T-TRAK

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Something to add when it comes to doing individual ties: I've had good luck using high quality colored pencils when picking out ties.

[Dave V]

I'm a big fan of micro-brushes... I use them for painting ties both on my HOn3 RGS and the N scale Colorado Midland.

@arbomambo Bruce, that's just so phenomenal. But I have to ask. It seems like Kato rail has a coating on it such that it won't even take a blackening agent. Do you have to prep the track somehow to get acrylic paint to stick to the rail?

[arbomambo]

I wash it with soapy water just like I do plastic sprues in styrene kits before painting.

[Dave V]

I wash it with soapy water just like I do plastic sprues in styrene kits before painting.

That seems too easy, LOL... Thanks!

[CRL]

Seems like a huge amount of work to make Unitrack not look like Unitrack. Why not just lay flex track & ballast/weather like normal and end up with a better result with less work?

[Dave V]

OK, first attempt on a scrap piece. I obviously need to work on getting the rail web covered better, but yeah... I'm confident I can reproduce this over and over using easily available paint colors.

I also hit the areas along the rail with pan pastels, but I would wait to do that after ballasting the shoulder and the thin black wash that ties everything together. Anyway, I don't hate it:





It's tedious, but not difficult. And not half as frustrating as trying to ballast between those thin Unitrack ties. Hand-painting ties is infinitely easier on the workbench than on the layout!

[arbomambo]

Seems like a huge amount of work to make Unitrack not look like Unitrack. Why not just lay flex track & ballast/weather like normal and end up with a better result with less work?

By all means!
We await your results.

[Point353]

OK, first attempt on a scrap piece. I obviously need to work on getting the rail web covered better, but yeah... I'm confident I can reproduce this over and over using easily available paint colors.

I also hit the areas along the rail with pan pastels, but I would wait to do that after ballasting the shoulder and the thin black wash that ties everything together. Anyway, I don't hate it:





It's tedious, but not difficult. And not half as frustrating as trying to ballast between those thin Unitrack ties. Hand-painting ties is infinitely easier on the workbench than on the layout!

If you're modeling the steam era, you could simply paint the track and ballast a flat gray cinder color.

https://d28lcup14p4e72.cloudfront.net/259338/7371767/b%25201280.jpg

https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/steam-modeling-has-come-of-age-12210238

[Dave V]

If you're modeling the steam era, you could simply paint the track and ballast a flat gray cinder color.

https://d28lcup14p4e72.cloudfront.net/259338/7371767/b%25201280.jpg

https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/steam-modeling-has-come-of-age-12210238

Depends on the line. The Middle Division had lighter colored ballast even in the last years of the steam era, with a deep cinder shoulder (which I plan to add). But for yard tracks and sidings, I do plan to use exclusively cinder.

Seems like a huge amount of work to make Unitrack not look like Unitrack. Why not just lay flex track & ballast/weather like normal and end up with a better result with less work?

Well...

1) Unitrack is kinda T-Trak's "thing," and while yes, you can use flex track in between the Unitrack end pieces (I may do this at some point), it's still the standard.
2) The challenge. I kinda like making commercially available items look less commercial.

No one's gonna sit here and pretend it looks like handlaid code 40. I feel like we have this discussion every time commercial N scale track comes up. But it does look a little more realistic, and for the purposes of what I'm doing, is plenty good enough.

I still have my HOn3 RGS and N scale Colorado Midland where track appearance was more citical to setting the mood.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Seems like a huge amount of work to make Unitrack not look like Unitrack. Why not just lay flex track & ballast/weather like normal and end up with a better result with less work?

From: https://conrail1285.com/hacked-unitrack/

Unitrack is a wonderful product. Without it, TTRAK would be impossible. This is because of the magic of the Unijoiner. Unijoiners are the proprietary rail joiners that Unitrack uses that provides alignment, electrical connectivity, and most importantly, positive connection, between sections of track. The Unijoiner is critical to the format because, in addition to joining tracks within a module, it is the sole method used to keep adjoining modules connected. With other modular formats, this can be accomplished with bolts or clamps, but due to the lack of clearance under TTRAK modules, there is no easy method to connect them without the integrated “snap in” feature of the Unijoiner.

