I hand lay a lot of my track, I just glue down unstained ties down, sand them to ensure they are flat, I use Miniwax dark walnut stain diluted 50/50, let it dry. I then dry brush on miniwax white oak, this gives the ties a little whiteish look, let it dry. I then come along with some very fine sandpaper at least 250 grit and randomly sand some areas lightly to give it a varied look. I then spike my track down. I then go to areas where the ties are going to be darker: switches, crossovers, water tank area, engine terminal etc and dry brush on Ceramcoat charcoal. Do this sparingly and build it up to get the effect you want. On the areas that get little use and you want to bleach out the ties a little more ie: dead end spurs, I go back and dry brush on more of the white oak or drybrush on a diluted mix 50/50 of driftwood. I also go along different areas to give it variety and use sparingly some maple and oak stains. This is a method that I use and I am happy with my results. I would suggest getting a few scrap pieces of whatever you are putting your ties down on, glue several short length of ties and experiment with a few of the ideas that have been presented, practice a little and go with what you are happy with that you find the easiest. Make sure you write down on a piece of paper what you have done on each experiment so you can re create it if required, it will also let you know what you did if you do not like it. One thing that I have learned from experience, as you do one step let it dry good , assess it before moving on. Good luck and let us know how you made out. Ron..