Weathering Ties – Test Shots

I got started on staining and weathering some ties this evening, and decided to take some test shots to see how things look.

Before…

After…

These ties are on the coal track, which is about 10″ in front a viewer’s nose when they’re standing next to the layout, so I’m experimenting with a few different approaches to creating decrepit track.  I gouged a bit of wear (ok, a lot of wear) into the ties and then took three or four passes with a range of artist oil colours that I mixed from burnt umber, raw umber, mixing white, an grey.  The last step was a thin wash of a really dark dirt colour I made up.

Here are some more pics of other spots along the coal track.

 

I want to be sure that I like the treatment of the ties before I stain the lot of them. I might have to spike down some rail and set in some ballast before I know for sure.