Large Scale Central

Quick aging of brass rail

Track and Trestles
#1

The thread showing “aging” of aluminum rail got me to thinking about doing the same to brass…I’m tired of waiting for nature to take it’s course and turn my brass rail that nice weathered brown. As a stained glass artist I have a fair amount of chemical “patinas” so I thought I’d play with them a little and see what happens. Test on a piece of LGB brass rail, light application of 50:50 “Bright Copper” and “Black” Novacan (Brand name) lead/solder patina gave me this… .

. . A longer application gave me this… . .

. . I’m not sure if I am going to do this on my layout or not. It took a fair amount of material and seems to work best on clean rail. I also do not like the idea of that much “acid” being applied outdoors to run into the ground or sit on my plastic ties. I’ll play with the mixtures a bit more and leave a section out over the winter…We’ll see what it looks like in the spring. Had I thought of this before laying the track I would certainly have done it on the bench.

#2

I use Rustoleum Camouflage Brown spray paint, before or after installation. Works like a charm. It protects the ties from UV, too.

#3

I too spray paint the rails and ties with a flat brown and then use acrylics to brush paint the ties another shade of brown.

(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/DSC04744.jpg)

I use battery power so no electrons need to get through the paint. Doc Tom

#4

Looks good Tom…I am by no means a ‘rivet counter’ but I like the top of the rail “clean”. It looks like real track.

One of the primary reasons I went with brass rail over nickel/stainless/aluminum/etc. was the appearance. “Silver” rail just does not look right to me.

#5

When I started Garden RR-ing about 6-7 years ago I decided to buy Stainless Steel track.

Soon changed my mind though. I thought it was too new, “hi-rail” or hi-speed modern mainline-looking for my primitive and backwoodsy pike. I came to prefer the look of old weathered brown brass track melting into the weeds.

How about that Aristo-Craft brass track - does it EVER turn into the nice old brown of older LGB brass rails, in your experience? I swear I’ve had some out there for 5-6 years and it still looks pretty bright to me…

Like Mark, I’m reluctant to chemical treat my rail - Not afraid of the chemicals so much, but it would take a lot of chem. That “Blacken-it” bottle of mine is getting pretty low… and it ain’t cheap. :wink:

#6

John - I agree with you on the stainless rail. When I built my RR I was fully track powered, so I stayed with the stainless. I couldn’t take the look so I began painting. Everything that was already on the ground was masked and sprayed. Then I began spraying new track before it was laid…

(http://www.cvsry.com/images/wtrack-08s.jpg)

(http://www.cvsry.com/images/wtrack-10s.jpg)

(http://www.cvsry.com/images/wtrack-18s.jpg)

(http://www.cvsry.com/images/wtrack-20s.jpg)

(http://www.cvsry.com/images/wtrack-22s.jpg)

Full disclosure and larger photos on my website at http://www.cvsry.com/car_%26_loco_mods.htm#Track%20Weathering%20Tutorial

#7
Mark V said:
Looks good Tom...I am by no means a 'rivet counter' but I like the top of the rail "clean". It looks like real track.

One of the primary reasons I went with brass rail over nickel/stainless/aluminum/etc. was the appearance. “Silver” rail just does not look right to me.


Interestingly with use the paint on top of the rail does scrub away with wheel action leaving it with the appearance you describe. I remember in the “HO days” after spray painting the track scrubbing the top of the rails with a scrap piece of wood while the paint was still wet. I guess you could do that in large scale with a 2X4 (These trains are so much bigger!!).

I am glad we are having this discussion as realistic rail makes the models look better in my humble opinion.

Tom

#8

If you run track power it’s better not to sandpaper your rails.

Any abrasion on thre railhead leads to arcing between the rail and the pickup wheels. That eats further away at your rails and gives the dreaded crud a million tiny places to stick. For keeps.

As if that weren’t bad enough, this arcing also bites into your loco wheels, pitting them as well, which is very nasty.

Now your loco wheels will also offer crud a whole new bunch of welcoming places to hang out and make trouble.

If you use track power, no matter what else you do, I implore you to use a hunk of wood and kerosene or some other solvent or non-abrasive agent - anything to avoid abrading your beautiful smooth rails!!! Make it your understanding and your rule: Electric trains LOVE beautiful smooth rails. Trust me on this. :cool:

#9

I use “ultra fine” 1200 grit paper…Or the super fine 3M “scrubbie” with kerosene. My Lionel Atlantics tend to “arc” but that is mostly due to the porous drivers! I swear they were sand-cast!

#10

Folks have been saying good things about these Lionel Atlantics here, Mark. Given the recent flow of positive comments, I’m surprised to learn that the wheels are questionable. I’ve never seen one of these locos, but I’ll be keeping my eyes open… Maybe yours have sintered wheels, which are bound to arc, so I don’t like 'em…

Some of Aristocraft’s early locos had sintered drive wheels, then later they issued smooth, turned, nickle-plated wheels. I have 0-4-0’s with both types…

I believe I can get replacements from AC, but haven’t done so yet. My Model Railroading plate is full enough!

Back to track talk- right now I have 95% brass, a few remnants of stainless here and there, left over from the old days, or because a particular stainless piece just happened to fit in a given location. But all the stainless is scheduled for replacement and resale as time goes by…

#11
John Le Forestier said:
Folks have been saying good things about these Lionel Atlantics here, Mark. Given the recent flow of positive comments, I'm surprised to learn that the wheels are questionable. I've never seen one of these locos, but I'll be keeping my eyes open... Maybe yours have sintered wheels, which are bound to arc, so I don't like 'em...
Jumping off 'track' (hey, you started it!). The Lionel Atlantics have thier issues, the driver wheels often slip off-center of the plastic hubs causing a 'wobble'. Very EASY to fix, once pushed back into line they stay there forever. Some sell them off cheap because they don't understand this. These are not high quality loco's, but with a tiny amount of work they will run as smooth as silk. I have 5, they are some of my favorite loco's to run...Warts and all.

…And they look better on tarnished rail (back on topic!) :smiley:

I should add, I think you would be happy with an Atlantic if you like the look of the loco. Replace the plastic lead-truck and tender wheels with Bachman small dia metal wheel sets. Add power pick-up to the tender. Extra zip-ties on the motor mount. Add a little weight over the drivers…Good to go!

#12
John Le Forestier said:
If you run track power it's better not to sandpaper your rails.

Any abrasion on thre railhead leads to arcing between the rail and the pickup wheels. That eats further away at your rails and gives the dreaded crud a million tiny places to stick. For keeps.

As if that weren’t bad enough, this arcing also bites into your loco wheels, pitting them as well, which is very nasty.

Now your loco wheels will also offer crud a whole new bunch of welcoming places to hang out and make trouble.

If you use track power, no matter what else you do, I implore you to use a hunk of wood and kerosene or some other solvent or non-abrasive agent - anything to avoid abrading your beautiful smooth rails!!! Make it your understanding and your rule: Electric trains LOVE beautiful smooth rails. Trust me on this. :cool:


i ask myself, if this isn’t one of the famous urban legends?

since i got my first LGB starterpack in '69 or '70, i always cleaned my brassrails with sanding paper.
now, after over forty years of running trackpower and “mistreating” my rails, i still have no noticeable height difference between old and new track - and my oldest stainz loco has no black spots on the wheels.

but your mileage seems to vary.