Although I will use nickel silver flex track on my (DC only) HO layout, I acquired a full box of Atlas brass terminal rail joiners, the joiners with the wires attached that thread under the layout. I intend using these every three feet with 14 gauge mains running through. My question is even though I will solder every joiner to its rail ends, and all the wires are factory crimped, will there still be an oxidation issue? Would soldering every electrical conductance point eliminate this problem? Thanks to all for your advice.
You’ll definitely have issues with this. The brass does corrode enough on its own to be a problem. Even worse is putting it up against a dissimilar metal and running electricity through it. This will cause accelerated galvanic corrossion. Even just two dissimilar metals next to each will cause galvanic corrossion by itself, but the electricity makes it act something like a slow motion battery.
You’ll be sorry if you do this.
Besides the corrosion issues, I would not solder every rail joint. You will need gaps on straight trck that allows for expansion. You can still feed each 3ft section, only skip soldering evey other joint.
If the expense of terminal joiners is the issue for wanting to use the brass ones - just make them yourself. Hour or so at the workbench and you’ll have dozens of pais, taking regular nickel-silver rail joiners and soldering lengths of feeder wire to them.
I don’t think there’s a huge dissimilar metals issue here though. Brass is copper and zinc. Nickle-silver is copper, zinc, and nickle.
–Randy
Go ahead and use them. It’s a better conductor, than N&S anyway. The outside will oxsidize, not the inside,where it matters for conductivity. You’ll probably paint them, maybe rail brown anyway,end of problem.
Frank
Back in the 1960s when I was a teenager, brass rail and joiners were common When NS became more common I mixed both never had a problem .Never heard it mentioned as a problem . Today I have a circle of brass flex track mounted on a 4x4 sheet for break in purposes I used NS joiners . I have had it for a few years and no problems. The brass rail was never a real problem it just needed cleaning more often. I think another reason for NS rail was better appearance
Ron High
This is how these Model Railroad Urban Myths get started
One person throws out an idea (with no real facts behind it) and everyone believes it!
The OP stated about soldering the joints to the track (which apparently was missed) and this would eliminate the corrosion (if it really would be a problem)!
And as for track expansion/contraction - it is the WOOD that is causing the problem (another MRR Urban Myth) and while it can be a problem - in a climate controlled atmosphere is a NON Problem!
I have 99% of my 4000 feet of track soldered and no problems - as my Basement remains fairly constant in Humidity.
The temperature will vary over a 30 degree range and has never caused any problems and we run on the layout every 2 weeks through the year.
So Solder all of the joints!
This will eliminate the possibility of a corrosion problem !
BOB H - Clarion, PA
I’ve got one or two old brass turnouts on my layout soldered to NS flex track on both ends and have had no issues 9 years later.
Our horse corral (electric 14ga high tensile steel wire) receives power from 12ga stranded copper wire twisted and clamped to it, and it will still shock the bejeesus out of you, even wearing shoes with rubber soles, unlike an animal that is much more “grounded”…
I too am familiar with the dissimalar metals corroding idea, but so far have not seen it play out significantly (in these applications yet). Maybe just lucky?
(Disclaimer: I do live in the dry Southwest, that may have something to do with it…)
Happy RR’ing!
Duane
Duane,
I think you’ve identified the issue. Corrosion of this sort can really depend on the climate. If it’s dry, yep, probably never a problem.
Now, it may be the two metals are close enough it’s not an issue. I just have trouble with the idea of using a very inexpensive component that might cause problems later. Maybe an overabundance of caution on my part. On the other hand, who wants to have to tear up track on an entire layout in, say 20 years, if it turns out there is an issue at the OP’s location?
Then again, maybe it’s just the bad experience with brass track in my wayward youth talking?[:^)]
Penny wise, pound foolish.
My greatest concern w/ using these “older” brass terminal connectors is that the wire is just “crimped” to the underside. Decent soldering and no “cold joints” would never really be an issue as most mention. That weak link of the unsoldered just crimped wire will be buried where water/ glue from ballasting may create a future problem.
I would just use new NS rail joiners and solder feeders to the rail eliminating the possibilitiy of any future troubles.
Something that is possible but has not been mentioned in any of the discussion about the Atlas rail joiners with pre-attached wires or making your own is, heat required to solder the rail joint could cause the pre-attached feeder wire to separate from the rail joiner.
Instead of soldering the rail joiners, I have developed a system of drilling a small hole in the rail web, inserting the feeder wire into this hole, and then soldering it, thereby leaving the rail joiner free to allow expansion or contraction of the rail.
From Wikipedia.
Brass is an alloy of copper and zink. The porportions of each element may be varied to to create a range of properties depending what is desired. There may also be small amounts of other elements to change the properties.
Nickel Silver is an alloy of copper, nickel and usually zink - normally in 60%, 20%, 20% porportions. It is sometimes considered a subset of brass.
An industrial engineering handbook published in 1918 gives 2 formulations for nickel silver ----
40% copper, 30% Nichel, 30% zink (suitable for casting only)
57% copper, 24% nickel, 19% zink
Brass is described as being not less than 66.7% copper and not more than 0.75% of materials other than copper and zink.
That’s why I said - I doubt there is galvanic action between the two, they are similar alloys.
The 0.75% ‘other’ on brass is new - used to be up to 4%, and most of that was lead, to improve malleability.
–Randy