Any of you guys know (perhaps those inside the industry) what the future may hold for rail materiale.?
I guess I am thinking mostly about Oxidation/Maintenance. Is there somethinmg that would cut down on cleaning (especially for clubd and individuals with BIG layouts) and scrubiing.? Does aluminum oxidize less than...what is the formula for track...does anybody know that.?
Anyway.....you guys know what I am trying to assk.
btw..where is the search function.? i am probably staring right at it.?
Thank You
also (sorry about the short story here) I cannot get spell-check to work inside the message box. It works in the Subjest Line, and the Tag Line.
But.....when I right click the message box, I do not even get an option to check spelling (sorry if I missed a bunch of words)
To answer your question I just typed "what is the compund of HO scale Nickel silver rail?" into my search engine, and found a link to this from a model train related site:
The metal known as Nickel-Silver is actually an alloy of several metals, including copper, but despite the name, silver isn’t one of them. The name comes from the color, which is a shiny silver, readily distinguished from brass. The principal elements are copper (50% - 60%) and nickel (15% - 30%), although others including zinc, tin, iron and lead may be included in small quantities. According to Wikipedia, all modern formulas include a significant amount of zinc, and the most common formula is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc
Aluminum does get a "haze" of crap on it too. here is what I found by typing in my favorite search engine "does aluminum corrode?":
Aluminium corrosion resistance is very good in untreated aluminium. Untreated aluminium has very good corrosion resistance in most environments. This is primarily because aluminium spontaneously forms a thin but effective oxide layer that prevents further oxidation.
Aluminium oxide is impermeable and, unlike the oxide layers on many other metals, it adheres strongly to the parent metal. If damaged mechanically, aluminium’s oxide layer repairs itself immediately.
This oxide layer is one of the main reasons for aluminium’s good corrosion properties. The layer is stable in the general pH range 4 – 9.
As far as what is a better non-maintenance material for rail, the best IS nickel silver, at least for now. It requires some maintenance, sure, but... for now is the best we can get our hands on.
Not so sure anybody is hot on the trail of a new maintenance free rail compound, though, so for now you have to just deal with the maintenance issue.
The search function is in the right side margin.
Spell check doesn't work for me either, you can type into MS Word first and spell check there, then copy/paste to here or go the "message" link here and type in a box there, use spell check there{if it works for you there} and then copy/paste out of there to here.
Remember a LOT of info can be found online just by typing your inquiry into your favorite search engine nad get links that might answer your questions.
That is not to discourage you from asking here, but it can often be found just like I did.
We are always here to help if you can't find the answer to your question!
Have fun, It's a hobby!
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
General "cutting down on cleaning" tip is get metal wheels, and run trains pretty regularly.
Keeping a layout clean is kinda like having a car -- if it sits for extended periods, it starts to rot ... best way to keep it in good shape is to run it regularly.
-Dan
Builder of Bowser steam! Railimages Site
Aluminum is a good metal for model track and has been used a small number of times. However aluminum oxide is a very good insulator and can be difficult to remove. Aluminum also has an inherent weakness in that it doesn't have an indefinite fatigue life. An example is as follows: If you have a bar of steel able to withstand a flexing force of 1,000 pounds it won't break until that limit is reached. However if you have a bar of aluminum with the same limits you can expose it to a force of 100 pounds with only a small effect. The breaking point is now 100 pounds less than it originally was. This effect is cumulative and eventually you'll end up with two pieces of aluminum. This made it unsatisfactory for use in the manufacture of automobiles. The history of all-aluminum vehicles is replete with stories of vehicles breaking into two or more pieces. This lack of fatigue life also effects it thermally. Every time the metal heats up and cools down it loses some resilience and will eventually break. It was for this reason that aluminum was banned for use in household wiring.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
Kenny, this may be one of those "if it won't go, get a bigger hammer" situations. I have about 600 cars on my layout at any given time and about half have metal wheels, the rest plastic.
I only clean track about once a year. That is a good vacuuming and then a quick wipe of the rail tops with lacquer thinner or alcohol. A little contact enhancer in the switch points now and then.
I am blessed with a pretty clean basement. Finished ceiling, painted concrete surfaces, and hot water heat instead of forced air.
The point I am trying to make is if you have a clean environment, very little track cleaning is required. If you can not keep the dust and airborne crud off your layout, it doesn't matter what your track is made of.
