# Mixing Nickel/silver and brass track



## penlu (Dec 9, 2010)

Is this a bad idea? I have a lot of each. 

I will be running basically the "toy" trains, no DCC. I'll have at least 3 separate lines.


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## x_doug_x (Jun 21, 2010)

shouldn't make a difference. i dunno how good of a conductor nickel silver is, but brass is excellent. the only 2 downfalls i could see is 1 obviously it's gonna be noticable unless hidden. and 2

it "might" run a little faster in the brass sections than it does in the nickel silver. again, i don't know how good of a conductor nickel silver is. it may not be as good as brass. but other than that, you shouldn't have a problem.



i say go for it, let me know if there is any noticable difference. i doubt it though.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Not really...Brass just takes a little more work to keep clean. If you run a cleaner car with your trains you'll never even know it. If you want it to look better just paint the rails and ties and then take the paint off the tops and it will look great!
Nickel silver is as good a conductor and it doesn't tarnish like brass!


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## concretepumper (Jan 2, 2011)

I have brass mixed with silver running DC. Seems to work fine. I did the same because I have a ton of both. I wonder if DCC would run on this combo?


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## x_doug_x (Jun 21, 2010)

it should.


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## penlu (Dec 9, 2010)

Thanks guys! I never thought about painting track until I read it on another page this morning! 

I plan to use FleckStone spray paint for ballast over a layer of 0.031 inch cork roadbed. Base is 3/8 inch plywood.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

I buiilt a simple HO layout about a year ago, incorporating many of the things (cars, accessories, etc.) that I had way back when I was a kid. As such, I used quite a bit of my old brass Tyco track, and mixed it in with new nickel silver track (flextrack, swithes, etc.)

I'll need to clean the brass a bit more often, and the color difference would make a purist or detail-nut queezy, but it works just fine for me ... I like the fact that I'm using/running stuff from my childhood.

I'll add this tip ...

Throw all of your old rail joiners (little rail-to-rail clips) away, and buy a few packs of new ones ... much tighter with better grab.

Regards,

TJ


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## penlu (Dec 9, 2010)

Thanks for the tip! on my old layout I had soldered all the joints together, so we have a lot of cleanup to do, getting all the old solder off. I just ordered a bunch of new joiners.

If it weren't so cold out there, I'd be out playing instead of on this stupid computer! But it's just now up to 15 degrees..... I am so ready for spring!


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Soldering is great, if you're willing/able to go that route ... nothing wrong with that!

TJ


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## penlu (Dec 9, 2010)

LOL! First you have to know how to solder! I taught myself... not well.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

I feel you on the cold side of things! We use wood for heat and I'm burning trees like mad. It got down to 10 last night but we are supposed to warm up to 36 today and 39 tomorrow YEA Heat Wave!!


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## penlu (Dec 9, 2010)

PS... I'm an old lady that all my childhood I asked for trains for Christmas (second only to a pony), and always got dolls! ICK! Finally now that I'm in my 60s I have TRAINS! And a place to bulid em!


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## penlu (Dec 9, 2010)

Uh, we were -10 this morning. My wonderful old garage/house had 2 woodburning stoves in it that were supposed to come with the place, but the lady's son took em. I have tons of trees that need to be thinned, would make great firewood.... sigh.

I did buy a propane tank heater.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

We have allot of trees up here!!! I live on 12 1/2 acres and we still have allot more trees that need to come down. I almost didn't get enough wood put up when the snow started flying, but I think we are going to make it. We bought it in mid July and I only had a short time to get everything ready for winter. This year will be better!
Oh and if you want "special" treatment for being a seasoned female..... Your just another train nut like the rest or us nuts!:laugh::laugh::laugh:
Everyone on here loves to help anyway they can, so I hope we do!


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## penlu (Dec 9, 2010)

Love the "seasoned female"... thanks! 

I moved from 10 acres of virtually no trees (and 26 horses) to 1.3 acres of dense forest (and no horses) in October! I'm only about 200 yards from the "river" so have a lot of trash trees, elms, cottonwoods, etc.

Thankfully I have wonderful neighbors, one keeps his horses in my "pasture" and in return takes care of the place.... wants to cut down a bunch of elms! YAY!!! My other neighbor is a landscape maintenance guy and he's really into the trains with me... and he takes care of my fruit trees etc!

