Flex Track

[Anonymous]

My wife brought home 2 pieces of flex track for me. I now have a problem. I thought I would get away from brass and stick to Nic. Silver. I thought the brass gets too dirty too fast. My problem is that one piece is brass (Peco) and the other is silver (Atlas) I love the word Peco and wonder if I should rethink the use of brass flex track. Any ideas??

[Anonymous]

Just as sugestion......if your not sure about using the brass track on your main line, use it on a siding or staging area. It's still good track and yes it does need more cleaning, but there are places brass can be used and it does a good job as a siding........Jamie

[dknelson]

use that one piece of brass track on a siding to a junk yard or metal recycling center. The rust dripping from gondolas often turns the track (and ties and ballast) a reddish brown that is not unlike the color of brass.

Dave Nelson

[nfmisso]

Get nickel-silver Peco.

[Anonymous]

DeaconF; Brass is not a good choice...however, if it's non-returnable, the piece could be used in a siding.
In the 50's some modelers used Tincture of Iodine to stain their brass track a rusty color....and there's a bonus...if you jam your thumb on to a rail joiner, like I often still do, the cut will be already treated !
Regards / Mike

[dknelson]

Mike, I believe that is the first use of the word "tincture" I have seen on this forum -- congratulations!
Now -- who will be the first to use "ointment?"
Dave Nelson

[Anonymous]

i agree nickel silver is the better product. however the brass could be used on a siding, or for staging track. good luck.

[Anonymous]

Obviously YOU will, Dave.
Us geezers have really archaic vocabularies, don't we !
regards / Mike

[BR60103]

If you don't call it tincture of iodine, what do you call it? I used it to weather some couplings a couple of decades ago; wonde where it went?
--David