The pro's and con's of Aristo stainless steel track vs. LGB brass track.......

[altterrain]

I have Aristo stainless on my layout and the club uses only LGB brass so I have experience with both. My observations on each -

Aristo stainless -

Pros - very little cleaning required. After very little running for 3 months over the winter, I ran my aristo track cleaning car with a battery loco for 10 mins and I was good to go. Its also very strong and has less expansion and contraction than other metals used in rail.

Cons - those frackin' little rail joiner screws and the color. Both fixable with split jaw connectors and a bit of spray paint. Another con to some may be it only comes in the USA style standard guage tie spacing and not the Euro type.

LGB brass -

Pros - the rail joiners fit nice and tight and it ages to a nice dark brown color

Cons - limited selection of diameter available - 4', 5', 8', 13' (compared to 4', 5', 6.5', 8', 9', 10, 11.5', etc for Aristo track). Its also only comes in the Euro tie profile. Track cleaning/sanding!

Some folks swear by LGB switches. Both brands have their problems in my experience.

-Brian 

[LGBtrains1963]

by the way my track is powered to run the trains, so keep that in mind when you post.... Thanks Again, Mark

[LGBtrains1963]

I want your thoughts on Aristocraft stainless steel track, the pro's and the con's of it, I have used LGB brass track for a few years but seeing it is not going to be back on the market for a few years I'm looking to other brands to fill the void.... Has anyone used PIKO yet, if so what do you think? Please post..... Thanks, Mark