I have a slight problem/situation with some Code 100 flex track I purchased. The person I bought it from indicated he had it for about 18 years and couldn’t remember if it was Steel or NS. There are about 110 pieces and they were in a fabricated cardboard box, so no name on it. There is also no name on the bottom of the track, except for the letters FG and Italy (maybe AHM / Rivarossi?). It was a super buy (at a garage sale) and I couldn’t pass it up.
How can I tell if its Steel or NS? Is there an easy way? I plan on using it either way, but was very curious. Any thoughts?
All of my 20+ year old HO flex is nickel silver. I don’t think I have ever seen plain steel flex. I would think oxidation, as in rust, could be a problem,
Steel rail was marketed for smaller-scale model rail during the Korean War years because of the high price of brass then. (Of course, nickel silver rail has been “in” since the 1960s.) I haven’t seen evidence of it since. Steel rail would likely be rusted now. NS rail is a whitish-silver, leastwise to my eyes.
I do have a couple of pieces of steel rail curved track and it definitely has a distinctly bluish color compared to NS. I would try the magnet idea as well. If you were to use it and you weren’t sure if it was NS or steel, just put it in a very accessable place where you can clean it often. I’m not sure if there is some sort of conductive paint you could use to coat just the rail to keep it from rusting as well.
I seem to remember Tyco or some other mfg selling steel sectional track “back in the day” (in the '80’s) but I don’t remember steel flex track. I agree with trying a magnet or spraying down a small piece with salt water to see if it rusts. Of course, if for some reason it is stainless steel, neither would work, but you could try city water with chlorine and see if it reacts. Having said that, I’ll agree with the previous post, put it somewhere you can get to it easily to clean it - perhaps a staging yard.
I knew a modeler that used “Trusteel”…He placed it in a container of water,let it soak and then allowed it to dry and “cure” while he built his 18" x14’ ISL…
The results?
A very realistic looking weed covered abandon section of track in front of a “closed” factory…IIRC he “planted” a scrub tree in between the rails.
First of all, thanks for all the advice. It is appreciated. I tried the magnet and it picked up the track, so I figure it’s steel. But there is no rust on any of it. Just some coating (maybe midew?) that seems to come off with Isopropyl Alc.
I’m not planning to have any inaccessible spots on the layout, so cleaning isn’t a problem.
If that flex track is nickel silver, it’s probably the same stuff that is sold today as Model Power’s brand. I’ve used close to 500 pieces of MP flextrack on a large HO scale club layout. Once it is in place and ballasted, you can’t tell the difference between it and Atlas flex track. The mark on the MP flex track is ‘GT Italy’ and not FG, so perhaps they’re different.
You may be able to tell the difference by cutting a rail with a Dremel – steel should be much harder to cut than nickel silver.