Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
REAL rails have a "shine" on them not because they are burnished (a smooth polishing action) but because they are hammered (planished in effect?). Rolling wheels impart a stream of hammer blows to the rail head - I am told - by my Dad who was a Chartered mechanical Engineer - so I imagine that he would know. I suspect that the main benefit being gained in all the above is the removal of burrs and pitts which would assist the accumulation of crud (good technical word that). Except when material like fallen leaves or frogs/toads gets between the railhead and the wheel I suspect that the hammering action of wheels knocks most crud components from the rail head. Scale models probably lack the weight to have the same effect. Similarly i would suspect that the amount f lost traction would be too small in a model to measure. (I've noted elsewhere that on severe curves the hammering effect of wheel on rail will actually force a slim strip of steel off the head of the rail. I had a 3' to4' length of this steel for some years but seem to have lost it... on the rail side it was fairly straight (conforming to the rail) on the outer edge it "wiggled" like the distinct pattern in a Japanes sword. Don't know how much light this will shed? I do know that Motorbike parts that are burnished by hand stay clean better than parts that are polished with chrome type polish and a buffing head on a drill or other tool. I knew a couple who stripped his HD to component parts and buffed them every night before going to sleep... Then they took her bike apart! This is a true story of two immaculate HD's not a rude tale! It took them years. ... and they say that RR modellers are mad! We used to use a 2"x2" piece of chain mail on a thick calfskin backing to burni***he lever heads of [what you call] armstrong levers until it was banned because the extremely fine steel dust produced wrecked electrical equipment in the underframe. Lebers burnished that way and worked only with a lever cloth GLOWED rather than shone.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag

Update Reply

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

Model Railroader Newsletter See all

Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox!

Subscriber & Member Login

Edit post

Post Body

Tags (Optional)

Subscriber & Member Login

Users Online

Search the Community