Is weathered better?

A Simple Yes

    The Lionel Fast Track, next to custom scenery would not look prototypical. Need to dull it down. 

it depends what you want for the appearance of your layout. if you want a realistic look then weathering your track is imperative but then you should weather buildings and your freight cars as well as your locomotives for a complete look. if your looking for a toy train look then probably not. your choice make yourself happy your trains your hobby do what makes you feel the best. 

It really is up you. If you are building a realistic/prototypical layout and creating your own scenery, then the answer should be yes. 

Do it is you want.  I didn't when I had fastrack.  Its just a matter of taste.  What I found made a bigger difference was to hide the cracks by sealing them with and adding a bit of ballast and weathering to the gray plastic alongside the rails to make it look less uniform and plastic. 

I would say yes because it adds a realistic and it would. And a story to your to your layout .

Yes.

Once you start weathering things it's hard to stop or turn back.  Everything that isn't weathered will look like a toy to you.  Passenger trains may be the only exception as they were usually kept washed and newer looking.

 

Art

In my opinion, yes.  Weathering is something that I am just beginning to do on my layout.  I have a tendency to get a scene put together and then go back and start adding details along with weathering.  I am a long way from getting where I need to be in the weathering of the layout...it is a huge task on a large layout!  But...I am in agreement that if you are looking for a more prototypical/realistic appearance, then weathering track, structures, rolling stock, locomotives, etc. is the way to go.  In the end, it really is your choice and how you plan to enjoy your layout....

 

Alan

Weathering--trains, track, scenery, structures, etc.--is certainly good if you are striving for the utmost realism in overall appearance.  But my personal feeling is that weathered preformed track (with plastic roadbed) is almost always going to fall short in presenting a truly realistic appearance.  For that matter, so will using any track that has a center rail.  There's just no getting around that.

 

Many great 3-rail layouts--and there are sure plenty of them around--certainly mitigate that by employing techniques that tend to draw attention away from plastic roadbed or a center rail, and the end result often is, or certainly can be, a layout in which the overall effect of realism dominates over the few limiting factors that may detract from true realism.

 

As it is with everything else in this hobby, it's strictly a matter of personal preference and one's willing investment in time and resources to achieve the end result that he or she can be happy with.  Others can provide advice and recommendations, of course, but nobody can really tell you what you must do to achieve the level of realism you desire.

 

My current layout is equipped with FasTrack…a good amount of it.  Although I'm perfectly happy with this track system in terms of operational reliability, I made a decision some months ago to replace all this track with GarGraves track and Ross switches, all of which will be laid on Woodland Scenics foam roadbed.  As soon as I get my lazy butt in gear, that replacement will get under way.  But for now the already accumulated boxes of track, switches, and roadbed are sitting in a stack on the floor alongside one end of the layout.

 

It's not likely that I will ever be weathering my locomotives and rolling stock, but even that is subject to change at some point, especially in regard to at least some select items that see the most frequent operation.

 

The beauty of this hobby is that you never run out of possibilities, challenges, and new things to try or do.  And nothing is fixed in stone, so anything and everything can be changed as the will and ability (financial, time, and otherwise) entices you to make changes.  It's just a matter of setting a goal for yourself and then moving forward to achieve it.

 

 

I don't believe in weathering.

 

Absolutely yes! Get rid of those shiny rails :-)

I understand the reasons many like weathering their OGR trains, track and layout structures. It does indeed deliver a real-world authenticity to the layout.

 

My personal preference is for a "cleaner" almost "out-of-the-box" appearance for my OGR stuff. In fact, plain old dust drives me insane, so one the dreaded OGR chores I do on a regular basis includes dusting (eeeuuueeewww!). I also despise track cleaning (ugh!), but I do it. It makes me happy to view my OGR stuff nice and clean.

 

I enjoy viewing weathered layouts...some of the work many OGR forum members have done in this area is absolutely astonishing (kit bashing included). But I am equally satisfied eyeballing a pristine, shiny engine (and all of the other associated train gear) riding the rails in nearly mint condition. 

When it comes to the track. Yes, I paint and ballast (even FasTrack). When it comes to engines and rolling stock, IMHO it needs to be an all or nothing approach. I cannot see mixing weathered and non-weathered items in the same consist.

 

I concede that (properly) weathered trains can look more realistic. The issue is, what looks good is very subjective. So what looks "great" to one person may look like "junk" to another. Because of this, when it comes to resale I think it probably hurts values with the average buyer. There are those such as SIRT whose work is just so good, that resale commands a premium. I see his work as the exception, and not the rule.

 

Just my $0.02

 

Gilly

I don't enjoy weathering myself, because as one poster said, where do you stop?  I like the new, clean look.  But if the most realistic look possible is your goal, go for it.  You don't say just how realistic you intend to make your scenery.  I created my own scenery, but haven't even ballasted the (027) rails, let alone weathered.  Looks good to me.

I don't weather my track but I do ballast it looks good to me and that's what it is about some are happy with just painting there layout green some do full blown scenery it's up to the modeler to do what his or her tastes are . fastrack looks toyish when new . I ballast it make it a little more realistic.

My wife made me weather everything.

She said, "You're weathered. The trains should be weathered."

 

I think SIRT's work is worth far more then $0.02!!

Dennis

go for it!!!!