Hi mark.
I'm naturally delighted you like what you see. I have a longer term plan to landscape the entire layout and tunnels will eventually appear at either end where the track goes into the return loops as I call them; I just need time and weather to combine. I regret the track is not of US origin or manufacture, but rather produced here in the UK by a company called Maldon Rail, see www.maldonrail.com
This track is a reproduction of pre war Hornby O Gauge Solid Steel track as it was known then (in the 1930's). It was specifically produced to do justice to the ambitious plans Frank Hornby had before the war to produce much more true to scale model locomotives - see my posted images of the Princess Elizabeth. Previously Hornby O Gauge had very simplistic tinplate track to run on, with quite tight curves.
The 'Solid Steel' track was just that - solid steel which made for a very good track on which to run such imposing and costly models. It was however of no use out of doors due to the way it would rust, so eventually enter a chap called Michael Foster who (as I understand it) took it upon himself to create a replica of this 'solid steel' track, but at the same time one that was relatively cost effective to produce and suited to the outdoors. Today Maldon handle production.
The rails are made of Nickel silver (contains no actual silver), so they won't rust, and the sleepers, or ties as I think you call them are made of a plastic which is sunlight resistant.
The points, or switches are again faithful copies of the originals - very simplistic but very characterful and when small brass screws are used to replace the original steel ones, these too will live happily outside all year round. It will tarnish, as any make of track will, and you have to be prepared to clean the top running surface and to some extent the insides of the rails on curves, or you will have running frustrations, but that apart I'm delighted with the choice for my own set-up.
The roadbed, or ballast as we call it was something I again thought long and hard about bearing in mind the need to live unattended outside all year. What you see is actually 5mm thick reconstituted and granulated sheet rubber. This is made of munched up old tyres, and can be bought on a roll. It so happened the UK supplier was so interested in my plans for the product that he offered to pre cut it for me if I let him have templates of the radius involved. In the first picture you can see me laying some for the first time as I experimented with it; (I went on to cut the sections down the centre). It comes black, and UK ballast is invariably grey limestone gravel, so I painted it with a watered down outdoor wood shade called 'Stone'. Considering these out door wood shade paints are water based, its amazing the surfaces they will adhere to and as you will see mine has weathered in nicely and has never been touched since. The track sleepers have countersunk holes in them for suitable screw fixers and I have gone for a slotted head, stainless steel wood screw, nothing would look worse in my opinion than a 'modern' Philips headed screw as we know them over here.
The other picture was taken just this morning with Autumn debris lying around and you can see how the artificial grass work has ground to a halt!
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