Buying railway track? Here’s a great short and simple piece of advice that will let your trains run smoother and mean less work for you.
Here’s a great tip, part of a bigger article on track laying,from Hobbies Plus in Australia. Read the original here.
All metals have an oxide form on them when in contact with the atmosphere. The oxide that forms on nickel silver happens to be electrically conductive, whereas that which forms on steel and brass is not.
What this means is that you will find that trains tend to run erratically on steel and brass rail after a while and you need to clean the rails frequently to overcome this. Using nickel-silver rails means you will have better running trains and less time spent cleaning rails.
So check your track is Nickel-Silver type, the majority of modern track is, for smoother running trains and less cleaning. See other ModelRailwayEngineer track tips.
Andy is a lifelong modeler, writer, and founder of modelrailwayengineer.com. He has been building model railways, dioramas, and miniatures for over 20 years. His passion for model making and railways began when he was a child, building his first layout at the age of seven.
Andy’s particular passion is making scenery and structures in 4mm scale, which he sells commercially. He is particularly interested in modelling the railways of South West England during the late Victorian/early Edwardian era, although he also enjoys making sci-fi and fantasy figures and dioramas. His website has won several awards, and he is a member of MERG (Model Railway Electronics Group) and the 009 Society.
When not making models, Andy lives in Surrey with his wife and teenage son. Other interests include history, science fiction, photography, and programming. Read more about Andy.