Does track wear out
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(In Topic #13548)
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I have over the years found it necessary to replace the occasional st of points but have never had to replace track -
How would identify track that needed replacing ?
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Nigel
©Nigel C. Phillips
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The older rails have held up well but the plastic sleepering has given way, particularly on curves, largely because it was living in a shed for well over 30 years with the extremes we get here (from 0C to 40C plus. I have removed oxide on occasions with Aluminium Oxide and Wet and Dry Paper to burnish the rails. Mine is all Code 100 so I would expect that under 4 or 5 thou of an inch lost (… if that) for the most severely used and abraded track.
However some track manufacturers rail is quite brittle so wear could be much higher. I have some sections of Roco and Atlas but mainly Peco track on the layout and I have not detected on some of those sections which are at least 35 years old. However I have seen some horribly worn Lima and other brands of track over the years but I doubt most of us would be using them.
Cheers
Trevor
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But the plain track, Peco Code 100 Streamline, hardly ever gave trouble. I had a couple of heat buckles but even then allowing for conditions that was a remarkably small number of failures. The actual rails themselves never wore out despite the conditions and having to be rubbed down before every running session. A few of the oldest sections of track I thought showed signs of wear and tear but nothing I could measure. The plastic bases also survived though they became brittle over time. But if left alone no harm came to them.
Even when the layout was dismantled most of the plastic still flexed readily and the metal rails looked perfectly good though definitely not new.
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Based on your replies I will just sit back and run my trains since it is almost certain the track will last longer than I will….. :sad: :shock:
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Now I've finally started a model railway…I've inherited another…
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Anyone have info regarding how E-Z Track endures the years?
The plastic goes very brittle and the connectors will break.
Nigel
©Nigel C. Phillips
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Oh well back to the asylum
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I have had track break. Not the rails themselves, but points and sleepers can disintegrate over long periods in adverse conditions. Peco code 100 track is pretty close to indestructible, but some other brands I have tried in the past had very brittle sleeper bases and chairs.
Jeff Lynn,
Amateur layabout, Professional Lurker, Thread hijacker extraordinaire
Amateur layabout, Professional Lurker, Thread hijacker extraordinaire
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