Track Steel vs. Nickel-Silver

[turnbub]

Can someone please explain STEEL vs. NICKEL-SILVER track......eg. longevity, maintenance, cleaning, etc....
Thank you (I am very new to this.... I did acquire a couple of Bachmann cars, they look great, and the trucks and couplers seem to be superior.

[ABC]

When oxidized, nickel-silver conducts electricity better than steel. But with good maintenance and frequent cleaning they both can work equally as well.  Thouroughly clean the tops and sides of the rails using track cleaning solution (any brand will do) and wipe with a soft cloth that does not leave behind fibers and residue. Then apply conductive lubricant sparingly to the track the thinner the oil, the better it will do as a conductive lubricant.  Only use oils compatible with model trains, do not use any other lubes as they may cause damage or adverse effects. Clean and lube track approximately twice a year for best results, remember not to use too much lube or it will be worse than had you not use lube in the first place because lube attracts dirt and dust and will cause poor running.

[jward]

steel track is much harder to solder to, and it will rust. nickle silver is far better, and is the standard for track in most scales.

[buzz]

Hi
I shall say this once and only once.
All the way with Nickle silver rail.
Steel  rail is a pain to keep clean you can't solder to it, once the sheridising is gone if its sheridised rail and rust sets in forget it.
If buying and using Bachmann track just remember this get the one with the grey base thats got nickle silver rail NOT the black thats steel.
regards John

[OldTimer]

Buzz,
Thanks to you, I learned a new word today and now know what Sherard O. Cowper-Coles is famous for.  Who would have guessed?  Thank you!!! 
Old Timer

[Joe323]

Steel track comes with cheaper train sets Nickel silver is better quality.  As time and $$ permit I have been replacing the steel with NS.

[Jim Banner]

Nickel silver is a reasonable choice - slow to corrode and affordable.  But brass, parkerized steel, galvanized steel and even bare steel can also be quite satisfactory if properly treated.  I suspect Bachmann steel rail is electro-galvanized rather than sherardized (or sherardised if you prefer) because electro-galvanizing lends itself to continuous processing of that funny shaped drawn wire we call rail, while sherardizing lends itself better to batch processing of smaller pieces.  I further suspect that the dull finish of Bachmann H0 rail is simply from use of a shorter tank and higher current in the electro-galvanizing process.

You can solder to all of these rails by using the right flux.  The parkerized rail needs to have the parkerizing removed for soldering but this is quick and easy with a Dremel tool.  The right flux for nickel silver and brass is rosin and the rosin in rosin core solder is usually enough.  A better flux for bare steel or galvanized steel is zinc chloride based.  It can be a bit corrosive, so you might want to keep it away from wiring.  For soldering copper wires to steel rails, you can tin the rail, wash off the flux, then solder the copper wire to the tinned spot using rosin flux.

So what is the proper treatment for all these kinds of rail?  A bit of conductive oil to eliminate corrosion and suppress arcing.  This little bit of oil also reduces the frequency of track cleaning to almost never.

Jim

   

[OldTimer]

Wow...first it was old Sherard Cowper-Coles,and today I find out about the Parker Rust-Proof Phosphating Company of America.  Is this a great country or what?  Seriously, I am intrigued by the economics of all of this.  Apparently the cost of drawing steel rail and treating the surface to retard rusting is less than drawing nickel silver (a copper+nickel+zinc alloy) rail.  Otherwise, there would be no incentive to produce the steel track.  The difference in price at retail is certainly significant.  Oh well...just the musings of a addlepated old man.

[Jim Banner]

Every time there is a war on, up goes the price of copper.  Thus, for example, the price of Aristo brass track doubled last year.  Surprisingly, the cost of rail is a good part of the price of track.  Plastic is cheap and automation has reduced the cost of labour to almost nothing.

Jim

[turnbub]

SO new to this...... it took some time to even get back in here...... but I thank everyone for their comments.
As luck would have it, I acquired a set - it's the Bachmann  DCC set with 2 locos, and it turned out to have
N/S rails, so I am pleased.
If Bachmann monitors these entries, am wondering why your website does not mention the track TYPE ,
while the catalog (just got one) DOES.