Weathering and Paint on Tuolumne Forks

Tuolumne Forks is an O&3 freelanced narrow gauge logging and mining railroad. Bob Brown is the editor and publisher of the Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette. This layout combines mining and logging with a tourist line. The operation follows the Lake Tahoe Railway and Navigation Company’s transport of tourists from Workshop to the Lake Tahoe Resort. The railroad is famous among narrow gauge enthusiasts like Bob Brown.

There are many weathering and painting techniques to help unify your entire layout. Bob Brown keeps his Tuolumne Forks Model looking clean and unified by frequently wiping, staining, spraying, and dusting all of his equipment and tracks. Brown also uses a lot of chalks, but he still believes that the wiping and staining is the most important thing to frequently do to your layout.

Bob Brown has exquisite paint on his Tuolumne Forks model. Brown says that to achieve a look that appears like worn paint, simply brush egg tempera onto any surface—it looks just like peeling paint! The more water you apply to the brush, the less the paint sticks, therefore creating a wonderful effect of peeling paint. This technique is so easy you can’t mess it up!

Watch more from Allen Keller’s Great Model Railroads series in the Model Railroad Academy archives.