For those in the middle of winter and have no idea of working on track, consider eventually we all have to evaluate track for deterioration. The sun is the most frequent cause of tie destruction. My suggestion is to spray paint all the ties and rails with Rusty Brown spray paint – such as Krylon brand. I have had deterioration from the sun and where I did spray there is little or no tie damage over the same period of time. Spray the entire rail and all sides of the ties. The rails can be cleaned easily with a rag held by a block of wood with lacquer thinner on the rag.
Wendell
Per the above, one suggestion to ease the painting is to skid a filer folder or other thin, yet rigid, paper under the track as you spary. this masks paint from plants and roadbed.
I have found a way to preserve my plastic track, which is Aristo. I spray the track every 6 months with an armorall-type spray, I use the stuff from Turtle Was, in the lime green bottle.
I have been doing it for years, gets rid of the gray oxidation on the surface, and keeps the plastic ties and “spikes” pliable.
For the techies: the plasticizer and the uv blocking are the things that make this happen.
Regards, Greg
I’ll have to try that. I noticed the other day some of my AMS ties are looking a bit faded. My rails have finally oxidized to a nice brown, but now my ties are changing colors, too! Sometimes, ya just can’t win! 
Later,
K
What are pliable ties? Ya mean they ain’ SUPPOSED to be white an crumbly? That guy from So Cal ripped me off!!! – No, wait actually he didn’t… I only paid 75c/foot. The rails are fine, and replacing every 3rd or 5th tie will hold it in gauge just like a cash strapped shortline, right?
Once my ties start to go I will slowly replace with wood ties. I know im crazy but I love the look of real wood.
If you have not yet tried it , go to Bigtrainworld . the web address is in my auto selector so I can’t get at it .
Bigtrainworld is a German Firm , very good to deal with , but beware , the site will make you drool .
Mike M
Erm . silly me .
The address is wwwbigtrainworld.com , their shop is in Holland . I found it on the end of a loco box Their stuff is cheaper than UK , especially since the Euro dropped against the pound
A look at their site will show all manner of spares , including LGB Sleeper Sections .
Mike M
Funny, but I have to report that plastic tie strip layed on soid wood roadbed (2X PT) has stood the test of time beginning in 1983. The stuff I have is a combination of Aristo, Railcraft, Kalamazoo, and LGB.
Some has been lifted and relayed when changes have been made over the years.
Yes, some gets grey looking, and may be a bit brittle, but with the firm roadbed, it still serves us well.
About the only thing that we have replaced are the old original LGB 1699 series switches. They got very brittls and were starting to cause problems. I did give them to another fellow who is managing to use some of them.
I still consider a firm, well designed, roadbed (The PT wood has served us best, after experimenting with just about all other options)to be the basis for good derailment and maintenance free operations.
You only get what you pay for, when you cut corners on roadbed.
Our temperatures, in Ottawa, run from the low hundreds in Summer to -30 in Winter…lots of sunshine and UV rays…
We have not seen any real need for expansion joints, or rail clamps, but we do take into consideration, the temperature when we lay track, alowing wide enough gaps at the joints, depending on the temperature at the time. We use flat head 1 1/4" nails driven through predrilled holes in the ends of the plastic ties. They rust and hardly are noticable.
Fr.Fred
Fr.FredMy Llagas Creek code 250 aluminum has been down since 2001 or 2002. Despite Sacramento summer heat and bright sun, it all seems to be OK. I’ve built a few switches with redwood ties. Some spikes have pulled out, but I’ve reinforced the switches with splines directly beneath the rails. They seem to be OK, but I occasionally have to tap the spikes down.
I got some Sunset Valley tie strips and tried to use them with the LC track. It doesn’t seem to hold very well. Indoors i can screw the ties to the wood deck. The rail remains in the ties, but outdoors it doesn’t seem to hold nearly as well.
I’m replacing that stuff with redwood strips indoors (for looks, mostly), and outdoors where I use a double thick tie to bite into the ground better.
Don’t use stainless steel spikes…use the plain steel ones…the rust keeps them from withdrawing from the wood…wet them when first using them…if you have a very dry atmosphere.
I like this topic and that was a good tip, Wendell.
Back in the mid-sixties I was advised to keep my fiberglass canoe waxed - using cheap paraffin wax, the kind used for canning. Protects resincoats from U.V. light.
For decades in the off-season I stored that canoe outdoors. The wax worked a charm.
This may explain the success of Greg’s Turtle Wax system as well.
As acrylic medium sticks to just about anything, and earth is, well earth, and can hardly break down, I suspect that an earth pigmented acrylic-based paint would do a great job too, Anyone out there tried it?
That stuff from the auto supply store to preserve tires works as well. Kinda like Armorall.
Carry a rag for wiping the rail head as you go along.