Fastrack Rusting

I've had random pieces get spots of rust. Two large loops, about 300 feet, since 2005. It is not in a climate controlled environment. Can't give you a good reason why about five or six pieces developed small rust spots. This topic has been discussed over the years with many different experiences and theories. I have realtrax, fastrack,and tubular stored under the loops and no rust has appeared. I also a loops of gargraves and atlas with zero problems. Sorry to hear about your issues. Hope it gets resolved,

 

Bob

Considering the amount of time that's passed, I would postulate that you have finally worn off whatever plating is on the rails to keep them shiny and rust-free.

Bill,

    This is not the 1st time I have heard of the newer FasTrack having some rust problems, all my older FasTrack does not rust when kept in normal humidity. All I can say is try to find some older 1st generation FasTrack if you want to stay with FasTrack, you can always use the Atlas as a subsitute also.  My inner oval is RealTrax also!

PCRR/Dave

I don't know why your Fastrack is rusting now or why it is rusting period.  I live in Oregon where the humdity and moisture is high.  I have had my Fastrack on the layout for over 10 years and noticed only a few tiny surface rust spots.  Good luck with your Realtrax.  I'll stick with my wonderful Fastrack and switches, the best.

 

Steve, Lady and Tex

My layout is not climate controlled here in super humid florida.
I have had a few issues with fastrack rusting but the culprit was from my own sweaty hands.
I fixed the rust problem by wiping the track down with PBblaster.
Although some of the track pieces are dis colored, the rust is gone.

No problem here in SE Pa. I've had FT for about four years. We have a high water table, meaning there is more moisture. I did moisture-proof the basement, where my layout is, with sealant. I also have book cases under the 4-foot high layout, which serves as a barrier. I also have carpeting on the floor; nothing fancy, just the indoor/outdoor type, which I have in layers. And I have  backdrops to the ceiling, which also serve as a sort of insulator. Last, I added soil to the foundation on the outside to make things tighter. And I have central air/heating and keep a constant temperature all year round.

 

I had a couple of engines and a few pieces of rolling stock on display in shelving units when I resided in the "humidest" state of all, Hawaii.  Probably another reason why model railroading isn't big over there.  The fastrack sections they were on really rusted after a couple of years.

 

Fastrack rusts usually in humid environments.  The only thing you can do is keep it clean and replace rusty sections as needed.

I have a 10" Fasttrack Straight section that I bought with some used track that has a rust spot on it.  I think a little sand paper and some oil will fix it.

I live in Arizona, a dry heat right?  Well, I have some of mine with rust spots.  I notice it happens on track that has had some major shorts or sparks on them.  But since it's for a carpet loop that I take up and down a lot, I don't worry about it.  Running trains on them rubs off the rust just like the real thing.  So maybe you just don't run your trains enough.

 

Also, do you ever use WD-40 or a 3-in-1 oil?  These are both bad and will cause things to rust, believe it or not.

My  Fastrack started to rust so have also changed to MTH RealTrax  ,have found my super streets is also rusting.

James

I used to own a 1973 Buick CFentury and it rusted out.  Maybe the steel used for Fastrack is made out of the remains of that car.

I had a few pieces of Fastrack get some rust spots.  Cleaned it up with a greenback scotchbrand sponge and Crc silicone spray,  then cleaned track with 90% alcohol to remove the silicone.  So far so good.

FWIW, I had the same problem on the track used at my work bench. I bought my track used. Come to find out the previous owner used abrasive pads like Scotch-Brite to clean the track. By his doing so all the plating wore off.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

So ,I did it by using a scotch brite pad and denatured alcohol to clean track

cleaned it every 4 months or so and finally wore off plating.Maybe I should replace it with new fastrack because I can get the same radius.this is just a small  40x60 loop

on a much larger layout with all realtrax

thanks to all for your comments

I had some newer Fastrack(about 3 years ago) and it too would tarnish very quickly compared to my old style tubular. So I traded off all the Fastrack at a train show for an MTH engine I wanted.

No problems so far with Fastrack. Layout has been up for about 6 years and not had any issues with rust. Touch wood.

Mind you I have only used Meths or Lionel track cleaning fluid and for really bad areas the track rubber/Garryflex block.

 

Nick

The weak spot for FasTrak seams to be sporadic rust problems and cleaning.

I always use commercial grade iso-propanol with good success. No rust so far after 4 years, and that's in humid gulf coast Florida.

 

Here in super dry Alberta a friend of mine has a small 2 loop setup of new FasTrak and has a dickens of a time keeping it clean. Go figure. And he also has electrical connection issues, which I have never had??

 

Simple Green is out, right?

Rod

Sounds like it his the luck of the draw if you get Fastrack that is suspect to rust. Sure would not use it in areas on the layout that can't be reached easily.

Unless the RealTrax has changed from when I tried it, I sure wouldn't replace Fastrack with RealTrax!  I'd consider some other track system like Atlas, that won't rust at all.