# Bachmann Brass Track



## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

I see Bachmann advertising code 332 brass track in the June Garden Railways. They also show stainless steel hex screws as an accessory, so I guess they have screw together joiners. All sectional track, no flex track shown in the ad. Anybody else have any [email protected] url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css);


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

If you run on batteries, you dont' have to worry about the material the trrack is made of! 











Didn't this add a lot to the discussion?


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## ThinkerT (Jan 2, 2008)

Supposedly R1, R2 and R3 curves, as well as switches. 

Also supposed to be included with the new sets. 

It was talked about a bit a while back at the Bachmann site. Long overdue, from my perspective.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I think Robby at RLD has some, he might shoot you a picture. Have not heard much experience from anyone who has it. 

Actually, it turns out that there is a battery power sensor in the rail itself, that enhances the built in propensity for batteries to catch fire and explode.









It may be something in the brass compound that reacts with leaking electrolyte. 


Bachmann seems to have embraced track power as strongly as Aristo has embraced battery power. 

Makes sense from a marketing perspective. 

Greg


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

@import url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Provide...ad.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css); Posted By lownote on 29 Apr 2012 05:47 PM 
If you run on batteries, you dont' have to worry about the material the trrack is made of! 









I guess I'm a much better fisherman than I thought. Throw out the bait, and they bite within seconds !


You are correct. You don't have to worry about track material, although while aluminum is much cheaper, it is also more vulnerable to foot damage. I don't really recommend it. Also the battery pack you show is totally wrong for battery power. Don't need 20C, and 7.4V isn't going to get most locos moving past a crawl. Likewise, you don't need cell balancing, as shown in the photo, and those clunky big Tamyia connectors are really old school.


I should also point out that you really don't need to worry about what kind of rail joiners you use, as far as electrical continuity goes, because with battery power you are running your loco, not the track! No more worries about continuity between the rail joiners, turnouts, track pickups, or clean rails. You just ride on the rails like the prototype. And as far as "organic cleaning" goes, I've yet to see any bird doo doo on my rails. I cleaned them once last year, just out of habit. Sticks and ground cover over the rails .... what does that have to do with power choice? Shall we continue?


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

RLD only has straights and 8' track Mike.

I believe I heard that the holes for the joiner screws are in a different location.

I sure wish someone would buy some and comment. Strange that we have heard nothing.

Greg


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

If you have a loco with a tender, why would you put batteries in the loco? If you have a loco with no tender, sure, use a trailing car. All the room in the world. Yes, you stuck with the same consist all the time, but who cares? (Not me).

If you want to run diesels with lights in all of the passenger cars, I suggest you supply the proper batteries for each car, but with LEDs are we really talking about much current? Smoke units? Personally, I don't care about them, but I will admit they are current hogs, or so I've been told anyway.

What type or brand of ceramic jar to you recommend for charging your laptop Lithium-Ion batteries? (By the way, these are the identical Lithium-Ion cells we use for battery powered trains). And I'm sure you never leave your laptop unattended while charging, right? 
Li-Po's are a different story. They don't come with built-in undercharge protection like most Lithium-Ion cells do. That is why my products include a hard cut-off for Li-Po's in addition to the low battery warning for both Lithium-Ion and Li-Po's. 
@import url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Provide...ad.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css);


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## TonyWalsham (Jan 2, 2008)

That was a Li-Po battery being deliberately destroyed. Not a Li-Ion. 
I (briefly) considered using Li-Po on board with extension sockets for the balancing plugs, but they are so dangerous I decided it was a waste of time. 
Where I have the space available I will keep using NiCd & Hybrid Alkaline - NiMh. Where space is at a premium I will use some Li-Ion. 

BTW. The Track - Battery switch on the Bachmann Plug'n'Play pcb actually completely isolates the track power. Plus, unlike AristoCraft (AC), Bachmann have a battery input screw terminal on the PnP socket. So it could be said Bachmann are doing a better job of catering for battery power than AC are.


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

There was a discussion on the B'mann forum (or was it this one) a while back when the track first came out. I've seen it on the shelf at Caboose Hobbies. It's not too bad o' stuff as code 332 brass track goes. The ties are well done, and scale out well in 1:20.3 to "typical" (if there is such a thing) narrow gauge ties. If I recall, they measure something like 6' 6" long by 7 or 8" wideish. They're definitely a bit more "narrow gaugey" looking than LGB's ties, and much more so than Aristo's 1:29 ties (but you'd expect that.) 

Interesting that the underside of the rail is not flat--it's got a shallow inverted "V" shape in it, presumably to save material cost. It doesn't affect the outward appearance of the track at all. They do use hex-head screws (similar to Aristo) for their rail joiners. Don't know if they're identical. 

Later, 

K


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

If you have a loco with a tender, why would you put batteries in the loco? 
I was tempted to respond, but everyone else seems determined to ignore the off-topic posts, so I will restrain myself to a one word answer: weight.


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

@import url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Provide...ad.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css); Posted By Pete Thornton on 30 Apr 2012 02:57 PM 
If you have a loco with a tender, why would you put batteries in the loco? 
I was tempted to respond, but everyone else seems determined to ignore the off-topic posts, so I will restrain myself to a one word answer: weight. 
Which is good if you need the extra weight, but you may have to remove the lead weights to make room? I don't do slick installations where everything is buried. I like in all in an easy access trail car, mostly because I am constantly fiddling with things, different controllers, different batteries.

And by the way, It's my thread, so feel free to go as far off topic as you would like !

