Large Scale Central

Aluminum track questions

Track and Trestles
#1

Looking for opinions and experiance’s with aluminum track. Due to the insane price of brass track I have yet to lay any and am starting to get jumpy to run trains. Can get ahold of straight for a decent price but 10’ curve is above my budget and about as small as I care go. The plan is to go all onboard battery power in the end but for now need to be able to do track as well, will aluminum curve kill the power too much to run track power ? Even if I ran jumpers from the brass straights to each joiner ? Any info or advice is welcome and, lets face it, needed. thanks in advance

Gerry

#2

Gerry,

Aluminum track has advantages and disadvantages. I am not going to get into the opinions of better or not, just going to try to put forth the facts.

The biggest advantage of aluminum track is cost. It is by far the cheapest of the three major material offerings. There are a couple of vendors that offer aluminum track, rail and switches. Most aluminum offerings are for flex track, so you are flexible to make whatever curvatures you need for your situation. Aluminum has a fairly good conductivity, voltage loss over distance is not that big an issue.

Dis-advantages of aluminum track/rail are subjective based on location and running style. You mention your long term preference for battery power. This negates one of aluminum’s major dis-advantages. Although aluminum conducts electricity well, it’s oxides do not. Aluminum oxidizes almost immediately in contact with oxygen. This property of aluminum makes electrical connections (and wheel contact) more difficult. Aluminum is difficult to solder to as well for the same oxidization issue, but it can be done. IF you master soldering aluminum and include jumper wires at each joint, not relying on the mechanical joint to conduct, reliable conductivity can be achieved. Aluminum is also not as mechanically strong as brass or stainless steel, so if you are in an area where you might have critters (most notably deer), this could also be an issue (possibility of vertical kinks). Expansion / contraction are also greater with aluminum than with the other materials. IF you float your track on a good roadbed this may not be an issue depending on the configuration of your layout. Long straights will give issues no matter the track material if proper attention is not given expansion / contraction.

On a personal note, I have some brass track ready to go down, but will go aluminum with all future expansions. I will keep the brass loop for sparkies, otherwise I am converting (slowly) to battery / RC. I am NOT advocating any particular material, just presenting the facts based on my personal knowledge and experience. I am sure others will chime in with their knowledge and experience.

Happy Railroading

Bob C.

#3

Thanks for the info Bob…Sounds like aluminum should hold up fairly decent. I have had experiance with “trying” to solder aluminum, 7 or 8 trys out of 10 dont go so well, even tried brazing it once, very not good. I was thinking about useing brass rail joiners, clamp type, I would clean the area of the rail’s that the joiner would clamp to and coat it with a healthy layer of dielectric grease. Soldering would be done to the brass joiners.

How dose this sound like it would work…Later All

Gerry

#4

Gerry,

The grease will help so long as the contact points are super clean at the time the joint is made. Long term outdoors the grease tends to slowly ‘go away’. One of the aluminum rail vendors told me his ‘magic bullet’ for soldering rail, If I still have the email I will pass it along. Soldering aluminum is definitely ‘an art form’, I am not that good at it either, takes a very narrow band of precise heat control to melt the solder and not the rail.

Bob C.

#5

Gerry, I have used aluminum track for over 10 years. The first loop that was installed held up fine. I used llagas Creek code 250 on Narrow gauge tie strips. My latest track is still using the Llagas Code 250. So far I have about 170’ down. I use mostly the Stainless joiners they offer but you can also use rail clamps.

If you were using electric you need to lube the joiners with a special electric grease.

One thing I do different is I use all Nickel Silver switches for a better durability. I just got my custom 3 way for the yard entrance. Its about a 20.00 difference for Alum to NS on the switch.

I am also a Llagas Creek dealer.

#6

Gerry,

I used aluminum rail to hand lay a loop of track in 1998 and it is still on the ground although hasn’t been used for several years. About a month ago just out of curiosity I clipped a power pack to the rails and set a Shay on the line. I ran the engine back and forth on about a 15 foot section where the undergrowth wasn’t too thick. This was over three sections of rail, it ran a little haltingly from dirty rail but it ran. I got out the old sanding pole and hit the rails a lick and the Shay ran smoothly.

All the above was just leading up to telling you how I did my rail joints back then. Each rail end was drilled and tapped with a small brass machine screw and jumper wires were soldered to the screw heads, aluminum rail joiners were used just for mechanical alignment. I know someone will yell “Electrolysis” from dis-similar metals contact and they will probably be right in the long run but like I said; 1998 till 2013 and still working. Good enough for me.

