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Just wondering what type of "life" rail (in curves) and wheel flanges have on a layout. I know on prototypical railroads outside rails on high speed curves are replaced every two years or so. Wheel flanges wear thin over time as well. Just wondering how often or if this happens on models with heavy use.
LOL... well if you're wearing out nickel silver rail, then you're running your trains hard and fast. I don't even think it's possible to actually "wear out" nickel silver rail.
Just wondering what type of "life" rail (in curves) and wheel flanges have on a layout. I know on prototypical railroads outside rails on high speed curves are replaced every two years or so. Wheel flanges wear thin over time as well. Just wondering how often or if this happens on models with heavy use.
The nice thing about model trains is that stuff very rarely wears out. In theory, if you ran your trains daily, for hours, really really fast, something would wear out, but that something would probably be the motors or shafts or whatever. The only wear-related track problem I've heard of is the point of a plastic frog wearing down over time.
I think I read in MR a while back about a guy who ran his trains almost daily, and the wheels ate through the brass sideframes until they scraped against the track. If I remember right he wore out a few brass locomotives as well, but I'm assuming they wore out internally.
I think there have been basic engine models that were tuned up and then used on museum layouts that ran for years...and years...10 hours a day.
About the only thing I would keep an eye on is the valve gear and pins/rods on a steamer, but also some tire surfaces can wear down to brass/copper if they were plated. I have some of that showing on my oldest loco, a BLI Paragon Hudson. No idea why, and had not thought a BLI engine would wear so poorly at the tires with maybe four hours of running time total on the engine.
Especially Code 100 NS rail, even brass.....it should wear very little. Brass perhaps more quickly because it does require more frequent cleaning.
A diesel or steamer with quality drives, nylon gears or brass that are properly meshed and greased every 10 hours of actual running (or three/four years, whichever comes first)...they should last a lifetime and beyond.
In fact, I hear that the sockets for the pointed axle ends on rolling stock boxcars and such will wear much earlier.
Never say never LOL. If you ever get up to Chattanooga check out the layout at the Choo Choo. They have an exhibit of worn out stuff. Wheels worn through til the flanges came off, sintered Athearn wheels worn out, and rail worn so thin it would cut your fingers. OTOH that stuff runs all day every day, so those of us with home layouts are very unlikely so have these sorts of problems.
Our club replaced track because it has weared down from code 83 to about 65-70, but they where about 20 year old, it was a medium grade, so maybe there is an increased factor here. IMO i think part of the wear was from cleaning the track using various technique
Interesting responses. I was just curious if this happened with models as it does with the real thing. About cleaning, I hear a bright boy is good and bad. I'm sure there are arguments for both sides on that.
Interesting responses. I was just curious if this happened with models as it does with the real thing. About cleaning, I hear a bright boy is good and bad. I'm sure there are arguments for both sides on that.
If the track has glue or something like that on it, then use some 400 grit sandpaper. But other than that, just clean with a rag dipped in paint thinner, it cleans it well and doesn't scratch it.
If the track has glue or something like that on it, then use some 400 grit sandpaper. But other than that, just clean with a rag dipped in paint thinner, it cleans it well and doesn't scratch it.
Goo Gone works great but needs to be cleaned with alcohol afterwards as it leaves a residue.
As for rail wear, I've seen where a loco was left spinning by mistake and wore grooves into the railhead, just like the real thing.
Here are a couple photos of inside a truck that was experiencing some wear. I've had to replace axle gears in Athearns because they cracked but I've also replaced idler gears because some were worn enough to slip. In my experience, axle gears last 15 years. The big museum in Chicago also wears out track and wheels.
at my club they are currently replacing 20 year mainline that was Code 83. The rails were worn down to around code 50 in some spots basicly the rail head was gone in some places. This is a large club that is open 7 days a week and we often run 100 car trains. it does happen but not common on smaller layouts
Hey, thats an old outside frame Athearn truck!! I love those things!
