# track-brass vs steel



## kingfisher (Dec 6, 2010)

I have a mixture of brass track and steel (i think it is steel. bright silver looking) track. Can you mix and match these tracks? Do you lose contectivity? 

Is brass better than bright silver??


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

From an electrical conductivity (and mechanical connection) standpoint, you can certainly mix and match. That said, brass track will tarnish / oxidize rather quickly, and it's definitely more of a chore to keep its rail surface clean.

Important:

There are actually TWO types of silver-looking tracks. Steel (perhaps as you mention), which is lower-grade stuff, tarnishes quickly, too. And then, at the higher end, there's nickels silver track (which has the same steel color look), but is a much higher alloy metal that is much less prone to tarnishing / oxidation.

For the most part, anyone buying new track today is heavily leaning towards nickel silver, for maintenance, cleaning, and corrosion reasons.

So, to answer your question ...

Brass vs. steel? Both lower end ... not a huge difference, in my opinion.

Brass vs. nickel silver? Clear answer ... nickel silver is the way to go.

Cheers,

TJ

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NOTE ... DID YOU MEAN TO POST THIS HERE IN THE G SECTION, OR DID YOU INTEND TO POST IN HO? I SEE YOU HAVE THE SAME THING IN HO, TOO. MODS ... MIGHT WANT TO CLEAN UP A BIT.


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## tkruger (Jan 18, 2009)

There are three basic types of track, Brass (golden color), steel (silver color) and nickel silver (silver with a slightly different color in some light. Brass will tarnish and cause some performance loss. The steel wil rust and be harder to clean than the brass ever was. Nickel silver will resist corrosion. Over time some dirt may build up on it bt that is true of anything.


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## Smokestack Lightning (Oct 31, 2010)

kingfisher said:


> I have a mixture of brass track and steel (i think it is steel. bright silver looking) track. Can you mix and match these tracks? Do you lose contectivity?
> 
> Is brass better than bright silver??


No problem with connection. Maybe a little galvanic reaction over time. Dissimilar metals don't like each other.


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