[arbomambo]

In the meantime…
It’s been ridiculously busy around here…
Not only have Denise and I been incredibly busy planning all the ‘behind-the-scenes’ particulars associated with the 2026 Chattanooga National T-TRAK Layout (www.nationalt-traklayout.com), module participation plaques, giveaways, sponsored module contests w/prizes/awards, pre-sale commemorative items, Sunday morning awards breakfast banquet, trip to Chattanooga to tour the convention center and convention host hotel plus meet with ScaleTrains to coordinate their sponsorship and support…I returned from last month’s T-TRAK Operations weekend in Cordele, GA, with serious motivation to upgrade existing T-TRAK modules, and get going on new, planned modules.
One of the first things was to re-paint all of my module fascias matte black (all of my module’s fascia  have been painted an ‘earth red’ to blend in with a Southwest theme. Another major re-paint involved the rear of the skyboards. Here, in the Southeast region, we use black tablecloths on our tables, as well as using black cloth flat panels to lay over any exposed buss and module feed drops. This combines, as well as keeping boxes, equipment, food, drink off the tables, to always present a neat, tidy, and professional appearance to our T-TRAK layouts and displays.
Stephen Floyd, of Macon, GA, had the rear of his skyboards painted black and we noticed, immediately, how this helped the rear of the modules blend into the table tops, and immediately helped focus viewers and train operator’s eyes to the actual modules, scenery, and trains, instead of being distracted from any thing else. My rear skyboards has originally been painted sky blue, thinking that, when viewing modules with no skyboards, a viewer would see ‘sky’ behind the module if they were arranged back-to-back on a layout. The black is FAR more effective in hiding distractions and focusing viewer’s eyes on the module in front of them.
So… I’ve been re-painting ALL of my existing module’s fascias a matte black, as well as re-painting the rear of the skyboards. This necessitated removing the plaques from the front of my modules in preparation for re-painting, then re-installing them after the matte black had dried.












Denise has also been busy crafting her railroad themed cigar boxes (she gets various cigar boxes free from a few local cigar shops, then, sands, paints, and decorates them to railroad themes for gifts and sale.
Here is one she made for Shane Wilson of ScaleTrains; he proudly displays this on the top shelf in his office.








And a few she’s working on right now…

[Point353]

Depends on the line. The Middle Division had lighter colored ballast even in the last years of the steam era, with a deep cinder shoulder (which I plan to add). But for yard tracks and sidings, I do plan to use exclusively cinder.

Well...

1) Unitrack is kinda T-Trak's "thing," and while yes, you can use flex track in between the Unitrack end pieces (I may do this at some point), it's still the standard.
2) The challenge. I kinda like making commercially available items look less commercial.

No one's gonna sit here and pretend it looks like handlaid code 40. I feel like we have this discussion every time commercial N scale track comes up. But it does look a little more realistic, and for the purposes of what I'm doing, is plenty good enough.

While the ballast color you might choose may be different, you may recall the work by @atsf_arizona to improve the appearance of Unitrack.
https://web.archive.org/web/20151002184832/http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.sing/Peavine_Layout_Overview.html#Kato_Unitrack

[Dave V]

When foreground scenery extends above or below the track level, what's the best option for fascia?

Normally I'd use 1/8" Masonite, but I feel like I'd want to avoid that for something lightweight (besides, that's probably what I'll use for backdrops).

Black styrene? Something else?

[John]

When foreground scenery extends above or below the track level, what's the best option for fascia?

Normally I'd use 1/8" Masonite, but I feel like I'd want to avoid that for something lightweight (besides, that's probably what I'll use for backdrops).

Black styrene? Something else?

If you are going to use styrene - get some for sale signs from WalMart, prime and paint them .. a lot cheaper than the "hobby versions"

[Dave V]

If you are going to use styrene - get some for sale signs from WalMart, prime and paint them .. a lot cheaper than the "hobby versions"

I used to do that for roads. But for something that's going to get manhandled I feel like black painted black stands a better chance than white painted black...