Something Vintage This Way Comes...

[peteski]

Hmm, maybe I should build a layout with Atlas, Minitrix, and Rapido track intermixed. Lord knows I have plenty of each to do it! Well, mainly Atlas, I guess. I have oodles of that, some dating back to 1967. And the Atlas track originally had a more rounded rail top kind of like Rapido but it soon changed to flatter by 1968.

Doug

Is the Minitrix steel track?  I have steel flex track from them. Do you have any Bachmann or Life Like track?

[DKS]

Minitrix sectional track was a steel alloy up until sometime around 1967, when they switched to nickel. Early Postage Stamp sets had the alloy track. Curiously, track feeders and turnouts were always nickel.

[peteski]

Curiously, track feeders and turnouts were always nickel.

Nickel, or nickel-silver?
Yes, I should have written "steel alloy" because it doesn't rust like regular steel.

[DKS]

Nickel-silver. (Or, more accurately, copper alloy.)

[Dave V]

Lee, are you planning to scenic this the old way with dyed sawdust and lichen?

[wm3798]

Probably not.  I'll probably just use the old school track and controls.  As with everything I do, I don't expect to make much progress very quickly, and the first stages will be to get everything together and wired up.
Then of course, once I can run a train in circles, I'll just watch it for several months on end, accomplishing little else... on the layout or otherwise.
You know, like ya do!
Lee

[Doug G.]

I posted this in another thread, too. This site describes the earlier Atlas switches mainly before going China. He leaves out one Italian version, however. The original Atlas Italian switches had a metal clip on one end of the machine and the throw was right at the end of the point rails. The second Italian version had no clip at the one end and the throw was a few ties up from the end. Trackwork the same as the first, however.

http://trains4africa.co.za/?p=719

In an interesting side note, the Atlas standard (19" diverting route radius) switches were of incorrect geometry until long about style seven when it was finally corrected. The incorrect geometry resulted in the point rails being too short and the gauge was way wide where the point rails meet the stock rails for the straight route. Derails easily occurred at that spot and I corrected all mine by bending the stock rail in at that point to maintain gauge.

The Minitrix track I have is all nickel silver (or, as DKS correctly names it - copper alloy, as there is no silver in it at all). There is nickel and, usually, zinc in it. I believe I have seen some of the steel stuff before, though.

Doug

[Dave V]

Probably not.  I'll probably just use the old school track and controls.  As with everything I do, I don't expect to make much progress very quickly, and the first stages will be to get everything together and wired up.
Then of course, once I can run a train in circles, I'll just watch it for several months on end, accomplishing little else... on the layout or otherwise.
You know, like ya do!
Lee

I hear ya.  Today was a JFRT day.  Of course I have a much larger circle than I used to!

[peteski]

Nickel-silver. (Or, more accurately, copper alloy.)

Well nickel-silver (or German Silver among few other names) is an alloy (so it does contain copper, and no silver).  It appears to have originated in China.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_silver

[nkalanaga]

I've long heard nickel-silver described as a form of brass, with enough nickel added to make it silver.

And, somewhere, I also have a couple pieces of Minitrix steel sectional track.  I have no idea where it came from, as I never bought any Minitrix sectional track.  Other than turnouts, all of my N scale track was flex, from the very beginning.  I may have literally "picked it up", as one could find all sorts of odd stuff on the ground in Pasco in the 70s, if one looked closely while walking.

[Doug G.]

Any Bachmann or Life-Like track I have ever had was similar to Atlas in silverosity so I assume it was/is nickel silver. And. Mr. Kalanaga, you are correct that nickel silver and brass are related. Brass is copper and zinc and nickel silver has the nickel added.

There was some Casadio track in the seventies, after Atlas disengaged from Rivarossi, that had what I believe to be aluminum rails. I still have some of it. Woolworth's was selling it in track expander kits which came with four switches and track. As I recall, the kits were ridiculously inexpensive, like $2.50, or so. I could be misremembering that but I know they were cheap. Physically, the switches were identical to the original Atlas Italian switches, made by Casadio with the clip, except for the rail metal.

Originally, I was a bit hesitant because I thought the aluminum might be difficult to keep clean but I never had any problem with it.

Doug

[peteski]

There was some Casadio track in the seventies, after Atlas disengaged from Rivarossi, that had what I believe to be aluminum rails. I still have some of it. Woolworth's was selling it in track expander kits which came with four switches and track. As I recall, the kits were ridiculously inexpensive, like $2.50, or so.
Originally, I was a bit hesitant because I thought the aluminum might be difficult to keep clean but I never had any problem with it.

Doug

I have some aluminum track but only in H0. It is very ligth (feels like it is all made from plastic). I have never seen it in N scale.  I would also think that it would not be a good material for track. Aluminum is an excellent electrical conductor (IIRC, even better than copper), but the Aluminum Oxide, which forms almost instantly on exposed metal, is very hard (used as abrasive material for sandpaper) and non conductive.

