In the course of building the HO scale Freemont Mills model railroad, Steve Otte shares his technique for adding a realistic representation of abandoned tracks. After gathering the essential materials – stained wooded ties, masking tape, and a spacing jig – Steve demonstrates the complete process, including how to add subtle scenery effects that help give your right-of-way a sense of history. Follow along here, and be sure to watch construction like this take place real-time — LIVE on the Workshop Webcam – playing exclusively on Trains.com!
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Thanks, Steve. I’ve been thinking of doing something similar, and know I have notes on how to make it work better thanks to you.
A quick and easy way to mark tie spacing is to tack a piece of flex track in place and then do a quick light pass of spray paint over it which will leave a tie outline on your sub-roadbed. A “rattle can” is sufficient if no scenery is in place or an airbrush can be used to minimize overspray. If the paint is applied judiciously, the flex track can even be reused for the railroad.