By the way I use both brass and aluminum rail on my raised railroad, track and battery power on the brass and battery only on the aluminum.

Good luck on your railroad.

Rick

#7

That was interesting, Marty, that you haven’t had any electrolysis issues in so long a time. Goue to show, doesn’t it, that reality and theory are sometimes quite different animals…

Hmmm… gives me cause to rethink a few things…

#8

thanks for the info guys…think i may have track down this summer…finally…guess I should finish up a projet loco or two and may need my plow next winter as well…

Later All…Gerry

P.S. further info welcome…

#9

Some people do fine and some people have corrosion from electrolysis, hard to predict, but checking the ph of your water, and of the soil will give you some information.

I never recommend aluminum track for track power to a newcomer, because it needs more care or better jumpering than just the stock joiners, but clearly it CAN be done.

If you do use it and grease up the connections and don’t have corrosive water/environment it can work pretty well, although you will have to remove oxidation from the rail tops or run very frequently.

Track is the foundation of your layout, I tend to try to make it maintenance free. Of course if you are going totally battery power in the future, then start with aluminum now, and it will most likely work long enough for you to convert to battery.

Greg

#10

One nice thing about the oxidation of aluminum track is that it provides “tooth” for the locomotive’s drive wheels to “bite” into, increasing pulling power and reducing slip.

I had a hill on my RR that I frequently had to double because of wheel slip, but once I replaced the Stainless track with aluminum, the trains no longer had that problem.

#11

Yeah, in my experience you went from worst to best traction. TOC has given me some results that really show the resistance.

I have stainless and it is slippery for sure. For me though it’s just add more locos, a fair trade for no oxidation or corrosion at all.

Greg

#12

Or, you could switch to battery/radio control. No worries about dirty track or corrosion.

Did I say that out loud? :slight_smile:

#13

Yes, he said the plan is to eventually go there…

But the comment does not help answer his question.

#14

Greg Elmassian said:

Yes, he said the plan is to eventually go there…

But the comment does not help answer his question.

I’m glad that I’m not the only one that bristles when Greg answers a post.

Actually, my comment does answer his question. He could choose battery power, and not worry about track power. Not everyone lives in Escondido, where moisture falling on the track at night is not a problem.

#15

and I guess I must be the only person who bristles when you answer a newbie’s question about track power with “use batteries”…

I guess it’s not cool to just answer the question?

I could have said tear up all the track and use stainless. (that would be real helpful)

I could have said, “what’s wrong with you, go battery now” and not respected his reasons that he’s not going immediately to battery?

(ahh, you already did that for me)

Hmm…

#16

By golly you bite well Greg;)

#17

Play nice…

#18

ok guys…slow down before you derail…first…I am greatful for all advice and opinins…what I do with it is on me…second…not really a newbie…more just to this board…been on others for years and playing with trains since I was about 2, from brio to N, HO even 1:1 that ran through my back yard as a kid… got into Large Scale about 4 years ago and have been slowly building up a pile of stuff to build a layout. I got busy building/painting and decaling custom cars I wanted…built a string of cars for the wifes train…repaired an aristo pacific that was sold as a parts unit and an RS-3 that was marked inoperable…pacific had a wire needing put back…havent found anything wrong with the RS-3…so i painted and lettered it…Between little projects and build ideas and the fact that our family of 4 has a 13 year old thats growing and eating like a horse, track hasnt been real high on the priority list, nor has batteries and R/C gear. This thread was to give me info to make up my mind on the type of track I go with…can I save a little and lay track or should I wait,save and stay with brass. I feal that I have decided to go aluminum from a price standpoint…until I can get all motive power switched over to batteries, I will deal with the corrotion issue as needed.

dont want to be the cause of any spats over what I thought was a simple question.

Later All, and thank you all for the help…Gerry

#19

Hi Gerry,

Have you considered AMS Code 250 brass? Five foot flex about $3.34 per foot.

Similarly priced as aluminum I believe.

#20

I have looked…My shopping place has the 5 foot AMS at just under $200 for a box of 12 the aluminum aristo is just under $150 …its close but the curve track has been the biggest issue I have had thus far…can get 10 foot curve in brass for $200 and in Aluminum for $77. For a little more than a box of brass straigh I can get a box of straight and curve…oval to start with…and switches are $40…If I decide to change later on…wont be out a lot of money…

thanks …Later All…Gerry