Selector and others,
I've stated that a full sized club here in L.A. has all hand laid steel rail and is my sworn testimony that they have little to no problems with it....
Yes, it will rust. But what little I've seen there is not during a 'prepped' open house, but on an off night visit here and there over decades..
They own the entire house right in a suburban neighborhood with crossbucks on the lawn...with only a screen door to enter in the warm weather..
From there you're essentially in what was the living room (and still is, but with assorted members sittin' around smilin' and waving you in.)..
From there you go thru and step down a few stairs into the layout room where all this glorious steel rail, trains, and scenery fan out in front of you !
I'll watch guys run from up in what used to be analog cab controlling in 6-7 small booths above..They've gone all DCC now. Cabs might stay....
Sometimes I've brought my own power and ran it there..usually starting at lower yard down on floor with separate roll-out giant panel (to accommodate narrow aisle way)..Very cool !! When someone goes behind you you merely roll 'er in a few inches, then back it out...
Any road (as Ringo would say) I say this only give you a feel for the grand size of the layout and room, and that with all of it it is non-problematic, great looking, steel rail.
Look, we know it rusts... But the amount, if train room is kept dry, is near zilch....
As I might have said, if there were decent priced steel flex I'd go to it in a heart beat.. Especially with the growing popularity of 'shelf/around the walls' layouts where sanding a little rust here and there (if at all) would be a cinch, to boot...
Modelers pushed and pushed for knuckle couplers after decades of the goofy stuff..and got em'. Then we wanted and pushed for independence-of- loco control other than via analog blocks, and we go it...We got the very problematic brass finally replaced with NS rail offered...
There are a great many very serious modelers out there who still want even more realistic commercial track..
To me, at least, a return to steel rail would be the answer to that, as, again, plastic (delryn) ties would end the nuisance of the old metal spike against steel, the way most rust took hold back then; that, and with the likelihood the separate wood ties or Tru-Scale wood roadbed holding moisture enough to ignite the problem, if you will..
A 'sea change' like this could/would be a boon to the hobby; getting the real, gray, burnished-shiny-atop, not amber, not orange, blue-gray steel rail, same as the 1:1 boys !!
Anyone agree, disagree ? Either way, curious to what you think....