Track painting - Completed

Track work now nice and grotty!

Aver the last few weeks I undertook the large task of painting all the track that is on the layout including the staging and staging approach tracks.

Well, today I can confirm that all the painting for the track is now done.
I used Olive drab to paint the track and it looks great. I did all the track in the one colour with the plan to go back to the little used sidings and give them a more rusty look later on.

This gives the track work a more uniform look and it covers up all the raw timber ties under the hand built turnouts and also where they were added at the track joins.

Here are a few random location pictures to show the progress efforts to date.

Track painting

Time to start covering up all those timber ties and hand laid turnouts.

After I completed the track work at Corinth, it was time to remove all rolling stock from the layout (some 400+ pieces plus 70 off loco's) in readiness for the train painting to begin. It took me 2 or 3 days  (in 1 or 2 hour sessions) to get all the rolling stock off the layout and back into their draws.

I arranged for a good friend Jason Miller to come over and help out with the first session of track painting.

Jason brought with him some new paint from Metro Hobbies that is ready to go straight into the airbrush. We decided to try 3 colours. Olive Drab, Camouflage medium brown and camouflage light brown.

For the main line I decided that I liked the look of the Olive drab, so we set to work.

I think the light brown and the medium brown will be good for the spur tracks and the little used tracks in the yards of the layout so will start with Olive drab and then lighten things up with the light brown later.

See below for a collection of pictures showing the final finish of the olive drab colour. In some photo's you can see the difference between the unpainted Atlas flex track compared to the painted. I think the painted looks great and take away the shine on the side of the rail and also hides all the copper and wooden ties that make up the hand laid turnouts.

Note the difference in the unpainted compared to the painted track?

Well, thats the update.
I have completed all of North and South staging, south staging approach, Ft Edward, Willsboro to the entrance to staging at Plattsburgh.
Now to complete the rest of the North staging approach and the other towns..

Stay tuned for the next update.

Corinth Paper Mill track work complete

Track gangs have been hard at it again in Corinth.

A week or so, the track gang arrived in Corinth to complete the paper mill track work.
After installing 4 additional turnouts and a bunch of flex track, the track feeders were then installed and tortoise machines that make up the Paper Mill complex.

All went according to plan and there is now plenty of room to switch the paper mill with a chemical siding, a box car loading / unloading space as well as a switch back that is needed for the pulp wood to be brought into the factory.

One challenge that presented itself was the install of the tortoise machine for the pulp switch back. As the track that heads down to staging was directly below it, I need to make an bracket and extension to hold the tortoise machine and throw bar.

Here is a picture of the piece of timber with the throw bar extension and tortoise machine installed.

Here is a picture of the assembly installed..

Here is a picture of the location that needed the special arrangement.

Now that the track work is completed at the Mill. This basically completes all track work on the layout.

A golden spike celebration is to be held on the 8th of November 2014. (in a few weeks time).

The progress on the build has been going at a steady pace since September 2013. So, just on 12 months all the timber construction is complete, including all track work and electronics installs for block detection and turnout control including panels for each town.

Before the Golden spike celebration I plan to have all the track painted ready for ballast.

Stay tuned..