WEATHERING & BALLASTING KATO UNITRACK
In recent years Unitrack has become very popular with N scalers to use as their track of choice for permanent layouts Unitrack is very easy to use and many different track plans can be assembled pn a short period of time. This allows the modeler to finalize a track plan after it has been laid. Any changes in the track plan were easily made. Unitrack is relatively "bullet proof ". Due to the composition of the rails electrical conductivity isn't a problem. The rail joiners that Kato uses to connect together easily lock sections together. Trains can run flawlessly on a layout for hours without any conduction issues.
Weathering and ballasting the Unitrack makes the track look outstanding on a layout and the casual observer would have some difficulty discerning that the track is Unitrack. Although the weathering and ballasting process takes a considerable amount of time, the outcome is gratifying.
Kato Unitrack is code 80 rail that sits on a gray plastic road bed. (See Photo 1) The performance of locomotives, both steam and diesel on Unitrack is outstanding and trouble free.
Photo 1
Another interesting feature of Unitrack is its ability to stay clean and free from dirt and debris. Unitrack rarely has to be cleaned when compared with other brands of N scale track. This feature is due to the metal alloy Kato uses in the track rails.
Many modelers that use Unitrack object to the appearance of the gray plastic roadbed of the Unitrack. This can dramatically be improved by weathering the rails and painting the road bed. This takes many hours to do depending on the size of the track plan. (See Photo 2)
Photo 2
In Photo 3 below is a closeup of the Unitrack. The gray plastic road bed and rails have been airbrushed with a Polly Scale UP dark gray. The rails were then hand brushed with a Polly Scale mineral red. The ties will be painted Rail Tie brown the spike heads will be hand painted with rust and burnt sienna.
Photo 3
I've been in model railroading for sixty years. I was first introduced to model railroading by my dad in 1947. After many layouts during that time span that included very large O scale and HO scale layouts, I decided to try my hand at N scale nine years ago. the main reason for this decision was that Florida where I presently live has no basements. The JJJ&E found its home in a third garage that has been completely air conditioned and heated.
The track I chose to use for the JJJ&E was Kato Unitrack mainly because of it's " bullet proof" operation. So the JJJ&E was born in an area measuring 4x11'. Over the next nine years and four expansions, the JJJ&E grew to 10x15' in size, on multiple levels.
Initially I accepted the way Unitrack looked with the plastic gray road bed. I used natural red rock ballast that approached the base of the gray Unitrack road bed. I then decided to hand paint all the gray road bed a grimy black or dark gray color. This improved the appearance of the Unitrack to some degree, But I waas still basically unhappy with its appearance. I then decided to hand paint and weather the rails of the Unitrack. This was all done with most of the layout already scenicked. It wsn't an easy task by any means. I was first apprehensive to paint the rails as the JJJ&E is powered by DCC. I wasn't sure what effect the hand painting of the rails would have on the electrical conductivity of the track. I tested a three foot section of track and found that painting the rails to weather them has no effect on the performance of the DCC system. You must make sure that no paint finds its way on the top of the rails when you do paint the rails. (See Photo 4)
Photo 4
I then developed a formula for painting and weathering the rails of the Unitrack. I painted the rails with Polly Scale mineral red, grimy black, dark gray, burnt sienna and burnt umber. The individual ties were hand painted with Polly Scale Rail Tie brown using an 18/0 red sable brush. The spike heads were individually hand painted with the tip of an 18/0 sable brush raw sienna. As I said initially, the gray road bed of the Ubitrack can be first painted a grimy black or SP/UP dark gray. This paint will mask the light gray color of the road bed if the final ballasting in certain areas is spread thinly. (See Photo's 4 & 5)
Photo 5
The beauty of Unitrack turnouts is that they operate flawlessly and there are no switch machines showing track side. The wiring to the Unitrack (feeders) can be hidden with ballast and fine ground foam. Each section of Unitrack has feeders soldered directly to each rail using 22 gauge solid copper wire. You can see this dramatically in the switching yard of the JJJ&E. (See Photo 6)
Photo 6
Now I will discuss ballasting the Unitrack. To ballast Unitrack between the ties and cover the road bed I used Color Canyons Materials very fine natural rock ballast. Color Canyon Materials makes outstanding natural rock ballast available in many colors and grades. This ballast is available for all scales in model railroading. (See Photo 7). One can also use Arizona Rock & Mineral or High Ball Ballast. (See Photo 8). These are both very high quality ballasts as well.
