Brass Track

[SilverSpike]

I have some brass HO scale Atlas track from a 10' X 8' layout I built with my dad back in the 70's. I have used some of it on a short test track and it seems to work, locos have no trouble with electrical contact.

The Big Question: Should I use this 30 + year old track for my new layout?

Thanks,

Ryan

[Anonymous]

Save yourself a nightmare and get Nickel Silver. Brass requires constant cleaning and polishing. Nickel Silver is also more durable, so I'm told.

[AntonioFP45]

Hi, SilverSpike

I'm 41 and remember what what was available to us back then. I have a boxload of Atlas brass track (from the 70s) thats in good shape..........I'm selling it or giving it away.

I don't know your financial situation, but if you can get Code 83 Nickel Silver track. It looks realistic and cleans easily. Using Flextrack is helpful since the fewer railjoints you have on your layout, the better. Pricewise the Atlas Flextrack is a good bargain. For switches (turnouts), the new Peco Code 83 is rated as excellent!

I've seen many pictures of HO layouts with Code 83 track and admire how good it looks. It's tough, but it's worth the effort to budget and get quality materials to begin with. I'm currently in the "track purchasing" stage right now for my upcoming layout.

By the way, can you share with us what plans you have for your layout? (Urban, Mountain, country, industrial, etc).

Cheers and High Greens!

[Anonymous]

THROW IT AWAY!!!

The money that you will save will not be worth the agrivation. We moved away from brass years ago for a very good reason - MAINTAINCE. Their isn't enough time in a week for one person to keep up the track on a midsized layout.

This is a FUN hobby. If you want to work for nothing get into volenteering.

Bob

[Don Gibson]

I use it in some 'reachable' sidings to represent disclored unused rail.

Problem with brass: when it oxidizes, the tarnish won't conduct electricity.

[dinwitty]

brass was cheaper and made its way into trainsets you quickly set up and tore down for christmas and so on, a quality layout you will have fun with for years
needs nickel silver.

Do you think it could be useable, yes, do you want the maintence?

Our club we made a track cleaning train we ran over the entire line every run session, once a month, and that was nickel silver.
Dirt and grime still build up anyways, and regular cleaning is still a must.
and you also clean wheels on cars and engines.
I have cleaned my share up material on wheels, believe me, it gets on and it flakes off.
Thats builtup dirt and kills rollability and stay on the trackability.

[SilverSpike]

Hey, thanks for the replies to the question!

I do remember having a time cleaning the stuff for my dad.

AntonioFP45,
Here are the images of my proposed layout designs, both lower and upper levels:


Lower Level Plan


Upper Level Plan

Thanks,

Ryan

[grayfox1119]

You could use the track for a display around the Christmas tree....

[Anonymous]

I had Brass track as a child and half the time I cleaned the rails to make everything run again. This was in the day where one power truck that also picked up it's own power was the rule.

I made a decision that I will never again use brass rail regardless of what nickel silver costs.

[IRONROOSTER]

I would only use it if I couldn't afford ns right away. I would not ballast or solder it, but would replace it as finances allowed. I used brass track years ago and on a small layout - 4x8. It wasn't too hard to keep clean, but you had to do it regularly.
Enjoy
Paul

[SilverSpike]

Point taken!

Hey, anyone looking for some brass track?

- Ryan [:D]

[Anonymous]

SilverSpike

Hope I don't upset anyone, as posts seem to be getting a little crazy right now. Maybe we have all been holed up in our MRR rooms too much. If your lookin to sell let me know by email. Should be on my profile. I'm lookin to set up a simple (no scenery) layout for my daughter. Figure I could give her my old HO stuff to keep her busy so I can enjoy the N scale. If you do please just put something obvious in the subject line. Thanks.

Chris

[AntonioFP45]

Silver Spike,

Wow! That track plan is impressive! Thanks for sharing. This will be one very impressive layout.

[SilverSpike]

Thanks for sharing!

Chris, I will inventory my old brass track first and then send you an email. Then you can let me know how much you are interesting in and we can make a deal.

