Hi would like some help. I would like to go to aluminum track and would like some feedback.. I plan on moving to battery in a year or 2. ? is what can you use to clean this and what to use to protect it from corrosion. I plan on using track power, but i'm more concerned about upkeep and protecting it. any help would be appreciated thanks gundy.
Hi Gundy, you will find that it will rot you need brass track for out doors and good rail joiners mine has been down 6 yrs now and I have changed the layout a few times and never had a power break in the track plus its easy to clean I use a scratchy pad on the head of an old brush with the brisoles removed . Hope this helps
Age is only a state of mind, keep the mind active and enjoy life
G'day. Aluminium rail is a cheaper alternative and can be used successfully with battery and live steam locos. However, it quickly tarnishes, or oxidises and the oxide does not conduct electricity. It is also a poor conductor when compared to other non-ferrous metals, such as brass and copper, so you may need to use feeder wires more often than if you use brass rail.
Brass rail oxidises too, but not as quickly, and it is easier to clean. I have had code 332 brass rail outside for up to 25 years in my garden and it still works as well as the day it went in. I have never found the need to try aluminium or any other type of rail.
I do not know of any means of protecting aluminium which would still allow it to conduct power to your wheels. Cleaning the rail tops with a scourer or ultra fine sand paper is the only method I know. Good luck and keep us posted as to how you go.
Mick
Chief Operating Officer
Northern Timber Company - Mt Beenak
Hi Gundy,
Contrary to most replys you will get I have actually used and am using aluminum rail with track power in the garden.
I handlaid T6011 aluminum on Redwood ties, I tapped a brass machine bolt into each rail end and soldered copper jumper wires from rail to rail. I know evrybody will shout electrolysis, well it may eventually be a problem, but in nearly 13 years it hasn't yet.
In 90 feet of loop I only had 2 connection points from the transformer. At bridges and switches I used brass railclamps with a little non-corrosive paste. In rettrospect I would use jumper wires here to rather than clamps. Way cheaper.
Never really ever had any track cleaning problems, it could sit for 3-4 months in the winter and just hit it lightly with the sanding pole and run trains.
Plastic wheels are pretty much a no-no on aluminum rail.
If your near salt water or have certain mineral salts in your soil they will affect the aluminum with corrosion.
The oxidation on aluminum is non-conductive but that really doesn't seem to be an issue. I have seen aluminum rail used on track power indoors and the black dust/goop created was a problem.
Best thing to do is try some and see how it works for you.
Rick
Thank you for the feedback. I'm looking for locations. If you could let me know what region you live in, that would be great. I live in Green Bay, and have alot of clay in my soil. So the weather and the soil are factors for sure.
We started out using aluminum rail on my dad's railroad in 1980, and were track power for 5 years before switching completely over to battery power. Cleaning the rails was done with a green Scotchbrite pad or 300-grit sandpaper, which kept the abrasion down to a minimum, but was still powerful enough to cut through the pine sap. We had 250' of track to start with, with feeders going to three points, one per block. Rail joints were made with Nickel Silver HO-scale rail hammered flat and secured with 0-80 stainless steel screws a la the prototype rail joiners. I don't recall ever having electrical conductivity issues. In fact, 20 years after the last electrons flowed through the rails, we could still hook up some alligator clips and power the track if need be. (Bachmann used to shoot their promotional videos on our railroad, requiring sections to be temporarily electrified. Some of the joints needed tweaking, but things worked.)
I don't think aluminum rail is the best choice for long-term users of track power. Certainly we had good luck with it, as have others. But for every success, there seems to be someone who's had particularly rotten luck over time with it. In your case where you're planning on switching to batteries within a few years, though, I think you'll have a great deal of success for the few years you're pumping electrons through it. (And if not, consider it incentive to switch over to batteries!)
One thing to keep in mind, though, is that aluminum may not always be the cheapest material. When I built my current railroad in 2005, I priced aluminum vs. AMS's brass flex track. The price was very comparable. I think aluminum was cheaper by something like 25 cents/foot, but I'd have to assemble the sections myself. Having done that on my previous line, it was well worth the 25 cents to have the track ready to put down!
