tubular rails; my latest invention

[FJ and G]

hi,

walking BB the beagle about a week or so ago near a construction site& dumpster was full of castaway drywall edging (used for corners of drywall so that clumsy people don't break the drywall). The thought occurred immediately that this stuff is actually tubular rails; the center ridge anyway

 

so today, i went outside and carved some rails that have a better (lower) profile that 027 rails. However, using tinsnips, you can make the tubes any height you wish depending how you cut the material!

 

the tubes are shaped with duckbill pliers and regular pliers and once you get the hang you can quickly make cheap rails and they even bend into curves

 

wear gloves tho as I got myself a cut

 

these rails are excellent conductors of electricity and they don't seem to rust even as they are ferrous as I tested them with a magnet. Perhaps, however they do rust eventually, if someone can clue me in as to what they're made out of but they are definitely less prone to rust than Lionel rails and their electrical properties seem superior. Didn't test for solder, however, but you could use track pins same as tubes

 

shown left is the new rail, which I call hound rails. Beside them is weathered 027 and the raw material is next to that to right (if you don't like handlaying track, you could use metal Lionel ties and just insert these rails in)

 

 

 

 

[pbjwilson]

Dave you've gone mad. Making rail from what we in the trades call "corner bead". I see that stuff every day and it never crossed my mind to cut it into rails. You're mad, totally mad. But keep up the good work and inventiveness.

[Brutus]

Another brilliant innovation!  I think it's galvanized.

[CSXect]

Hmmmm, very inventive you ever work with tinplate, copper or sheet brass???

[Anonymous]

Dave you've gone mad. Making rail from what we in the trades call "corner bead". I see that stuff every day and it never crossed my mind to cut it into rails. You're mad, totally mad. But keep up the good work and inventiveness.

Dave is a 'BRILLIANT' Mad Scientist... after I cut myself I would have been too mad to keep trying and would have stuffed the stuff in the garbage can!

Very interesting Dave... very interesting...

[FJ and G]

thanks; I just found out that some are made from galvanized steel and some aluminum. Mine are steel, as the magnet claims.

Why do it?

1. You can buy gads of this stuff in a big box for next to nothing or get it free from construction sites if you ask the manager to dumpster dive for it.

2. You can make a lower profile rail than the current tubular offerings

3. Maintenance free and No RUST! And this is a biggie with track cleaning being a consummate task. Heck, you could even put the track outside.

Here's more info I found from a variety of industry sources:

Galvanized steel has gone through a chemical process to keep it from corroding. The steel gets coated in layers of zinc because rust won't attack this protective metal. For countless outdoor, marine, or industrial applications, galvanized steel is an essential fabrication component.

galvanized steel wires are widely applied to high voltage transmission wire,ground telephone cable, electric pole supporters, messenger wire, etc.

Since the galvanized steel wire and strand are produced with optimal strength and homogeneous application of zinc galvanization, they maintain highly stable and consistent quality standards. Galvanized steel is solderable as well.

[lionelsoni]

I'm skeptical about the galvanizing on two counts:  Where you cut it, the edge will have exposed steel, which I would expect to be where rust would start.  And I find zinc and galvanized steel very difficult to solder.

[FJ and G]

old standby of track pins

 

on point # 2, the zinc isn't just a coating, it actually is mixed into the steel

 

The principal method of making steel resist corrosion is by alloying it with another metal, zinc. When steel is submerged in melted zinc, the chemical reaction permanently bonds the zinc to the steel through galvanizing. Therefore, the zinc isn't exactly a sealer, like paint, because it doesn't just coat the steel; it actually permanently becomes a part of it.

 

from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-galvanized-steel.htm 

 

from my own experience in using this stuff to build my basement, I use tinsnips to round the sharp corner edging (like I do ductwork too) and haven't noticed any rust in those places 

 

anywho, as the ultimate test, I did leave some test rails outdoors and will repport on how it fares alongside tubular rails 

[lionelsoni]

David, from the source that you cited:

"The most external layer is all zinc, but successive layers are a mixture of zinc and iron, with an interior of pure steel."

 

[FJ and G]

Bob,

 

You're right as usual. I've been getting a variety of conflicting claims on the properties of galvanized steel and whether it's layered or impregnated so like a good experimenter, I left it outside (it survived last night's rains without any sign of rust, something 027 already would have), so to speed up the process, I poured a liberal amount of vinegar on the homemade rail and emptied a salt shaker on it.

 

I'll leave it outside for a month and report back with a photo. OK?

 

If this works, then I'll run a multimeter test on the rail comparing the results with an 027 rail to see what the ohms meter says for a given segment of rail.

 

If this works as well as I'm hoping, I'll in the future build me an indoor 3 rail layout with this stuff, as I have a whole box in the attic and I may consider it for outdoors as well