A little disappointed in Bachmann

[jleight]

I just received my Tidmouth Shed/turntable and an Expansion Pack. I was disappointed to learn that Bachmann would put their cheaper steel track in these kits. I had hoped they would at least use their Nickle Silver track considering the cost of the kits. A suggestion to Bachmann. Don't go cheap on us. Use your better track in the kits. It's worth it in the long run.

[Anthony P2]

but you are forgetting that no one will see the track. so there is no point in putting in the expensive track when no one can see it.

[fighter4luv]

I'm sure people would prefer the price not to be too high... especially for things that are aimed towards children.

[RW James]

but you are forgetting that no one will see the track. so there is no point in putting in the expensive track when no one can see it.

I disagree - from what I understand, the steel track doesn't conduct as well as the NS track. So this means, you may have a hard time getting the engines out of the shed once they are parked in there. If it were me, I would replace that track with NS.

[jettrainfan]

Agreed with RW James. the problem with steel alloy is it gathers dirt a lot more than nickel silver.

[Anthony P2]

i don't have a problem with the track in my shed.  the dirt is caused by friction of the metal wheels on the rails. less friction = less dirt. 9 inches of track is not enough room for any major dirt to collect.

[fighter4luv]

It's actually got to do with the oxidising of the track... which interferers with conductivity. The Nickel metal oxidises a lot less, meaning less maintenance needs to be done on this type of track...

[jleight]

Sorry I didn't go on to explain myself in the first post. I thought everyone understood about steel and NS and oxidation. As pointed out, this track is inside the sheds and away from easy access. The rails will oxidize over time requiring cleaning. For just a little more cost the track could have been provided with NS which would have made cleaning less frequent of a requirement. I will no doubt replace it myself before installation but that is just that much more cost that could have been avoided. That is why I am disappointed in Bachmann for the lack of foresight in what they provided in the first place. And especially if this is aimed at children (which I question with all the adults that are on the forum) this is that much more important to provide something that needs less maintenance. I'm hoping that Bachmann will take this to heart and think things through in the future to help improve their product offerings. And I still wish Bachmann had offered an option to provide a motorized turntable. I am going to have to buy one of those also and throw away the manual one. Again more cost to get a quality installation. 

[jward]

i don't have a problem with the track in my shed.  the dirt is caused by friction of the metal wheels on the rails. less friction = less dirt. 9 inches of track is not enough room for any major dirt to collect.

obviously you don't have much practical experience with steel track. as somebody else has stated, steel can corrode. it gets dirty faster, and can rust as well. this is whether it is run on or not. do you really want to be cleaning the track inside the sheds all the time? i don't. nickle silver stays much cleaner but even it will eventually need cleaning.

also, if anything, running trains alot will keep your track cleaner, because they are knocking the dust off the rails.

[jettrainfan]

every now and then you might want to clean the wheels, the club i go to has been up everyone's you know what about it. its good to clean them every now and then (im talking months, not days or weeks). usually it does help, i've had weekends where I'd pull out 2 CSX locos and haul a line of 20-25 cars over a paper towel and you would be surprised how much dirt it got! but they hadn't been cleaned for 7 months at least