HO steel track

[Anonymous]

Anyone know how steel track compares with brass and nickel silver??

[Anonymous]

I did not know There was HO steel track i imagine it is really good

[Anonymous]

Stay with nickel silver.

Randy

[Anonymous]

Actually, no, it isn't "really good."

It suffers from major conductivity problems including the biggest one: rust. It's essentially a novelty that allowed manufacturers to say "just like the real thing." But real rail doesn't need to conduct electricity the way models do, so it's not as good for us. You have to clean it much more frequently than other kinds of track to keep the current flowing.

Stick with nickel silver. Easier to clean, doesn't form rust.

[Anonymous]

Actually, steel track has the same problem that brass track has when corrosion builds up on the rails, hindering electical contact between the track and locomotive wheels. Many "train-set" quality track still uses steel track, like the Bachmann EZ track that has black road which has steel rails. Nickel silver track is hands down, the best track available right now, and is the most popular.

Josh Ziegler
Spokane WA

[Jetrock]

Of course, some real railroad track did need to conduct electricity--any electric line! They had special problems with conductivity and had copper wires connecting each piece of track.

Stick with nickel-silver. You only need to paint on Polly S Rust once, instead of having to remove the real thing on a regular basis.

[Anonymous]

There really is no comparison!!! Brass and nicklesilver are so much better than steel that it isn't funny.
First, steel rusts --------- and if there is anything you don't want it is rust. If any rust appears anywhere on your track you aren't going to be running any trains anytime soon. You're going to be cleaning track! Sorry.
Brass is a much better electrical conducter than steel. Although brass doesn't rust it will corrode. The corrosion is that green stuff that grows all over brass just as rust grows all over steel. And as rust is such a good insulator to electricity so is the corrosion on brass. It looks like your going to be up all night cleaning track again! Sorry.
Well, I guess that leaves nicklesilver. The good news is that nicklesilver doesn't rust. The bad news is that it sure does corrode. The good news is that the corrosion is a pretty good electrical conductor. The bad news is that even though you don't need to clean the corrosion off the nicklesilver, you should. You see, if you don't, sooner or later you're going to watch your trains running over the track like a car going down an old dirt road filled with myriad potholes ---------- bouncing all over the place!! Which means ----------- that's right, clean that track,clean that track, clean that track!!! Sorry.
Although I've made light of the topic, I think one of the most important things you should do, no matter your choice of track material, is keep the track clean!!!!!

[JeremyB]

I use steel track with my E-Z track and I have never had any problems with It, just keep it clean using some goo-gone and a little rail-zip after and you should be fine.

Jeremy

[jrbarney]

Wpeshelman,
If you want to use it as a load for a flat car or gondola, or as a bit of scenery stacked near your roadbed, in 39 foot lengths, I say go for it, but don't use it to lay track. Use it for loads or scenery, that is, if the price quoted is comparable to nickel silver rail. You won't have to paint it, especially once it rusts. It will probably be tougher to cut and file, compared to nickel silver or brass. (Keep any filings away from your motive power !) I think it had some brief popularity during the Korean War, due to a temporary scarcity of brass, but that's probably before your time and not relevant now.
Bob

[Anonymous]

Avoid steel track. It was popular over here for a while as part of Tri-ang's "Magnadhesion" idea - using magnets fitted to locos to increase adhesion. Unfortunately, steel track rusts, and gets dirty far more quickly than nickel-silver track.