In looking at color shots then and now I find a great difference between the appearance of track in the late steam era and today. Track in the pre-roller bearing era often had gray/black crud on the rail, while today's rail seems to just look "rusty" if not near flange lubricaton device. I suspect this was due to slow lubrication run out from solid bearing journal boxes, mixed in with cinders from passing steam locomotives. As a side note I've observed a huge difference in the color of wheel faces between roller bearing and non-rollller bearing trucks.
If you haven't already done so, before settling on a weathered look for your track, study available color photos of the railroad you wish to model taken in the relevant era. I model PRR in 1952 and have had to totally rethink the weathering I did on earlier railroads. My favorite site for late steam era color photos is John Dziobko. John's photos have been published in PRRT&HS and Morning Sun books - but I really look forward to visiting his website as new shots are added every few weeks.
Ed Rappe
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