As to the Bachmann track, it sounds like a good product if it will be available in 4 or 5 foot lengths for rail bending. Hollow underside is interesting. Yes probably to reduce the brass content. Why not? Hopefully the screws are larger than the Aristo stuff. Not that many 20-20 teenagers putting this stuff together these days.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

How about those Yankees?


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Batteries used to be a good substitute for weight in the boiler, but with the Li-Ion batteries, no more. Put a speaker with a halfway decent magnet in the tender, and you're outweighing your batteries. Keep the boiler for the lead/steel/whatever weight, and move the batteries and electronics to where you can easily get to them when something goes awry. (And "when" is the operative word.) 

Later, 

K


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## work4fil (Jan 4, 2008)

Come on Greg, you know I hate the yankees... 

Just sayin'.... 


Fil


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Greg Elmassian on 30 Apr 2012 08:32 PM 
How about those Yankees? 
I love it when a plan works!


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

The plan is complete anarchy? 

Congrats. 

Greg


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## Amber (Jul 29, 2011)

Anarchy rules! LOL 
Back to the track...I bought a package of the Bachmann rail joiners for the brass rails that I had gotten well used from e bay, and the holes in the track joiners are slightly lower than the holes in the rails. I didn't have any of the proper screws for the rails so I re-tapped the holes to 2-56 and used the shortest screws that I could find in my supplies to hold the joiners on the track. The screws are slightly too long , they stick out past the rail joiner on the inside of the rail, so I re-drilled the holes in the rail joiners to create a half hole on the inside flange of the joiner so the screw will go through instead of pushing on the inside flange. The joiners seem to be of good quality, they pretty mich look like Aristo joiners, with a round hole and a slotted hole. I bought them because they were less expensive than the Aristo joiners, and they come 24 to a package.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Amber, could you post (or you could email me and I will post) some close up pictures of the Bachmann joiners... would be nice to see up close, just for reference. Funny that they would make it different, since Kader owns Bachmann and also Kader owns Sanda Kan, so all USAT, Aristo and Bachmann track is "made" by Kader... (although of course, the metal rail itself is farmed out to another company in China, it's well known that Kader only makes the ties) 

Regards, Greg


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## Pete Chimney (Jan 12, 2008)

So is Bachmann finally giving in and not putting their old-style hollow steel track in starter sets? 

The hollow track that we all started with, where if two ants and a fly are on the same spot it warps the tracks and even a bit of himidity causes it to rust right before your eyes.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I saw that, I don't think it's hollow, I think the base is "dished" inward somewhat, to save a little brass. That's how I read it, but the OP can probably clarify. 

Greg


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## rdamurphy (Jan 3, 2008)

Why not hook the batteries to the track, and use the wheel pickups to supply power to the motors, lights, sound, etc? 

In other words, Battery-Track power. 

Robert


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css); @import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css); Posted By rdamurphy on 01 May 2012 01:32 PM 
Why not hook the batteries to the track, and use the wheel pickups to supply power to the motors, lights, sound, etc? 

In other words, Battery-Track power. 

Robert 
Well the only advantage to that system, which is rather significant in some cases, is that you don't need to run A/C power out to your layout. This can be a very significant investment.

I just had an electrician here this morning giving me a quote to redo my outside A/C to the layout. I no longer need it to power the trains, since I am all battery power, but I still need it for the pond equipment. About $1000 to fix up all the kludges I put in 13 years ago and to repair some of the damage incurred over time.


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## Madman (Jan 5, 2008)

May I ask why the title of this thread is "Bachmann brass track" ?


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## Madman (Jan 5, 2008)

Never mind, doh


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## Treeman (Jan 6, 2008)

The other day I checked the profile to a piece of Aristo brass. It is identical except for the dish in the bottom. It does look like it is an idea to reduce the amount of material required. I can check a joiner tomorrow.


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## K.A.Simpson (Mar 6, 2008)

Maybe the dish in the bottom is caused by the brass being poured into a continuos mould, as the brass cools it contracts. Where as the other tracks are extruded? Probably a new cost cutting method? 
Andrew 
Sandbar & Mudcrab Railway


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

I saw that, I don't think it's hollow, I think the base is "dished" inward somewhat 
Greg, 

I think Peter was referring to the old pressed "tin" rail (if that's what it was) ? Which was completely hollow. 

And didn't someone remark that Kader (who own Bachmann) also own the factory where Aristo track is made? Seems like they'd make them both on the same production line - NG/Fn3/1:20.3 ties for Bachmann, and standard gauge (1/29th) ties for Aristo ?


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## Amber (Jul 29, 2011)

Greg, I just saw your post. I'll have to take a couple of close-up pictures of the joiners. To me, they look like Aristo joiners, with one high lip with a hole and a slot in the high lip, and they seem to be made out of brass.


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## Treeman (Jan 6, 2008)

The slot in the Bachman joiner looks like it is in the same location as Aristo. However the round hole is further from the end.


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## Peter Osborne (Jan 5, 2008)

I was making a minor change to my layout this year and purchased 3 of the 3-foot section, it being slightly cheaper than Aristo and the other alternative, I thought I'd give it a try. Totally compatible with Aristo track and I like the dark brown ties for a change over black. One great improvement is the quality of the screws provided (I also bought a pack of 25 extra screws) as they have much deeper and robust sockets for the hex driver. This means when maneuvering to get a screw inserted in a tough position, the screw actually stays on the driver very well. If nothing else, I would recommend anyone embarking on new construction to dump the Aristo screws and go with the Bachmann.


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