best type of track

[chooch1956]

what is the best type of HO track nickel or steel. I am setting up my set on 3 4x8 sheets as its been 11 years since I had a basement (recently moved from FL to GA mountains) and excited to start but need all new track.

thanks

chooch

[jayl1]

Nickel silver without a doubt - better electrical conductivity, easier to clean & won't rust.  Personally I prefer Atlas NS track over other brands.

[rogertra]

Nickel Silver rail, without a doubt.

As for the track?  Handlaid for greatest flexability and Micro-Engineering for the most realistic commercial track.

Peco "Universal" track is unrealistic as it follows no known prototype but is rock solid for running.

Code 100 rail also looks unrealistic, waaaay to large.  Code 83 for the diesel era and code 70 for steam is much better.

Most code 70 or 83 flex track in preferable to any "set track".

Just my opinions, which you are free to ignore.  :-)

[boomertom]

Code 100 rail also looks unrealistic, waaaay to large.  Code 83 for the diesel era and code 70 for steam is much better. Still on the large size.

Diesel would look betterwith the Code 70 and code 55 for sidings.

Steam Code 55 main line and 40 for sidings.

What do I use, unfortunately Atlas code 100, required by my modular group standards. When ballasted and painted it looks reasonable.

Tom

[Jim Banner]

I run nickel-silver, brass, electroplate steel, and plain steel on my H0 layout.  They all work equally well because I oil them (as posted elsewhere.)  If I did not use oil, then I would prefer nickel-silver because it gets dirty the slowest.

Biggest problem with nickel-silver is that it still requires cleaning occasionally.  Oiled track, even the bare steel, almost never does.

[jward]

if you have the time and patience to do it. handlaid track is the best. but any track you lay is only as good as what you lay it on. the best track in the world will do you no good if you have a weak foundation.

nickle silver rail is better than brass or steel, it ocnducts electricity better, and is much easier to solder to.

[WGL]

Do trains run as reliably (no increase in derailing) on rails smaller than 100?

[Yampa Bob]

I love my ugly code 100 track.  Pffffftttt. We need a "raspberry" smiley.     

[pdlethbridge]

WGL, Yes, I have code 83 atlas and I'm very happy with the quality and runability of the track.

[jward]

HO tranis can run reliably on as small as code 55, about half the size of code 100. my dad has been running on code 83 and 70 for over 30 years with no major problems.

[James in FL]

Because you may have read something on the internet somewhere, it doesn't necessarily make it the truth.
The internet is full of misinformation.

Nickel silver without a doubt - better electrical conductivity,...

Not true, or to be PC, misinformation.

nickle silver rail is better than brass or steel, it ocnducts electricity better,

Again not true. Actually it's just the opposite. Steel rails conduct electricity the best of the three, followed by Brass, and then Nickel Silver being rather poor in comparison.
The oxidation on Nickel Silver track is actually less resistive than that of both Steel and Brass. It is also slower to form.
These qualities make Nickel Silver a good choice for rail however, giving up electrical conductivity in exchange.

Do not take my word as gospel, research for yourself.

If you're using dissimilar rail type, I would caution soldering them together at the rail joints, but that is for another thread.
Again, do your own research.


So, in getting back to OP's question:

what is the best type of HO track nickel or steel.

They both have pros and cons.

I personally prefer the Nickel Silver.

[SteamGene]

If you're using dissimilar rail type, I would caution soldering them together at the rail joints, but that is for another thread.

Does this mean different code rails - 70 to 83  or does it mean nickle silver to brass for examples? In addition, do you advocate soldering them together or NOT soldering them together?
Gene

[Joe Satnik]

Dear Chooch,

If you are asking us to compare N/S vs. steel - Bachmann  EZ-Track only,

there is a much bigger variety of pieces in the N/S line. 

This is important if you want to expand your empire beyond a small oval and a pair of turnouts.

Old steel track can be used in hidden locations (tunnels, staging) or covered in ballast to hide the difference in roadbed color.

Hope this helps. 

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik   

[jward]

If you're using dissimilar rail type, I would caution soldering them together at the rail joints, but that is for another thread.

Does this mean different code rails - 70 to 83  or does it mean nickle silver to brass for examples? In addition, do you advocate soldering them together or NOT soldering them together?
Gene

no, there is no problem soldering different sizes of rail together that are made of the same metal. just make sure that the tops and inner edges of the rails are aligned.

as for different types of metal, i haven't had any problems with soldering them together brass (which i have used for sidings) and nickle silver. the brass requires cleaning and flux for the solder to work. steel is VERY difficult to solder to, and using flux tends to rust the rail. btw, i only use rosin type flux. the acid flux used to solder pipes is no good for model railroad use.

i have heard that different metals joined together can cause corrosion due to a small electric current between the metals, but this is getting into chemistry and physics here. aluminum was notorious for corrosion when joined to another metal, and aluminum wiring which was used in houses and some diesel locomotives was a known source of fires.

[James in FL]

If you're using dissimilar rail type, I would caution soldering them together at the rail joints, but that is for another thread.

Does this mean different code rails - 70 to 83  or does it mean nickel silver to brass for examples? In addition, do you advocate soldering them together or NOT soldering them together?
Gene

no, there is no problem soldering different sizes of rail together that are made of the same metal. just make sure that the tops and inner edges of the rails are aligned.

I agree with this.

You raised one of my eyebrows Gene.
You allege being a former educator.

Might I suggest researching "Electrochemical reaction between contacts of dissimilar metals"?

Research the works and theory's of Abraham Bennett, also Volta, and Cavallo.

As I have stated many times on forums, modeling toy trains is not rocket science as many make it up to be.

I don't wish to be one of them, but you asked...

It's pretty simple... place the loco on the tracks; apply voltage, increase current, and the loco moves.
If this does not happen, well, that's fodder for forums like this one.
They ask for advice.

This is all well beyond the scope of the neophyte just getting started in the hobby.

FWIW I am not in the soldering camp for every section of track. I'm not sure why you would ask what I advocate.
Regardless, I solder a feeder to each section of flex track.

I'm an N scaler and each section of Atlas code 80 is just over 29 inches. In case you haven't noticed, I live in Florida, where changes in humidity, and temperature, must be considered. Not so much for the thermal expansion of the track, but rather the expansion and contraction of the benchwork, due to relative humidity.

Three lengths of flex is my limit.

Do me a favor Gene, do your research at the library rather than on the internet.