Model Railroading > Nickel Silver track ?

I want to know if the nickel silver track we use is plated or is it mixed in the brass?
The reason is still has to do with the dirty wheel/track issues I posted about a couple of weeks ago. As we were taking down the train layout, I set up at local bank during Christmas, I ran a powerful magnet over the track and immediately picked up pieces of magnetic material. I know that nickel is magnetic. I know the plating on all of the wheels is wearing off. I wondered if the track plating, if it is plated on the brass track, is also wearing off?
Thanks

It is an alloy of usually copper, nickel and zinc:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_silver

To prove it to yourself, cut a piece of rail in half.  Does it have a shiny shell, and a brassy center?  Sort of like biting into an M & M? Is it the same color all of the way through?  Like a chocolate bar?

No talking M & M's were harmed while typing this message.

Larry

''Get in the Bowl''....




Larry020 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> To prove it to yourself, cut a piece of rail in
> half.  Does it have a shiny shell, and a brassy
> center?  Sort of like biting into an M & M? Is it
> the same color all of the way through?  Like a
> chocolate bar?
>
> No talking M & M's were harmed while typing this
> message.
>
> Larry

Since you're going to ruin some rail anyway, file the end of the rail square.  You want to reuse the rail sometime.  See if any of the filings are magnetic.  If not, there was some other source.

Larry

Darryl, that might be an Aussie commercial ... (you get in the bowl!)


DKay Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ''Get in the Bowl''....
>
>
>
>
> Larry020 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > To prove it to yourself, cut a piece of rail in
> > half.  Does it have a shiny shell, and a
> brassy
> > center?  Sort of like biting into an M & M? Is
> it
> > the same color all of the way through?  Like a
> > chocolate bar?
> >
> > No talking M & M's were harmed while typing
> this
> > message.
> >
> > Larry

They all have american accents though,so thought it was played up there as well.
DK
rschonfelder Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Darryl, that might be an Aussie commercial ...
> (you get in the bowl!)
>
>
> DKay Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > ''Get in the Bowl''....
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Larry020 Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > To prove it to yourself, cut a piece of rail
> in
> > > half.  Does it have a shiny shell, and a
> > brassy
> > > center?  Sort of like biting into an M & M?
> Is
> > it
> > > the same color all of the way through?  Like
> a
> > > chocolate bar?
> > >
> > > No talking M & M's were harmed while typing
> > this
> > > message.
> > >
> > > Larry

In all the hand laid track I have done, I have never, ever had any Nickel Silver segments get picked up with a magnet.  

Never had any wear dust accumulate along the tracks from the rail. Haveing had rail down in for a.long.time. my larhe scale brass track does.leave the wear dust though. I am thinking the wheels might be steel. Like athearn blue box wheels are on the locos. Could also be the slight magnetic field from the moving current in the rails is pulling fine magnetic particles out of the air. Stired by the movent of people in and.out. and all the moeny handling equipment. since it runs all day. That is a stretch but not out of possibility. Over time a good amount would build up. I a. Betting location dust to be the culprit more than anything

Americans don't have accents, but foreigners from other countries do.  Stolen from and paraphrased from Jeff Foxworthy.

Our club has a magnet car.  It is made with a couple Kadee under track magnets.  The metal plates are glued to the car.  The magnet sticks to the plate.  It picks up some ground up magnetic material from an unknown source, along with the occasional spike, staple, and truck or coupler screw.

Larry

Dont give up on locating the source. That magnetic dust can and will damage motors and other electrical equipment.

Another possibility is that the rails are steel.  Found in cheap track from Asia and Europe a few years back.  I /think/ Bachmann still sells a line of steel rail track.  I have a few Bachmann track pieces for bench test purposes.  It makes a magnet very happy.  Nickle silver rail (also known as German Silver) is not magnetic regardless of the nickle content.  As for magnetic particles, if you have used any natural materials there is a good chance that there are magnetic particles in the materials.  Sand and dirt ballast is a usual culprit.

The wheels are from Walther's cars. The plating is worn off and the underlying wheels all have a brass color.  I have some very strong ceramic magnets and some from a disc drive and they do not pick up "atmospheric iron" as a source of the magnetic "dust." 

The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Nickel silver is named for its silvery appearance, but it contains no elemental silver unless plated.
I doubt the 20% Ni will make the total magnetic.  I have posted before that my nickle-silver track is not magnetic..  If your track is magnetic I would say its steel track. I recall you have said several times that the "dust" is magnetic, but I dont recall if you said you tested the rail and the wheels with a magnet?  There can only be three sources for the magnetic material: rail, wheels and off layout sources.. Did I miss anything?
Roger Beckett



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/17 23:59 by up833.