AntonioFP45, I have been working on that track plan since November 2004 and this is close to the final iteration. I am using the 3rd PlanIt software and I took me a while to master the controls for desiging it, but after awhile I did start to get the hang of it.

Thanks,

Ryan
[:D]

[Anonymous]

Ryan,

I've always been partial to brass for a small layout, kinda nostalgic I guess.
Thanks and I look forward to hearing from ya. No hurry, she's helping me build some trees first (her chore to earn her own stuff). We are following AggroJones instructions and she's surprisinly good at it considering that she's not even four yet.

Talk to you later.
Chris

[tatans]

I'm a brass track freak, can't find anything wrong with it, and with all you guys pitching out your "old" stuff, pitch it my way ! Just how often did you actually clean brass track? daily? weekly? or once every 3 years? and just how dirty was it? enough gunk to actually derail a train !! Does this new track NEVER need cleaning? How many hours per day did you run your trains and the volume of trains and their length must have been astonishing, How much actual crap came of the track (and the wheels)
With all hobbies a bit of maintenace is necessary, I hear Walthers now has nickel-gold track, you all know how silver tarnishes. I'm sure you will find there are still a few hundred thousand layouts with brass track and they have no intention of "switching"

[SilverSpike]

I have priced out the Atlas code 83 Nickel Silver track for my layout design, including 3' flex, various sectionals, and #4 turnouts, and the total cost at this stage to fully outfit the layout plan runs around $1,200.00. So if I just buy some of it here and some of it there then I can spread the cost over a few months. This hobby can get expensive! [sigh]

tatans, I am going to inventory my brass track and can send you guys an email of the final count, then you can give me an idea of what you might be interested in acquiring.

Thanks,

Ryan

[swg]

[AntonioFP45]

Tatans,

With many modelers today its not just the question of track cleanliness, but also appearance! The profile and tie spacing of the Walthers (Shinohara), Atlas, and Peco Code 83 track looks so much more like the prototype tracks that you see on American and Canadian railroads.

Years back, I would not cared that much about the appearance of Brass Code 100 track until one day looking through MRR magazines I saw Tony Koester's layout. I was sold on it! His Code 83 trackwork (yes, most of it handlaid) was gorgeous! The picture that was in the MRR issue made me blink twice, as it looked like an actual prototype scene.

Cheers!

[rexhea]

Ryan
That is a very good looking design.(Isn't 3d Planit great?). It looks like you have about 14.5' x 16.5' and using 1foot/sq. If so, watch out for some areas that appear to be over 4 foot wide. The distance you can reach on a flat surface will shorten when you have to reach over your 2nd level or buildings. I am speaking from my recent experience. [:(]

As already stated, don't use the brass track for anything. The nickel/silver is so easy to keep clean that I only clean mine about once a month for general maintenance. Of course this will vary with the environment. My experience with brass in the 60's almost ruined me forever with MRR. I had to clean it every operating session at least once.

REX [:)]

[SilverSpike]

REX,

Thank you!

I really like the 3rd Planit application for layout design. I especially like the way you can get a quick inventory of all the selected brand specific track you have laid out in the drawing, no guess work involved with knowing how much you need to acquire. Yes, my grid is 1' X 1', and the room is around 14' 6" by 15' 6" measured. The middle section of benchwork that is just around 5' wide still allows 2' 6" from each side for access.

I have a question for you: I am still not sure of the height from floor on both levels, but I do know the distance between lower and upper levels will be at least 18". What is the optimal benchwork height from floor to top of benchwork?

Thanks,

Ryan

[rexhea]

QUOTE: Originally posted by SilverSpike

REX,

Thank you!

I really like the 3rd Planit application for layout design. I especially like the way you can get a quick inventory of all the selected brand specific track you have laid out in the drawing, no guess work involved with knowing how much you need to acquire. Yes, my grid is 1' X 1', and the room is around 14' 6" by 15' 6" measured. The middle section of benchwork that is just around 5' wide still allows 2' 6" from each side for access.

I have a question for you: I am still not sure of the height from floor on both levels, but I do know the distance between lower and upper levels will be at least 18". What is the optimal benchwork height from floor to top of benchwork?