Photo 7
Photo 8
When ballasting Unitrack, you'll need the following materials; a 1/4 inch flat brush to spread the ballast, a very fine 18/0 sable brush, a mixture of white glue and distilled water(50% glue and 50% water), a medicine/eye dropper, some dental instruments to remove excess ballast and a small jewelers screw driver. (See Photo 9)
Photo 9
Ballasting between the ties of the Unitrack isn't difficult at all. It does take time and the end result is worth all the work involved.
I sprinkle small amounts of ballast on each section of Unitrack. I usually work on three foot sections of track at one sitting. When you start to spread the ballast you must remember that the distance between the top of the ties and the road bed is minute, so very small amounts of ballast are needed to fill in this space. When I decided on which ballast to use, I chose Color Canyon Materials natural rock ballast. This ballast is uniform in size and comes in many grades. I mixed two grades (00 and 01) in equal amounts to get the consistency of the ballast I wanted.
I then spread the ballast with a small 1/4 inch flat brush. The ballast is spread so that it doesn't cover the ties. The Color Canyon materials very fine natural rock ballast makes this all happen, due to the small consistent size of each piece of the natural rock ballast.
When each three foot section of the Unitrack is ballasted, go over and fill in any areas of the road bed that aren't completely covered by ballast. I use a mixture of 50% white craft glue and 50% water to glue the ballast to the Unitrack road bed using a small medicine dropper. The medicine dropper transfers the glue water mixture easily to any part of the road bed that you're working on. You must be very careful not to flood the ballast with the blue/water mix. The glue /water mixture will not seep through the solid road bed of the Unitrack. If you happen to add too much glue/water mix to the ballast, gently blot up the excess glue/water mix with an absorbent paper towel. Let the ballasted area dry for at least 24 hours. If some of the ballast is loose or there are voids in the ballast spread, you can apply a second mix of the glue and water using the medicine dropper. When the ballasted area is completely dry, take a small instrument or a small jewelers screw driver and scrape off any excess ballast that has dried on the inner rails. If this isn't done, derailments will occur. So go over all the track that has been ballasted.Then run some trains over each completed area to make sure sure there are no pieces of ballast adhering to the inner side of the rails of the Unitrack. (See Photo 10)
Photo 10
When ballasting the Unitrack turnouts, you must be very careful not to place any ballast on the moving parts of the turnouts or near the points. Extreme care must be taken when ballasting the turnouts, so work slowly and carefully. The glue/water mix must be very carefully so that the glue doesn't seep into the internal mechanism of the turnout. If this happens, the mechanism of the turnout will freeze and you'll have problems loosening up the mechanism.
Below are some photo's of the completely weathered and ballasted Unitrack on the JJJ&E. (See Photo's 11 -21)
Photo 11
Photo 12
Photo 13
Photo 14
Photo 15
Photo 16
Photo 17
Photo 18
Photo 19
Photo 20
Photo 21
The weathering and ballasting of Unitrack is easy to do, but it does take time to complete and finish properly. All 130 feet of the JJJ&E's mainline track has been completely ballasted and weathered, as well as all the sidings and yards. This was all done after most of the scenery and all of the rock formations was in place on the layout.
I would suggest that one should air brush all the road bed of the Unitrack first, and then hand paint the ties and spike heads en masse. Then finish the job by hand painting the rails. When the track is laid and adhered in position with some hot glue, the track can be ballasted.
Weathering the rails of Unitrack and ballasting the track with very fine natural rock ballast greatly enhances the appearance of the Unitrack. If you do have a Unitrack layout, I suggest trying this technique out. You will be pleasantly surprised and pleased with the results.
Stay cool and run steam......