[nkalanaga]

Some of my vintage cars, the old, not-so-old, and recycled.


GN 28215 and 33103:  These are two of my earliest N scale cars, and the oldest still in service largely unmodified.  The only real changes are KD couplers, painted wheels, and ACI labels.  These cars date from late 1969 or 1970, and are from one of the earliest CC runs.  They both have metal underframes, small-flange wheels, and say "CON-COR" "MADE IN JAPAN".


ATSF 15827 and NP 2107:  Almost as old, ATSF 15827 is an original MRC car, also with the metal underframe, made in Japan.  It isn't quite original, as I replaced the wheels with modern 33 inch wheels, instead of the the early Sekisui 35 inch, along with the KD couplers, and reweighed the car, added end reporting marks, an ACI label and lube data.  But it is largely as delivered, and I have another, in storage, that has never been changed.  The couplers and ACI are from years ago, the other changes were recent.  Somewhere along the way, I had to replace a coupler, as one says "Kadee" and the other "MTL".

NP 2107, on the other hand, is a "new" car, having been built over the Christmas break.  It's an Early Con-Cor "X58", still made in Japan, with the metal underframe, but has a blank space where "MRC" was.  It ran for years, in factory CB&Q paint, not as nice as the earliest CC or MRC paint jobs, but usable.  When ESM released their CB&Q XML-14s, this one was retired.  In December, inspired by comments on one of the ESM X58 topics here on Railwire, I converted it to an early 60s NP car.  This conversion could have been done in the 60s, as all it required was sanding the door detail and tracks flush with the side ribs; add fillers inside two of the ribs, since the doors don't wuite reach the next rib; glue MT "double door boxcar" doors to the sides; and add new door tracks.  I also replaced the brakewheel with a MT one, although that is optional.  In my case, the doors and brakewheel are actually KD, as they date from the early 80s.  Decals are mostly MSD 60-37, a fairly new set, but one that has been available almost from the beginning of MSD's N scale decals.  I can't be the first to make one of these, but have never seen any mention of such a conversion.


WRRY 167 dates from sometime in the early 80s, so isn't nearly as old as N scale, but is one of my oldest Nn3 cars.  Scratchbuilt, mostly Evergreen styrene, KD/MT trucks and couplers, etched brass brakewheel, Grandt Line queenposts, CDS dry transfers.  Each CDS D&RGW reefer set included lettering for both 30 and 40 foot cars, except for roadname and reporting marks, so, with two sets, and some extra dry transfers, I built four cars, one of each length for the D&RGW and my West Ridge Ry.



The other two are "context" pictures, of the Moria freight house, and Stemple Mine Supply.  The corner where Stemple sits stays dark, so it looks a little gloomy in the pictures.  The freight house is a heavily kitbashed kit, from DPM?  I combined two kits to get the peaked roof, with metal roofing from Evergreen.  Stemple is made from modular building parts, also possible DPM.  The narrow gauge log flats are RLW, from my master, and are cast metal.  They were originally offered in resin, which tended to warp, so these are replacements.  The resin models were released in 1993, these are from 2008, so aren't old at all.  The kit is for the flatcar, bunks are up to the builder.

For the aluminum track, I've seen it used for outdoor railways, but for indoors, I would think it would be almost impossible to keep clean.  As Petski said, the oxide is very hard, and it forms almost instantly.  Any attempt to remove would almost require sanding, and aluminum itself can be sanded like wood.  I wouldn't think such track would last very long.

[Doug G.]

As I stated, however, I never really had any trouble with it. I thought I was going to but I didn't. And, it was on my layout I had, at the time, for a long time.

Doug

[nkalanaga]

Maybe regular use is enough to keep it clean, so it didn't need to be aggressively cleaned. 

I Googled the conductivity issue, and the first site that popped up had this.  Apparently, the oxide coating on bulk aluminum doesn't prevent contact, although bulk aluminum oxide is an insulator.  Again, not as bad as it sounds, as the oxide coating is self-limiting, unlike brass or steel.

"Alain Celzard
University of Lorraine
Aluminium is a highly reducing metal, and because of this, it spontaneously oxidises in air. Fortunately, the alumina barrier which is formed is almost totally impervious, so oxidation is nearly completely stopped. Fortunately, otherwise aluminium would burn spontaneously in air. Moreover, Al powder is pyrophoric, i.e. can be very dangerous when exposed abruptly to air. But bulk Al is just covered by a very thin Al2O3 layer, and this is the reason why pure Al is never shiny. Alumina is an electronic insulator, but becomes ionic conductor at high temperature. Because it is very thin over its metal, alumina doesn't prevent electric conduction, but just add a contact resistance. Conduction takes place throughout alumina by tunnelling effect."