Wow! This was decided long ago

Brass when it oxides creates a nonconductive compound.  NS rail when it oxides creates a compound that is conductive.  This is a no brainer.

Yup; brass is trouble

Depending on your climate, it only takes a day or two for brass track to accumulate an oxidized film that makes your engines jerk and stall; you have to clean brass constantly to keep it from giving you trouble.  I know nickel-silver is expensive (especially turnouts), but it will save you endless aggravation.  I also have searched online (Craigslist, mostly), and it is possible to find NS track for sale used.

Good luck!

...

Don't throw your bras rail out.  Remove the ties and bundle it up, take it down to you local metal recyclers and get it analyzed for copper content.  You can get a fair price if you have enough of it.

"Don't throw your brass rail out"

    you can also chop it up into 39 foot scale lengths and use it for scenery. Stack by a MW facility or on an old flatcar or cut into smaller pieces and use as guard posts along edges of parking lots or edge of railroad property. ...DaveBranum  

I still run brass track!

I don't have a problem running brass track as everybody else has!  Is it just me?  Yes, it needs a little more attention as to cleaning but so does NS track. Don't let ANYBODY tell you NS track is maintenece free!  If you come a cross a good deal on ebay, great!  Save it for you sidings and less used trackage areas and it takes paint just fine.  Here's a good one!  OMG I have fiber tie rail in staging areas!  And guess what!  Not trouble at all!  Keep a couple of slider cars handy and some good track erasers around.  Having a layout is about running trains and having fun on a budget.  If I were to re-do my entire layout using brand new NS track, I would NEVER get to run trains because it would put me in the poor house.  At about $5 a 3 foot section it will add up fast.  DO use NS on your mainlines and more traveled sidings as it will reduce your cleaning but don't discount brass and sectional at that, for areas that won't show or is a less used siding.   

Brass is a pain in

Brass Tacks

I am using some brass right now and I agree with Nelson. My last layout was ~35 years ago, and was of course all brass. It worked fine. Yes, you have to clean your track.  This time around I have been bargain hunting and managed to buy a lot off of Ebay that had 8 Atlas NS turnouts (all new in package) along with a couple of older brass ones and a whole bunch of brass sectional pieces. My dad also bought a lot of stuff recently which had several new in package brass turnouts, which he did not need, as he is using Bachmann EZ track, so he sent me those. I now have 15 turnouts, 7 of which are brass, and I can tell you for sure that I will be using all of them. I currently have a 4'x8' Plywood Pacific test layout in the shop with 6 turnouts on it, some of them brass, and nearly all of the sectional track on it is brass too, and it works just fine. And, to be honest, under incandescent  light it can be really hard to tell the two apart. Thus far I have cleaned the track twice in two months. No problems at all, and some of the old brass sectional stuff was really grungy when I laid it. I actually figured I was going to have big problems due to the heavy corrosion on some of it, but one quick cleaning with Brasso and then alcohol, and one wipe down with alcohol in two months time and it is all working just peachy.

Does NS track look more prototypical? Maybe, maybe not. If the rail is not weathered, brass actually looks closer to real rail, as fresh steel rail has a coating of rust on it within days which is a lot closer to brass color than shiny NS. Most people who are trying to make a realistic looking layout these days weather the sides of the rails (I will) , so only the very top of the rail shows, which brings up another thing. In the little town in MI where I grew up a train would run on the rails there maybe twice a week. When the train had just gone by, the very top wear strip of the rail would mostly be polished steel, but by the next morning would have a thin brass colored haze of rust on it, if only from the dew, more so if it rained. So, the net effect was that about 90% of the time the entire rail was brass colored. Not shiny like a stainless steel spoon, which is how NS track looks. Heavily traveled mainlines and rail in dry climes would obviously have a shiny top of the rail more than this. The point is that NS track does not automatically look more prototypical.

This being said, I would not intentionally seek out brass components for a new layout. But, if you have a tight budget and you happen upon some like I did, I would not hesitate to use it. I am. 

P.S. If there are any real brass track fans reading this, I have some Truescale I will be putting up for sale in the near future. Several primo turnouts complete with original boxes and some straight sections.

I have never seen anything

I have never seen anything other then code 100 brass rail.

There is also

the notion of battery-powered locos that don't need electrical pickup.  And as mentioned for scenery too- you could use some as iron posts inside a building along a wall maybe.  I've got a bunch form the 70's running old Tyco's and I know I'll have a need for it someday.

In The Early 70's

The Okinawa Model Railroad Club used a battery powered Japanese locomotive to power our initial rail cleaning train when ever we entered the club building which was about 200 yards off the East China Sea.  We had all sort of gunk on the rails.  After a couple of trips around the mainline we were able to get our engines into play.  We also had a standing requirement to have one car in ten be equipped with a masonite dragger car.  This included al types of freight cars (hoppers, covered hoppers, box, reefer, tank, flat etc.)  It kept the track clean during the operations and managed to clean most of the sidings.

NS handles wider variety of environments

Dear ??? (Jared),

Brass may work in some environments, NS will work better (sheer wheel<> rail surface conductivity)

for longer (is the oxidisation of the metal in question electrically conductive? Brass oxide is not),

in a wider range of environments...
(I didn't see any brass rail on layouts in Moscow or Stockholm, but I saw plenty of NS!).

NS is being sold and used successfully "without any particular care or special treatment" in both hemispheres, from equator to almost-polar, IE covering almost every permutation of airborne-grot+humidity+temperature one might care to throw at a layout.

Point being, Brass may work for you, NS is far-more-likely to...
(You'll spend the $$$ wisely, and only need to spend it Once  with NS...

