Track is weathered, ready to put down

As promised in the previous post, I'm reporting on weathering the track with the Micro Engineering Company's Rail Weathering Solution. In a sentence, it went better than I feared it might, not quite as well as I hoped. It is what it is. My biggest issue is that all the track did not weather evenly, and may require some touch up after it's in place.

This is the rail before weathering

After weathering; I wish it all looked like this

The process was fairly simple. Directions on the solution bottle recommend a 2:1 (water to solution) mixture, and I followed directions. People who have used it suggest anywhere from the 3-5 minutes and even more; they caution to watch it closely. I did. I left the track "cooking" for 7-8 minutes to get where I thought I wanted it.

Track ready to be placed in the solution

Following the time in the solution, the track has to be rinsed in plain water to stop the chemical process. Then it has to dry before being laid. All told, the time for the process from start to finish (getting the containers ready, getting plain water, mixing the solution, etc.) for about 25 pieces of 3-foot flex track (divided into three separate "soakings") and 22 turnouts (split into two soakings), was a couple of hours. Still shooting to have track down and wired by the end of our group meeting Thursday night. Stay tuned.

Road bed is down, ready for track

The road bed is down, ready for track. Although I model, as you know, in HO scale, I am using N-scale road bed, which is a lower profile at 3 mm than HO at 5 mm.

Next comes the track, but first it has to be weathered. I am using the Micro-Engineering weathering solution. The process is mixing the solution with water and then immersing the track for a specified period. I'm going to start with a 2:1 water-to-solution mixture and a 3-4 minute immersion. I will continue to check the track until I get the level of weathering I want.

I have been avoiding this piece of the project, but its time to bite the bullet. Good friend and great modeler Dave Abeles (Onondaga Cutoff at https://onondagacutoff.blogspot.com) recently wrote in his blog about the intimidation of tasks untried hindering progress, and the need to just move forward and do it. It hit home with me. Interesting that both projects - his creating a pond, and me weathering in a liquid solution - involved water.

My next post will be a report of how (successfully, I hope) the weathering worked out complete with photos.

Ready for roadbed

In the previous post, I drew one-foot squares on the benchwork to coincide with the "Tar Branch" plan as it appeared in Model Railroader (Jan-Apr. 2018). I since have added the (really rough) track plan in red and placed cardboard footprint cutouts using the grid to assure a fit.

Next, I continued to draw the track plan and used footprint cutouts down the vertical piece; note I deviated completely from the MR plan on this section.

From top to bottom (darkened square) are Ken Heyl's kit bash of the Station Inn, an oil dealer facility,  and nearest the wall, a grain elevator and a scrap yard. A street will run between the two. Nearest the aisle are a Railway Express Agency, and an engine facility. The last six feet will include a harbor with barge loading coal, and a yard. There will be other structures and scenery elements, but these are the one's that impact the placement of the track.

It all looks pretty rough now, but should start looking like a model railroad within the next two weeks. Our Thursday night gang will be here at the end of the month to do the under-the-bench wiring, so I have to get the roadbed and track down before then.

Ready for track work

Spent some time in the train room today. I removed the track, turnouts, and roadbed from the 2x 8 section that will be primarily the staging yard. It's smoother than it looks, and is ready for roadbed and track. I still have to develop the track plan for this section.

Next, I drew the the 1-foot square grid work, which coincides with the track plan I am following. As a reminder, I am following the "Tar Branch", the 2018 project railroad in Model Railroader .

Two members of our Thursday night round robin group have given up their nights so that the gang can come and help do the wiring under the benchwork. This means I have to have the roadbed and track down before the last Thursday of the month. But before that, I need to select the twenty best pieces of three-foot flex track from my stash of new and used track; I also need to inventory the available turnouts. All that needs to be weathered with Micro-Engineering track weathering solution. Plenty to do over the next three weeks; it's doable, but I'll have stay at it. Hopefully, trains running within a month.