a given amount of space. 

My O scale layout is 3' deep, which in HO scale would be a lot of space and in N scale it would be enormous. But to fit even a simple shed or structure (which could easily be 6" x 12" in 1:48 scale) takes up a lot of ground. It is deceiving. As a result, I am carefully planning where my industries will go and need to use mock-ups and foundation templates to truly get a lay of the land. 

Online pictures of commercial kits from Walthers and Atlas help, as they frequently give the foundation dimensions. I then draw them up full size on graph paper or photocopy them. I can push these templates around to visualize things, even if I decide later on to scratchbuild the structures. They are better than nothing.

But even that doesn't take into account the massive size of true 1:48 freight cars. As seen in one of the pictures, I also use actual O scale models to help plan clearances and track siding lengths. My 36" deep benchwork now seems a whole lot smaller. 

Thankfully, I have an assistant who loves to help me test things out. Harrison has taken a real interest in this layout (to be fair, he loves any train!) and I think he is just as excited as I am to see progress made.

My crossing dilemma

I like diamond crossings, especially in industrial settings. They look neat and I made sure to incorporate one into my track plan. I will rarely be used and I added it more for its visual appeal than its operational potential, but it did actually have to function properly. Below is what I came up with.

I use Gargraves track and Ross Custom Switches, and RCS does make a 22.5-degree crossing. Unfortunately, it is ugly! The center has a large metal diamond casting held down by screws instead of individual rails. You can see in the picture below that there is just no graceful way to scenic it. I wanted to model this track partially buried in the dirt and weeds and there was no way to do that with that big frog casting. 

I understand that it is hard to fit three rails crossing three more rails in such a small footprint, especially since the outer rails need to be isolated from the inner rails to prevent short circuits. And you can't have the center pick-up roller drop down into gaps or lose contact either. 

So I talked with Steve, the owner of RCS, about this. I asked him if it was possible to remove the frog casting and then use a milling machine to remove portions of it so that it was less visually bulky. He thought it might work. (Note: I would never try that on a mainline crossing but for some slow-speed industrial track it might work.) But I had another idea to try first.

Atlas O also sells a 22.5-degree crossing. With its scale profile rails, more open appearance in the middle area, and smaller ties it looks a lot more realistic too. I found a used one on Ebay at a great price so I bought it to experiment with. I want to see if I can get it to work with my Gargraves track. The ties are smaller and spaced closer together so it doesn't match the surrounding track. But it presented me with a challenge: could I transplant the Atlas crossing (rails/frogs) onto new ties that were spaced like the Gargraves track?

You can see the Atlas crossing in front and regular Gargraves track in the back.

When I received it I noticed it was heavily used. Or maybe worn. Various areas were ground away and appeared light gray, which washed off like a powder. Perhaps it is the residue from plastic wheels banging into it. Also, it is made of at least four materials: plastic (ties), nickel silver (outer rails), copper/bronze alloy (center "X" rail), and some grayish-silver metal (the outer "v" rails"). It seems odd to use so many different materials.

I started by trimming off every other tie with rail nippers, and then used a chisel blade to carve away any remaining spike detail. 

I attempted to remove every other tie between the rails but all that did was cause one rail to pop out of the molded spikes. This required me to stop and repair it with superglue, and after that I decided to live with them. Moving on, I used stripwood to bulk out the ends of the ties. They aren't perfect but it was the best I could do. 

When it came time to wire it, I saved myself some wire and installed jumpers on the two outside rails for two of the legs. That resulted in me having only four feeder wires (one outer rail on each side, one middle rail on each side) of the two closest approach tracks. 

With the crossing flipped back over, I glued some thin stripwood onto the jumper with superglue to hide them. You can see one of my faux ties below, as it is the first tie to the right of the crossing guardrails. In the future I will plan where filler ties will go and then install the feeder wires between them.

