Any opinions on old Atlas track?

For the first three or four years that Atlas track was manufactured, they used brass rail plated with nickle.  After awhile, the plating wore off and then the rail was difficult to keep clean and was a poor conductor.  Later batches of the track used solid nickle silver rail and are OK.  If you  look at a cross section of the rail, you can tell if it is solid nickle silver or plated.   Also, the old Atlas is modeled after European track (no spikes), whereas the new Atlas does have spikes.

Phil,

 I am sending you an e-mail.

I have a large quantity of the older Atlas flex track and plan on using it on my next layout.  I think it is fine.  However, I think $5.00 per section is overpriced.

Is Atlas flex in the 6000 series all Nickel Silver?

Al Hummel

I think the new atlas looks like the rail cross section is too "clunky" or thick to me.     I have a layout built with the old stuff that has been in use since 1992 and it still runs fine.   I have added to it and still have some in stock, so I have not bought the new stuff from either ME or Atlas.

A note on price, I was paying 3-4 dollars back in the early 90s buyiing the old atlas.   It was all that was available at the time by the way.    So I think the $5 a 3 foot piece is not that bad for new track.   And it is really good if solid nickel silver.

Also, the old Atlas is tempered.    It tends to stay straight, in springy kind of way.    This makes it very easy to lay it into smooth curves without kinks.     I have worked some with ME and the stuff I handled was not tempered.   It was very soft and bent very easily and held the bend.    I found it much more difficult to lay it in a smooth curve.    I don't know whether the new Atlas is tempered or not.

I think the new Atlas is tempered.  I have to run it through my Fast Tracks rail bender 5 or 6 times to get it to hold the desired curve

Wes Morgenstern posted:

For the first three or four years that Atlas track was manufactured, they used brass rail plated with nickle.  After awhile, the plating wore off and then the rail was difficult to keep clean and was a poor conductor.  Later batches of the track used solid nickle silver rail and are OK ...

I have brass rail on parts of my HO layout and it's not a significant maintenance issue. I run rail wipers regularly, and regular rail traffic helps keep it from tarnishing. It helps to shine it up every 5 years or so with very fine sandpaper. Maybe brass rail is more problematic in damp climates?

prrjim posted:

I think the new atlas looks like the rail cross section is too "clunky" or thick to me.     I have a layout built with the old stuff that has been in use since 1992 and it still runs fine.   I have added to it and still have some in stock, so I have not bought the new stuff from either ME or Atlas.

I have both newer Atlas flex and Microengineering, and the difference in the shape of the rail is negligible. ME is much stiffer.

Simon

Thanks so much to everyone who responded. I'm not sure what to do. I don't want the brass stuff and if I cut into the piece I have and if it is NS all the way through how do I know the rest of the track is the same. Since I don't know the original owner there's no way to tell. And Wes mentioned about the lack of spikes. I didn't notice this but upon review of it I have to say I don't care for the European style. I could see using it some place where the track is hidden but I was going to use it for a yard. Ah, maybe I will buy it just in case. I will think about it some more. It is significantly cheaper than the new Atlas stuff especially with both AM Hobbies and JD Trains out of the picture. 

Phil,

Have you tried Norm Pullen at Norm's O Scale? Also, if you are using the track in a yard you could cover the ties with cinders so only the rails are seen.

Hudson J1e posted:

Thanks so much to everyone who responded. I'm not sure what to do. I don't want the brass stuff and if I cut into the piece I have and if it is NS all the way through how do I know the rest of the track is the same. Since I don't know the original owner there's no way to tell. And Wes mentioned about the lack of spikes. I didn't notice this but upon review of it I have to say I don't care for the European style. I could see using it some place where the track is hidden but I was going to use it for a yard. Ah, maybe I will buy it just in case. I will think about it some more. It is significantly cheaper than the new Atlas stuff especially with both AM Hobbies and JD Trains out of the picture. 

Bob H. is correct, check with Norm Pullen. I have dealt with Norm many times and he is a good guy. Also, keep your eyes open/advertise on the various "O" Yahoo lists, and forums. I picked up just about all my switches NIB that way. And of course there is always everyone's favorite online auction.

As for the track you have, it shouldn't take that long to file or lightly sand the ends of the rails to see if it's plated or not. If you can access a table version of a sanding disc, things should go fairly fast.

Simon

Something to know if you have any old Kusan equipment. I have several of the diesels and lots of cars. You can run the Kusan on the old Atlas track with no problem. However if you try to run  Kusan on the current track, the flanges hit the spikes! The old Atlas track, as mentioned, did not have spikes so the Kusan flanges just cleared them! No such problem exists on Gargraves! My quirky Kusans run beautifully on Gargraves!

The old Atlas rail is .009" taller than the new Atlas rail.