Cornish_Rail Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 I was reading the latest railway modeller and i saw a advert for steel rail which was cheaper than nickel silver what are the pros and cons of using it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jim s-w Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 It rusts! However it does look less yellow than normal NS - High bright NS looks the same as steel. Steel is also softer and some claim it stays cleaner (not in my experience). HTH Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
10800 Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 Quite a common topic of discussion on the old site: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=45719 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Fatadder Posted November 27, 2009 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 27, 2009 Some say that it requires less cleaning than using nickel silver rail, particularly if you also use steel wheels. Its also a much better looking colour than Nickel rail, which I find even the special types look too yellow (and the normal stuff really does look very yellow. With the rust side of things, I havent had a problem other than where I've used flux to solder on feeds (though for the next layout I am planning to get some non acidic flux to use instead. Baseboards from the old layout have been stored in the guarage for the last couple of months, and not shown any sign of rust yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim V Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 No brainer, I've used steel for 25 years, no rust! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigwelsh Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 I've had patches of rust on some Exactoscale rail but the bits in question weren't on a layout in use or in any way treated. I would think that as long as you kept it away from too much flux and used it a decent amount you should be ok. Polishing the railhead properly would also help too. If the rust does worry you that rail Jim mentioned is better than the normal although it does have a pearlescent quality and the look depends on the viewing direction somewhat. The cost seems to depend more on the quality of the rolling as much as the material.. If you look at Scalefour NS rail compared to Exactoscale for example its much more coarse in profile. The Exactoscale stuff slides onto chairs a lot easier as a result! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasatcopthorne Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 I was reading the latest railway modeller and i saw a advert for steel rail which was cheaper than nickel silver what are the pros and cons of using it Be very careful is you use any sort of magnetic uncoupling.!!! Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.