In terms of locations, dad's railroad is in suburban Washington DC, on soil with a very high clay content. Far enough inland to where the salt air isn't an issue, but humidity? Yeah...
I used aluminum on my railroad in upstate NY, but it was never electrified.
Later,
K
Tom Trigg
I agree with Tom, proper instalation and maintenance is the key. As Kevin pointed out, many people have had good results with the aluminum track. I think, as with everything else in life, knowing what you are working with and properly taking care of it directly relates to the worth of the end result. Certainly in the realm of the garden RR, one size, one material, one product does not in any way "fit all".
I don't see any issues with you using aluminum rail. Be aware of it's properties, it's maintenance needs, and it's best uses and you will have many happy years with it.
The Dixie D Short Line "Lux Lucet In Tenebris Nihil Igitur Mors Est Ad Nos 2001"
7 years ago I laid my track using aluminium. It was the only way I could afford to have an outside railway. Many said it couldnt be done, wont work etc. Well, sorry, but it has worked perfectly and I have no trouble. Look at www.gscaletrains.net.com
Tony
Sorry, my mistake. link should be
www.gscaletrains.net.nz
I have more trouble with emails, computer stuff than my aluminium track !!!!!!.
Cool, nice way to do it inexpensively, but are your 3mm x 12mm flat bar "rails" used for track power?
With the much larger surfaces, and being flat, power conduction will be much easier than a scale model of a real rail.
Not putting down what you did, but it's probably not what the original question had in mind.
I did not see what motive power you used, just curious.
Regards, Greg
Visit my site: http://www.elmassian.com - lots of tips on locos, rolling stock and more.
Click here for Greg's web site
I procured a few transformers so was able to split the tracks into sections.
(a) in runs where it can go at a reasonable pace wired the track with 15volt DC 2.7a. Put in a reversing switch in case I want to reverse the direction..
(b) in runs where I want to reduce the power ( speed ) such as over points or past obstacles, I use smaller variable output transformers ( train controllers such as the bachman 15v Dc 10va or the smaller 17v DC 0.35a) Even if the track is a bit dirty this gives enough power to the loco's..
2ft or so before the points are isolition gaps and with micro switch's the actual operation of the points controls which train enters that section of track.Also have isolation gaps at each of the 2 stations, which are operated by a push switch.
All track powered .
As for the power thing, I cannot help. However along the lines of installing aluminum rail/track, keep expansion and contraction in mind. Aluminum has the highest coefficient of expansion of all the materials used to make model rail. Green Bay can get real cold in the winter, and pretty warm in the summer. Let me knock out an example. If we assume a low temp in the winter of -20 degrees and a summer time temp of 90 degrees, that is a 110 degree differential in ambient temperature. The coefficient of expansion for aluminum is .0000123 inches per inch of length per degree of temperature rise. So for a 10 foot length of track installed in the dead of winter (I know this will not happen) the growth over the length in the heat of summer will be the length of track in inches, 120, times the temperature rise in degrees, 110, times the coefficient of expansion for aluminum, .0000123 will equal .16236 inches. It doesn't sound like much, but it will play havoc with your track work if you don't compensate for it. (I didn't include the solar temperature increase in these calcs.)
The club I belong to in the panhandle of Florida had to install expansion joints in the long 70 foot straights in the yard to adjust for the expansion. We are using Aristo-Craft brass rail (coefficient .0000104). This past September I got a reading of 145 degrees on the rail using an infrared thermometer. Our usual max low is around 20 degrees, that equates to about 1.092 inches of expansion (worst case). Aluminum would be higher.
Good luck.
Bob C.
Uhh, the original poster who asked the question is from Green Bay, Wisconsin, it does get cold there...
So they probably have a "Worse" temperature spread...
Using regular rail, which is what I assume he wants to do, you need to consider how to make the joints between rail sections conduct well. Larger contact areas are better.
Another trick is buy some special stuff made to keep oxidation in check. You can use grease, but Home Depot carries a special goop called NoAlox, which is specifically formulated for this.
My recommendation would be SS rail clamps, or making aluminum joiner plates and using SS screws to fasten to the web of the rail.
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