You can tell I'm "Green " at this

[sloan]

Anyway I added  2 sections of nickel silver track  into a steel alloy  oval to make it a little longer  1st day it worked fine ..2nd day I got a big voltage drop on the nickel silver sections ...3rd day its gone back to working fine .ok who's been here and done this I'd like to know why and is ok to mix the track ? Sloan

[SteamGene]

Check your rail joiners.
Gene

[sloan]

I did everthing is connected  and I'm still debating what type of track to go with .

[kevin2083]

You want nickel silver

Kevin

[SteamGene]

How large is the oval?  How many electrical leads do you have?  I would also go with the conventional wisdom that nickel silver is best.
Gene

[Paul M.]

Nickel Silver track stays cleaner, and when it oxidises the oxide conducts electricity,but also conducts electricity less than Steel track.

[tac]

Nickel Silver track stays cleaner, and when it oxidises the oxide conducts electricity,but also conducts electricity less than Steel track.

We have had H0 gauge nickel-silver track in the backyard since 1959.

Is that good enough for ya?

tac
www.ovgrs.org

[JerryB]

<snip> ok who's been here and done this I'd like to know why and is ok to mix the track ? Sloan

Sloan:

As to your original question, yes it is perfectly OK to mix nickel silver and steel track. Personally I would be working to get all your mainline onto nickel silver. Use the remaining steel for sidings where your locomotives don't usually go.

As to your reported malfunction, I would bet you have track joiner conductivity problems. In answer to SteamGene's suggestion to check your joiners, you reported:

I did everthing is connected

There is a big difference between ". . . connected . . .", and conducting. Use whatever method (disassembly, electrical tracing or very close visual inspection) you find best to absolutely determine that all your rail joiners (especially the reused steel ones) are actually clean and crimped down on the rail. In other words, they need to be what is termed a 'push fit'. Just being slipped together does not insure they are always conducting electricity. Intermittent electrical connections act exactly as you have described in your original post. Use a pair of common pliers (<$5.00) to adjust every joiner to be a push fit.

There shouldn't be any question in your mind as to which rail is the best. The slightly larger investment in nickel silver rail will pay off many times over, especially in terms of reliable operation.

Happy RRing,

Jerry

[Santa Fe buff]

Nickel Silver track stays cleaner, and when it oxidises the oxide conducts electricity,but also conducts electricity less than Steel track.

We have had H0 gauge nickel-silver track in the backyard since 1959.

Is that good enough for ya?

tac
www.ovgrs.org

Good enough for me to keep with Nickel Silver.

[r.cprmier]

An intermittent connection will cause that to happen.  These joint have to be tight and made right in order to work well; I don't care if it two feet or two miles.  Make sure your rail isn't full of crud and your joiners fit snugly and properly onto the rail.  If it is at all possible, solder them if you know how.

The Old Reprobate

[Santa Fe buff]

r.cprmier is right. Lose joints aren't any good, pliers or needle pliers can sqeeze jointers on better. Yeah, 'crud' or debris is bad too, use a Q-tip for that. Or something to clean it off, but disconnect the track first before cleaning.

[TrampTrader]

sloan,

Everything I've read says nickel-silver is the bettr way to go.


Pete

[Daylight4449]

nickel silver has way better conductivity and as far as i can tell doesn't oxidize as fast or as bad. i am sometimes stuck sanding the steel alloy and it still doesn't work as well. i mix but when i bought the nickel silver track pack for expansion of my layout i used the left over track to replace a lot of the steel track on my layout. great idea to use it wherever possible.

[Paul M.]

Daylight, DON'T SAND YOUR YOUR TRACK. EVER.