And yes, nickel silver rail is still the least likely to corrode or give you trouble of other sorts.
Charlie
Kenny - Charlie & Others
I too have a mixture of Metal & Plastic wheels!
Although - I used the Metal Polish (MR magazine - Jan 2003) and POLISHED the track once in 2003 and
it is now 2014 and STILL HAVE NOT had to Clean the track again!
I have 4000 feet of track down - so far - and even thinking about having to clean that much track would take weeks!
While some like to clean track - I don't - I am so glad I tried that Metal Polish method back then.
As before I did the Metal Polish - I had to clean the track before every OPs Session which I have twice monthly!
Now - I just go down to the Layout and turn on the power and 20 of us run trains for 3 hours or so!
No Sound cutouts - just smooth running.
We occassionally have to clean the engines wheels - but I can't - right now - remember when the last time I did!
Do what you want - but NOT having to clean the track is way more fun than running a track cleaner car!
(which can't get back into every Industrial siding - so the cars just pick up the dirt there and spread it around the layout the next time they are moved) -
Unless you have to find a reason to run that expensive car! ;-)
BOB H - Clarion, PA
I too used the metal polish approach and I'm very happy with it. Try it before dismissing it.
Thanks for the answers, and info.
I am use to seeing the Search Function up at the top of the page somewhere...just did not look hard enough on the side, obviously.
Yeah...I read that same Wiki Info. But my Know-It All neighbor (he works for Applied Materials) had me convinced if the steel was made like THAT...it would be so hard, no hobbyist could cut it ..."without aid of a diamond impregnated saw'. I should have known better.
Thanks for the spell check tip. I, unfortunately do not have that program on this computer. Will substitute.
Regarding aluminum...I had No Idea. Aren't airplanes heavily made of aluminum.?
I have heard guys claim that Auto Trans Fluid is a great track cleaner.......
kenny dorham Thanks for the answers, and info. <SNIP> I have heard guys claim that Auto Trans Fluid is a great track cleaner.......
<SNIP>
Kenny
Our Local Model Railroad Club - used that on our old layout back in 1985 or so.
YEP! - It worked great - We NEVER cleaned the track (building layout right next to the finished part of the layout - dust - dirt etc.)!
We just put a few drops on the rails and ran the old Atheran engines - 2 or 3 as they just wouldn't go with all the dirt
(Clean track - NEVER - just put the oil to it)!
Soon the engines would smooth right out and would run during the shows!
Did this for a couple of years -
BUT!
Then we began having the cars just derail in the middle of the straight sections of track for no reason - they went through there several months earlier at the last show !?
Got to looking at the wheels - the dirt had built up so much (from the ATF on the track) that there were NO Flanges left and the cars just fell of the rail heads for lack of a flange.
We had to Hand clean ALL of the cars which took weeks as each wheel set had to be hand scraped to remove the dirt o-ring!
Guess What?
The members didn't think it was so bad anymore to just clean the tracks before the Shows!
OH! And we banned any use of any type of OIL on or near the tracks after that!
So go ahead and use it!
But don't be surprised if you have to clean all your Rolling Stocks wheels by hand.
We learned our lesson!
The club I belong to has also used ATF on the rails. It works great! Especially if someone forgets and brings a lot of cars with dirty wheels to the Open House. We also clean the tracks and wheels before each Open House and have had no problems with build up.
Performance is nice and smooth, with reliable pickup, even our locomotives with only 4 or 6 wheel pickup (can you say "Thomas"?) It does evaporate, though and needs to be reapplied - another thing we do before each Open House.
A combination of ATF and regular wheel cleaning will result in smooth running.
S&S
Modeling the Pennsy and loving it!
I just cringe when I hear the mere mention of any kind of oil or liquid being applied to the rails ....
Short term fix - long term headache.
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
Something I use in regular track maintenance is a Bachmann track cleaning tank car. I wet the pad with 91% alcohol then run the train as usual.
Mark R. I just cringe when I hear the mere mention of any kind of oil or liquid being applied to the rails .... Short term fix - long term headache. Mark.
I am not sure if liquid in general is a bad idea. But anything with enough % of petroleum or vegetable might get gummy. Denatured Alc or lacquer thinner are probably pretty safe...and they go off fast.