Was the effort worth it? I think so. It looks a lot better than the Gargraves crossing and there is a lot more opportunity to scenic it. But it is a work in progress and I won't really know until it is finished.

Wiring up the layout

Up until about 20 years ago most O scale layouts were wired up using block control and toggle switches, very similar to layouts in smaller scales. Then, Lionel released Train Master Command Control (TMCC) and MTH released Digital Command System (DCS) and things changed. Both of those systems (which aren't directly compatible) operate much like a DCC system in that it isn't necessary to divide a layout into isolated blocks.

However, there are still advantages for doing so which include the ability to cut power to certain track to shut off the sound effects of engines parked on them; the ability to run conventional and command engines on the same layout in different sections without conflicting power signals; electrical troubleshooting; etc. 

Most of this side of the layout will be one large electrical block all wired together because I doubt I could operate two or more trains on them at the same time. But, I did want the ability to kill power to various sections so that I could park several engines on the layout at once. So, each of the three sidings has its middle rail (hot) wired through a on/off toggle switch.

The main layout's bus wires are 14 gauge, and the track feeder wires are also 14 gauge. This is pretty robust wire and should be fine for such a small layout as mine. Per Lionel's own blog, they recommend 16g bus wires and 18g feeders wires which means my choices are a bit overkill. That is okay.

Using old flextrack is a real pain and requires a lot of finagling to assembly, frequently with a hammer. During the process the feeders I had attached to the underside of the rail would occasionally fall out. They snapped in once, but after that the rail spread enough that they wouldn't stay in after trying to jam them in multiple times. So, for a couple I also had to solder them in place from below. For others, I was more careful to to avoid unnecessary maneuvering of the track before attaching the wires. 

All the same, if I discover a break in power in the future I can just solder a wire to the outside of the rail.

To remember where I dropped feeder wires I marked the locations with some beads painted either red or black and pinned to the track. 

Then, I made a diagram of the layout to record this information on the off-chance that it might be useful someday. As can be seen I installed a LOT of feeders now, but I would prefer to avoid messing around under the layout in the future if there is a voltage drop. It doesn't show the isolated three sidings (in blue) because I haven't laid that track yet.

To join the feeders to the bus line I used 3M #560 insulation displacement connectors (IDC), otherwise known as "suitcase" connectors. Some people swear by them and others swear at them, but since I had a ton of them lying around I used them. I first confirmed on the 3M website that they were rated for 14 gauge wire on both sides.

The only complication is that because my mainline has multiple feeders to the same section of track there are places where the same rail is being fed from multiple connections to the bus wires. Normally this is a good thing, but with MTH's DCS system it can sometimes result in mixed-up signals. If you Google "MTH Star Wiring" you will find many pages online about it (including this one) and the solution around this is to make sure that each isolated section of track only has one set of feeders to it. 

At this time I am not concerned with potential MTH DCS wiring problems. I don't have any DCS engines, and even if I did my layout is so small that the signals shouldn't get too confused. If it later proves to be a problem in the future I can deal with it then. 

I do want the ability to use Lionel's Train Master Command Control so I will make sure that the inputs to my layout's wiring can be toggled for that, but I will discuss that more in the future.

The ends of the bus lines terminate at heavy duty, 20AMP block terminals. I found some 12-screw ones for less than $3 each on Amazon so I used them, though I doubt I will need all of those contacts. However, it gives me options for future wiring.

I also used caulk on the underside of the benchwork where the wires came through the plywood. This not only secured the wires further (in case Harrison wanted to yank them out) and it filled the hole up which would stop any glue mess from dripping down when I ballast the track later on.

Organized chaos

Flextrack; cork roadbed; several types of caulk; caulking gun; Dremel tool; soldering iron station; lots of wire; various hand tools; multiple types of ballast; a couple of structure projects; various industry mock-ups; spray paint; glues; markers; assorted weights (gallon container, containers filled with lead shot); paper track templates; etc.

I love track laying, but it sure gets messy fast!