All,

Last September I asked about using Bachmann track outside. I had a wonderful suggestion to use it as an abandoned siding. I thought it’d be interesting to share what that siding looks like now:

Some of the physical damage comes from Kid-zilla playing with the track (he likes to park Duplo trains there). The rest is nature taking its course. I am wondering if in 6 more months all I’ll have left here is a bunch of ties…which would still be cool!

The rest of this stuff is going to use as suggested…inside storage tracks on various shelves!

Have a great week!

Eric

Hmmm? So what if you were all battery operated? Not withstanding kid-zilla attacks, does the steel stay true and gauged?

Not a lot of rust here in NW AZ, but that rusty track looks cool. If it lasted 5-10 years, that would be great.

WES

Hmmm? So what if you were all battery operated? Not withstanding kid-zilla attacks, does the steel stay true and gauged?

Not a lot of rust here in NW AZ, but that rusty track looks cool. If it lasted 5-10 years, that would be great.

WES

Wes,

Anecdotally, a late friend in San Diego said his B’mann tracks collapsed after a few months. Granted, he lived close to the ocean, so that might have been a factor. I leave it to other desert denizens to advise you!

Here, indoor tracks used to store trains work just fine. After several years, all the trains are happily sitting on top the rails. Outside, the tracks continue to disintegrated. At a 11 months in the ground, I had to look to find them. Below is an attempt to recreate the shot:

There isn’t even enough left for Kid-zilla to play with / destroy, though he would agree with you that it looks pretty cool! I don’t think this will make it 5-10 years based upon the current rate of decay over the last 11 months.

Eric

The ties have no UV protection and may disolve just as fast as rust eats the steel.

If Bachmann advertised this for “Garden Railroads”…Shame on them.

@ John B.: To be fair, I am not sure B’mann advertised them as “garden railroad” compatible. I picked these up used a few years back when a friend ditched his B’mann stuff before moving off island. The inside tracks do have surface rust. I have never put power to them, so I cannot talk to their ability to carry current. I did hand the remaining tracks over to the kids to play with using a battery powered engine, but, frankly, these tracks are simply too flimsy in that role. Tracks now not in service for storage are in a box with an open invitation to the family to use them for any projects that they see fit. I suspect that box will be full for a while!

• Eric

you could use the panels cut to length as a load on a flatcar. I saw a car loaded with crossing panels they had removed.