Once on the club's G gauge christmas display a train derailed and then ran into itself (as it came around the loop) and ground itself down in one spot. there were exact divots in the rail in the wheelbase of an Aristocraft switcher about 3/8 of an inch deep.
I've read that the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry's current HO layout eats up Atlas and Kato diesels regularly running them constantly. Some of the track on their original 1/48 scale (true 1/48, not 'O') layout deteriated to nothing after 50+ years.
My track is going to rot away from boredom, it sees so little action.
I've had my HO RR running for over 15 years and the track is all Atlas Flex Code 100 (and old Model Power #4 electric switches.) As of about 3 months ago I had to replace the two Atlas 12.5 degree crossing diamonds. On one diamond particular about every one out of three times over it the lead engine would start through and the front axle in the front truck would just take off on the alternate (crossing) route. I use Bachmann and Atlas diesels and they both did the same thing - so it wasn't a loco problem.
Atfter a lot of checking (and frustration) I found that the large gap where the rails crossed (all plastic) at this narrow angle (12.5 degrees) were worn down (probably from the engines' metal wheels - almost all my cars have plastic wheels), creating a larger gap where the front two loco wheels just dropped in and went "whoop" up the alternate route.
Maybe Atlas' new 12.5 degree crossing diamonds now have closer tolerances (back then they had to be wide enough for ALL types of wheel materials and spacings.) So since I had a couple of spare 30 degree (I think) crossing diamonds and enough space, I just did small reroute with these and threw the old diamonds away.
I've had my HO RR running for over 15 years and the track is all Atlas Flex Code 100 (and old Model Power #4 electric switches.) As of about 3 months ago I had to replace the two Atlas 12.5 degree crossing diamonds. On one diamond particular about every one out of three times over it the lead engine would start through and the front axle in the front truck would just take off on the alternate (crossing) route. I use Bachmann and Atlas diesels and they both did the same thing - so it wasn't a loco problem.
Atfter a lot of checking (and frustration) I found that the large gap where the rails crossed (all plastic) at this narrow angle (12.5 degrees) were worn down (probably from the engines' metal wheels - almost all my cars have plastic wheels), creating a larger gap where the front two loco wheels just dropped in and went "whoop" up the alternate route.
Maybe Atlas' new 12.5 degree crossing diamonds now have closer tolerances (back then they had to be wide enough for ALL types of wheel materials and spacings.) So since I had a couple of spare 30 degree (I think) crossing diamonds and enough space, I just did small reroute with these and threw the old diamonds away.
Would have been an easy fix with a little bit of Styrene strip, Xacto knife, small file, and glue. Just shim the flange way a bit and smooth it with a file.
I've had my HO RR running for over 15 years and the track is all Atlas Flex Code 100 (and old Model Power #4 electric switches.) As of about 3 months ago I had to replace the two Atlas 12.5 degree crossing diamonds. On one diamond particular about every one out of three times over it the lead engine would start through and the front axle in the front truck would just take off on the alternate (crossing) route. I use Bachmann and Atlas diesels and they both did the same thing - so it wasn't a loco problem.
Atfter a lot of checking (and frustration) I found that the large gap where the rails crossed (all plastic) at this narrow angle (12.5 degrees) were worn down (probably from the engines' metal wheels - almost all my cars have plastic wheels), creating a larger gap where the front two loco wheels just dropped in and went "whoop" up the alternate route.
Maybe Atlas' new 12.5 degree crossing diamonds now have closer tolerances (back then they had to be wide enough for ALL types of wheel materials and spacings.) So since I had a couple of spare 30 degree (I think) crossing diamonds and enough space, I just did small reroute with these and threw the old diamonds away.
What I've found with diamonds, regardless of the brand, is that you cannot run at high speed through them due to the way they are designed. The prototype has no problems, but in HO scale, they had to add extra wide flangeways to be safe and had to use plastic insulators where the rails meet due to the polarity difference. I agree that they wear down over time, but most of the problem has to do with the design of the diamond.