I never thought I would think of black walnut trees as weeds... but there's a ton of em.


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*Love Black Walnut Trees!*

Hey Penlu just watch out for any Dogs around your Black Walnut Trees because they attract...SQUIRRELS,squirrels,SQUIRRELS!!:laugh::laugh: Hey show us some pics of your trains and I too mix brass and N/S without any problems!:thumbsup:


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

concretepumper said:


> I have brass mixed with silver running DC. Seems to work fine ... I wonder if DCC would run on this combo?


i have a cup i use to drink hot tee from. I wonder if i could use it to drink hot coffee


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## concretepumper (Jan 2, 2011)

tankist said:


> i have a cup i use to drink hot tee from. I wonder if i could use it to drink hot coffee


Aren't I allowed dumb questions until I have more the 100 post's here? :dunno: 
But now that I think about it----DUH! If it conducts electricity it should be good to go right?


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## Xnats (Dec 5, 2010)

tankist said:


> i have a cup i use to drink hot tee from. I wonder if i could use it to drink hot coffee


rofl - never that is just un-civilized. They named coffee cups, coffee cups for a reason :laugh:


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

penlu,
I actually know the area your in fairly well, or I should say I knew it when I was younger. My family raised Angus cattle and 3 bars Quarter horses somewhere around 150 head of horses. We had allot of leased land down there in the red dirt land! 
Side note and funny story: Train buffs this is going to be boring!
I got my first horse from down your way, I was 5 and it was my late X-mas gift, Our main ranch was up outside of Longmont, Colo., middle of the state, Green everywhere back then. It was a 2 year old that we had gilded, well after working with him all summer I got him worked into really rideable. So it was off the ranch for his first trail ride down the road, well we got as far as the neighbors drive and he spooked and threw me!
Caught him up at the hay pile back at the ranch and tried again, headed the other way up the road got to the other neighbors drive and spooked again, I managed to hang on but it was a rodeo!
I tried several more times with the same effect, finally I gave up went back and tied him to the fence and was brushing the dirt off me from the first fall to ground and took off my flannel shirt and was standing there in my tee shirt and that dang horse went nuts about stomped me in the ground like a snake. I scrambled away just in time, shaking my head. About to go get the gun and plant him!!! I finally realized what was going on!
That dang horse never had seen White and was scared to death by it, The neighbors both had white mail boxes and I had a white tee shirt on.
Never would have thought about it we did have a white horse trailer but after riding down all the dirt roads down there it was always red!
Oh and after 15 years that dang horse still hated white!
Wake up it's over!


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Wait! I missed it! Dam I'm writing a book and I missed it!
tankist is really going to torque off some golfers drinking their golf tee's:laugh::laugh::laugh:


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## Bangor and Aroostook (Jan 23, 2011)

Wow! From coming from the cellar (where, so help me, I was getting my initial experience at soldering track - brass, by the way) to watch Sam Elliot DVD (Louis L'Amour's THE QUICK AND THE DEAD), to catch this conversation of soldering, firewood, ("ELM WOOD BURNS LIKE A CHURCH YARD MOLD, EV'n THE VERY FLAMES ARE COLD"), and horses - I'm not used to a forum that topics sidetrack as quickly/easily. I like it! Track isn't hard to solder with a small soldering iron (kind of like a woodburning pencil) and thin (electronics type) solder. I tried to keep the solder on the outside of the rail. What got on top was easily removed with a small file.


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## penlu (Dec 9, 2010)

Been there, done that. My gelding who was supposed to be my "old lady's horse" was 18 going on 2 when I gave him away because every time I took him out on the dirt roads he dumped me! Gave him to an 11 year old boy whom he absolutely adores! They take him to the mountans, ride him all over the dirt roads, and he's the steady one! And he's giving lessons to 5 year olds.

Trains are safer! And CHEAPER!


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## modeltrainhead (Nov 15, 2009)

well my track plan is well i use brass for staging if you wanna see my plan its based on passenger ops btw MY BIRTHDAY WAS FEB 4th got sum gooooooooood TRAIN STUFF MORE TURNOUTS AND MY FAVORITE DCC YAY

my track plan is awesome if u wanna see it its in The other forum


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