Thanks,

Ryan

Ryan,
The height from the floor to the first level seems to vary according to personal preference. I believe most would agree that somewhere between 48" and 54" is a good height. My layout is 52" for the first level with 6" seperation between the levels. This puts my third level at about shoulder height.

About the width: I thought the same thing about being able to reach 21/2 feet with no problem. What I didn't take into consideration was having to reach over buildings and stuff in the foreground. If you would visit my web storage site (link at bottom), you will be able to see that with the main yard there isn't a problem. But, if you look at the steel complex where I have tall buildings on the edge, it is difficult to reach inside. All is not lost. You can always do as I and have a platform or use a step stool when you need to.

Hope this helps.
REX

[SilverSpike]

REX,

WOW! [wow] Nice layout work!

Thanks for answering my question on benchwork height!

I enjoyed your images on the web site, and I see what you mean about the structures being up in front of the landscaping. I suppose getting the mountain and scenic work done first would have made it easier. By the way, what technique and material do you use for the mountain building and foliage greenery?

Thanks,

Ryan

[rexhea]

Ryan, Thank You for the compliment. It always feels good to hear that your work looks all right.

I used the cardboard strip weave method for the mountains and sloped areas. Then I cover with medical plaster gauze followed by plaster-of-paris.

The trees are from polyester pillow stuffing you can buy at Wal-Mart for about $2 a bag. You pull off a wad, ball it up in your hand, take hot glue and apply to the plaster, then attach the wad of polyester. Use cheap black spray paint and coat the balls. The black color will give it depth in thin areas.

Then spray with a 3-1 water to white glue (or Mod-Podge) mixture (some like a thinner mixture). Sprinkle fine ground foam on top and repeat until desired effect is achieved. Get the crevices by folding a piece of cardstock in a vee and blow the foam in. I used the mixed green foam for my color, but that will be your preference.

I have heard where others have soaked the balls in green paint first, dried it, and then attached them to plaster. This is much more time consuming and messy.

The tree method is cheap and I was able to put about 500 trees on the mountain in about 4 hours and about another 6 hours for the foam. The boss lady made the clumps and I attached with the glue. [:D][:D]

REX

[SilverSpike]

[8D] I have never heard of the polyester pillow stuffing method. It does sound like a time saver for large areas of trees. I will have to try that one when I get to the landscape stage, still working on getting new tile put into the soon to be train room.

Keep up the great work, and I look forward to more images of your great layout!

Thanks again!

Yours in model railroading,

Ryan

[BRAKIE]

You can use brass track just as well today as we did back in the 50s,60s and 70s..Brass track is not a dirty word as most think..Remember this,with brass or nickel silver track there is a need to keep it clean.Also remember to paint your track regardless of type-yes we painted brass track years ago..
If you are going to be using DCC then best go with the nickel silver track.

Here's what I would do..I would use nickel silver track instead of brass only because nickel silver track and switches is readily available.

[SilverSpike]

Brakie,

I am planning on going with a DCC system, so that is another plus for the nickel silver route. Thanks for the tip!

Yours in model railroading,

Ryan

[Anonymous]

I recently picked up a layout from a gentlemen which has brass track in it for my Girlfriend. This past week I was at her place and noticed that the engine was sparking from the wheels as it ran around the track. Is this caused by the brass track or is it dirty track? She is new to model railroading and I have no experience in it to help her with her problem.

[SilverSpike]

I have finally inventoried the brass track. Since some of you did respond with interest in acquiring the track, here is what I have, let me know and I can email you for final details. Again, this stuff is over 30 years old from a layout my dad and I built and ran in the 1970's, it is used and has been in storage since the mid 1980's.

Atlas Snap Track HO - Brass

Item ---- Quantity
Straight Track
9" - 43
6" - 6

Curved Track
9" - 22" Radius - 12
9" - 18" Radius - 24
9" - Rerailer - 1
6" - 15" Radius - 10

Misc 3" curve and straight - 6

Turnouts
#4 Left - 5
#4 Right - 4
#6 Custom Left - 2