Painting the track on Rhiw

Rail painting . Long job, but got to do it. Regulars will know that a pet peeve of mine is orange rails. Yes I do know that it happens - often due to Kodachrome in older photos, but a quick trip around the system tells me that most of the time the rail and sleepers are coated in a grimy grey mix of dirt, grease and brake dust. Painting the railside orange, as is often recommended, makes the track visually jump out at the viewer and tends to spoil the overall effect. One beautiful 4mm layout with stunning buildings was ruined for me in recent years due to the bright orange track.

What I've tended to do is paint the whole lot with German Grey acrylic (or in this case Games Workshop Charadon Granite). This tones the shiny nickle-silver down and reduces the height visually. The above shows the before and after.

Note the hi-tech point control. DPDT switch and paper clip. It works and it's cheap. By the time the embankment is over and around it, it will vanish.