Ballasting Black EZ track?

[KKTrains]

Hi all,
I am creating a model with the Bachmann Black EZ track and I plan to ballast it. I am familiar with how people ballast the gray EZ and it looks good, however, I was wondering if the ballast looks as good on the black track since the ties are the same color as the bedding of the track... Does anyone have any tips and will the black track look as good as the gray after the ballast is applied? Thanks in advance for all the help!!!

[Trainman203]

If you completely cover the black roadbed with ballast it won't show.  To really look good though you should paint the track first with either a "rail brown" made by several vendors or a dark grey.  I painted my ties with a set of tie color markers and the sides of the rail with a rust point marker, then ballasted the track.  This will work on any track.  Spray painting the track before installation is something I wish I had done.

[jbrock27]

Not for nuttin KK, but do you really want to put that much work into what is steel track??

[KKTrains]

I'm not sure... is steel track really that bad? 

[jbrock27]

Black roadbed?  It is, be sure.  If for some inane reason, you think I am pulling your leg, put a magnet to the rails and see what happens.

And yes, it is really that bad.  Bad enough if it were me, I would not put the effort you plan on doing, into it.  I would with nickel silver track though.   Once you start introducing water based elements to the steel track, you are going to regret it on several levels.

[KKTrains]

Ok Thanks, I was just going to use some steel track because I already have a decent amount but I will try to start integrating the nickel-silver track in as much as a can as along as the tracks work with each other and  my budget will allow me to. Thanks for all the help!

[jbrock27]

You are welcome.

Here is the difficulty, if you have not figured this out already, with steel in general, but add water to steel and you get rust,  With rust, continuity issues.  Also, as some of my esteemed colleagues have pointed out in the past here on topics, steel is very difficult to solder to rail joiners if you have to.  These are not problems with nickel silver track.

If it was me, I would not do what you are planning with any steel track in play, even as a siding which some people relegate steel track to.  Instead, I would wait until I had all nickel silver track and then proceed.  And if you like ballasting, or the idea of ballasting, no one said you have to be married to roadbed track; you can buy n/s sectional and flex track, sans roadbed and use cork or foam roadbed and ballast away.

[gbradley]

To KKTrains
I m sure somebody said this but my first set of ez track was the black. I ended up having to cleaning it with a track cleaning pad a lot more often than I wanted to.
When it gets dirty the locomotive wheels do not pick up the electricity well and you have locos that stall.

[KKTrains]

I appreciate all the help, I'm trying to learn as much as I can... A local hobby store near me has cheap used track with out the easy connect and I'm pretty sure it's brass. Is brass better than steel and how much better is nickel silver than brass?

[gbradley]

To KK

No brass no good either. it corrodes like a brass lamp outdoors. I have test ballasted the gray ez trak and it looks fine...... use either fine HO scale or coarse n scale. But if you have to invest in something else anyway (which I do) I'd go with cork, good quality nickel silver code 70 or 83 flex track , and solder every joint or apply feeders to every piece of track.  (approx every 3 feet) using a bus.

[KKTrains]

If I use both Bachmann EZ track and Flex track, should I get Code 100 Flex Track? and will Atlas Code 100 flex track work with Bachmann EZ track?

[gbradley]

Yes you can do that. I have even seen transition track (cifferent code rail at each end)
Real rail roads do the same thing using a special joint bar......

[KKTrains]

I may do that then and try to use Bachmann EZ Track (Ill try to use as much Nickel Silver as I can) and Nickel Silver Flex Track from Atlas. Thank You!

[Trainman203]

You could use up some of the steel track at the dead ends of spurs where only cars, not engines, go.  I'm thinking of up under mine tipples and such.

[jbrock27]

No brass no good either. it corrodes like a brass lamp outdoors.

If you live in a swamp, maybe.  This is a little bit over the top, it does not corrode like that, normally.  Tarnish yes, is it better than steel, yes, does it need more cleaning that n/s, yes, is it better than n/s, no.  Is that to say I would spend $$ on it over n/s track, no, absofruitley not.  

An FYI KK, EZ track is Code 100.  

...solder every joint or apply feeders to every piece of track.  (approx every 3 feet) using a bus.

In my opinion, this is a little bit of overkill for a small, DC sized layout.  I am all for soldering rail joiners to ensure continuity and I find it easier to work with soldered sections of track when laying it out, but don't see a need in a DC layout to solder every joiner or get a feeder to every 3 feet of track.