I had come on here to brag on my son. He is in third grade an competed in the school science fair. His project tested nickle silver and brass track. His porject took second place and is headed to the regionals!
We tested the track's conductivity using a multimeter to measure resistance. We then dropped a hammer on each type of track to test durability of each.
We tested each type of tracks' ability to resist oxidation by placing a section of each outside for four weeks. We then placed a locomotive on this track and measured the voltage required for it to begin moving vs. a control.
I'm quite proud of him.
Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad in N Scale.
www.prr-nscale.blogspot.com
That's really cool! It's nice to see the next generation taking an interest in both model railroading and science. Tell him to keep up the good work! By the way, which track did better in each test?
The brass track won for conductivity. But the nickel silver was winner for durability and resistance to oxidation.
OUTSTANDING !!!
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Congratulations! A great way to spark interest in the hobby and gain some practical information.
Was the topic his idea?
Excellent work! Thanks for sharing. I bet he's remember this one. Perhaps he's on the right track to trying this experiment on a layout.
Curious what the difference between the two is for conductivity.
kasskaboose Excellent work! Thanks for sharing. I bet he's remember this one. Perhaps he's on the right track to trying this experiment on a layout. Curious what the difference between the two is for conductivity.
Brass has copper in it which helps with conductivity
They are both copper alloy.
But as with all alloys, who made than can have an impact. Both are mainly copper with zinc added to impart the desired properties, with nickel displacing a lot of the zinc in nickel silver alloys. Both are about 25% the conductivity of copper, with zinc being better.
For an accurate comparison, both samples should come from the same manufacturer and code so they'll both have the same profile. (Everything should be the same except the alloy).
Measuring resistances that low is tricky with a multimeter. But you use the tools you have.
What a neat story this is. It reminds me of a very brief article in Model Railroader many decades ago that might be the basis for another model-train based science project.
I am relying on my memory here (an increasingly foolish thing to do). It seems at a trade show LGB had a display where one of their big trains was running in an oval of their track placed in a shallow tub of water, to show that it was safe to run outside. At the conclusion of the show it was found that the rails were now two different colors. Something to do with electrolysis I assume, one rail being - while the other was +. Or maybe it was electroplating? (Those might be the same thing).
Dave Nelson
GP-9_Man11786 The brass track won for conductivity. But the nickel silver was winner for durability and resistance to oxidation.
That's really neat! Thanks for answering, sorry I'm a bit late, I've been busy for a few days.