N gauge track

[inkaneer]

Okay, I have this theory about N gauge track and the black residue people report on certain manufacturers track  but not on others [Kato Unitrack].  I presented my theory on  the A board where it was promptly ignored.  Maybe someone here can respond.  Anyway my theory is this.  The black residue is not from the plastic wheelsets from rolling stock but rather is the same black residue formed when brass tarnishes.  Nickle silver track is really a composition of brass and nickle with no silver in it.  Being a composition as opposed to a compound [high school chemistry help me out here] the ratio of nickle to brass can be changed.  My theory is that due to expense of nickle [once at $55,000/metric ton but now at about $25,000/metric ton] the nickle content of track was lowered resulting in the increase in brass oxidation.  Now here is the rub.  To prove this I need to have a metallurgical test done with a piece of Kato Unitrack and preferrably two or more pieces of Atlas flex track, one of which of recent manufacture and one or more of older manufacture.  I do not have the facilities available to do that nor do I know the cost of such a metallurgical test.  Maybe some one here can do the test or point me to who can and the expense of doing it. 

[John]

Take it to a local college with a good mechanical engineering department .. you might be able to find someome there to do it ..

[wm3798]

Sounds like a good project for the Government to waste money on.  See if that obnoxious guy on TV can get you free government funding!


Lee

[choochin3]

Man,I hate that money guy!

Carl T.

[railspike55]

inkaneer,

I cant do tests on this but I can report that

My two year old Kato track still dos not create black crud as much as my older
Atlas track that is 15 years old.

I have only used a handy wipe and straight alcohal.  If any black crud shows it is vary light.

I suspect its from transfering the running loco back an forth between the two
track settings.

Also the the new track I have layed to connect two 2x4 modules does not amount to creating crud because I have never used the brightboy on this.

My assumption is all the scratches and gouges on the old is creating most of the crud and its coming up through the scratches.

I have also found that metal wheels do not collect as much crud as plastic wheels. Or as fast. 

At least at my layout. Winter conditions in room 72 deg  75% humid.

mho


If tests were done I would be curious about the findings.

Bright boys I do not use them any more.


The guy in green raises a lot of questions   LoL! ;D

Ron N.

[up1950s]

Could it be the railhead contour ? Is Kato's track only giving a thin point of contact , and it is almost self cleaning , compared to a wider point of contact that than tends to allow a build up ?

[SquirrelHollow]

Don't forget about household dust and oil residue.  They're big players in the crud bowl.

Oh, and smoke units.

[Walkercolt]

I have two chemistry degrees(one organic, the other inorganic), and my non-scenitific tests with hydrochloric acid on Atlas track and Kato Unitrack show the Unitrack is less reactive and therefore I presume it has a higher nickle content, but I can't prove it without a quantitative anylisis, but I'd bet my grocery bill on it. The difference is probably why Unitrack stays cleaner than most track. Do your American nickels, dimes and Quarters rub black off in your pockets? No? I believe they're clad with 95% nickle and 5% copper(no tin, as in brass).

[Nato]

 All the Black Crud appears on my car wheels which is why I bought an Ultrasonic Cleaner about 10 years ago. When I was having cars with metal wheelsets derailing on the plastic parts of the old Atlas switches I was usuing then I knew it was time to remove the wheels from that car and plop it in the cleaner.        Nate Godman (Nato).

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Hm.... heh heh wow this could turn into a flame war if it were on a-board. Imagine not just C55 VS C80 but now "my rail is shaped better then yours!"

I think the mini scatches has more to do with it then nickle content. I wonder how stanless steel rail works in this?

[DKS]

Don't forget about household dust and oil residue.  They're big players in the crud bowl.

Could it be the railhead contour ? Is Kato's track only giving a thin point of contact , and it is almost self cleaning , compared to a wider point of contact that than tends to allow a build up ?

Rick Spano (a physicist), his wife (a chemist) and I (an artist--oops) have been working on the crud issue for decades. Despite many other claims over the years (carbon deposits from arcing, plastic wearing off of wheels, etc., etc.), we've determined that the crud is just a mixture of ordinary household dust and lubricants. Kato track is more immune due to the rail profile. We've found that the wider and flatter the railhead, the more likely it will collect crud. We have not found any difference between scratched and relatively unscratched rail (take a look at brand new rail under high maginification to see what suposedly "smooth" rail looks like--it looks like it has just been cleaned with a Brite Boy), or metal composition for the most part (brass obviously notwithstanding).

Rick's layout has been a perfect test platform, as it is huge, features track from just about every manufacturer and era, and rolling stock of every kind imaginable, and we've been running it for almost 40 years. BTW, household dust is about 80% dead skin, although railroad room dust probably has a higher percentage of fine sawdust, plaster dust and other layout-building debris.

[Mark5]

This talk of the railhead countour reminds me of the old Arnold track in the 1960s - they made a big deal about how their rounded head contour made for cleaner track.

Heh, I should'a kept that catalog.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I didn't know Linda was a Chemist! Anyway, thanks for the skinny on that.

So it looks like we'd be best if we all files our rails to a knife edge?

[Robbman]

Message deleted

[wcfn100]

We've found that the wider and flatter the railhead, the more likely it will collect crud.

So how many times have you had to to clean that new Z scale layout?  That's as flat of a rail as you can get.


Jason