...can't ever recall hearing of a modeller who consciously ripped-up already-laid NS to replace it with brass,
Heard/seen plenty of brass-rail-equipped layouts that were "upgraded" to NS though... )

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

Brass track vs. Nickel Silver track

Jared,

All the above comments give valid reasons for their likes and dislikes on brass vs. nickel silver rails.  And, your question is certainly valid as well.  Sometimes those who have been at this hobby for many years forget that they also once asked that very same question.

I used brass back in the 1970's because I had not heard of, or known about, nickel silver.  Brass, as well as being difficult to keep clean for good electrical contact, can corrode quickly, turning a light greenish colour around solder joints and cause an open circuit that can be very difficult to locate.

Both nickel or brass will, in time, gather micro-sized particles of dirt resulting in bad contact between the wheels on a locomotive and the rail. So... either way you must keep the rails clean.  Nickel silver is far easier to clean than brass, should never be sanded with an abrasive, and when properly soldered will last practically forever.

I clean my NS rails, locomotive nickel wheels and rolling stock wheels with methyl-hydrate and Q-tips.  Methyl-Hydrate dries quickly and leaves no film.  In a pinch, sometimes, I will use an ink eraser for quick service cleaning on the rails. (depending on how far I have to reach across the layout)

I hope this was helpful.

G. T.

"You'll spend the $$$ wisely, and only need to spend it Once "

Yeah, brass might be cheaper but you gotta take the maintenance and running reliability into account.On a budget if it came to brass rail and two locos with 30 cars or nickel silver rail with one loco and 15 cars I'd spend the money on the nickel silver...DaveBranum

Is Brass Track Still Produced

Other then large scale...is brass track still being produced?! I've only heard of it available as second hand and in sizes code 100+.

Sounds to me, unless if Brass track for HO is actively being produced, then it is in decline. It sounds to me the industry has already determined it's fate.

Chris Palomarez

Brass Track

I have a bunch of Atlas code 100 sectional brass track that is brand new and more that is used but still OK.  I think I even have some brass flex track hidden away somewhere.

I have bought nickel silver flex and will not be using the brass for most of the reasons already mentioned.  Have used it on previous layouts but it needs more maintenance than N.S. rail.

So far I can't be bothered to try to liquidate it.  Maybe I'll model an unused siding one day to use some of it?

NO-OX your track and your cleaning chores diminish

I won't beat the brass/corrosion drum any more than it has been.  Enough has been said and it's all essentially correct.  I will say that if you treat your NS track with No-OX, per the instructions, your cleaning chores will be cut in TENTHS!  Once rail is treated, you'll likely find it only needs cleaning once a year, twice at the most.  THIS STUFF WORKS!

Just my 2 Cents.

HO, On30, battery power, and code 100 brass rail

Brass rail does develop a nice patina which is that oxide that causes electrical problems.  However, this is not a problem when using battery powered locomotives.

Code 100 rail is also a nice size for On30.  On30 locomotives also have that extra room for batteries and R/C.

Starting out with DC locomotives, it would be wise to consider battery power as an option.  Plug-and-play Battery R/C is available to large scale railroaders, and is starting to appear in HO.  Experimenters have even made it work in N scale.

As Battery R/C has developed for garden railways, the decision has been: spend extra money and time on NS or stainless steel rail and joiners; or save money on track and put it into Battery R/C.

Other folks have noted that it is possible to live with brass rail, especially on a small layout in a good environment.  So, it would be possible to use brass track and DC power to begin with and introduce battery power as time and money allow.  The ProRail system is immediately available from Ring Engineering.  It is based on a filtered DC power supply which is said to produce fewer electrical problems than DCC power.  While there is no record of anyone using this system with inboard batteries, Ring does not see any problems with doing this.

In the past, I have bought lots of brass track on e-bay bidding 25 cents per section and $5 per turnout (minus  shipping and handling in the bid total).  The savings in track costs can go a long way toward the cost of Battery R/C... and there will never be any problems with dirty track and wheels

For DC or DCC

The use of brass track is still a viable and cheaper alternative for DC users.  My understanding is that DCC is much more sensitive due the the varied signals being transmitted through the track to the locomotives.

I use straight DC with block control and have no problem using brass track.  If the track is properly cleaned to begin with, then Gleamed (do a search on the gleaming process), and run a homemade track cleaning car before each operating session brass track is very serviceable and reliable.  If it was so worthless as many would have you to believe it wouldn't be selling on Ebay for a cheaper, but still substantial price compared to what it sold for 20 or so years ago.  I have made the offer to pay shipping for anyone who wanted to get rid of their brass track on several forums and never had one person take me up on it.

I have no problem with those who want to use nickel-silver track but brass can still work well in DC applications.

Cleaning/Maintaining brass turnouts

There are 2 individual brass turnouts I intend to utilize on my new layout. They will both be within easy reach from the aisle. 
 

I imagine a combination of using this No-Ox product and perhaps the carbon (graphite) coating will make very short work of keeping these turnouts operational in fine fashion?

This was decided long ago

And yet it still comes up about once a year.  

I wonder what happened to Jared.  The question seems to have been answered.  NS FTW.

Some like Beer and some like Wine

Been running Brass more yrs. than I will admit,  and still find it fits my needs just fine.

Do not want to hurt any feelings.  But my small switching layout has not had the track cleaned for 4 months now and no stall or arcing   from the engine wheels like friends NS track!

I rather like wine from a bottle.  Free Suds are always nice too!

Boudreaux,  Brass Hat on the bayou Crest Express R.R.

No secret to what or how I keep my track clean,

DC or DCC

@ Boudreaux

Are you running DC or DCC?

D.C. Baby

Been using Brass for so long,  it just fits my needs.

And now that my Money Tree fell after the Ice storm here.  It's a joke folks.

D.C.C. is the future just like Diesel electric replaced the steamers, 

As we learned in the Scouts,  "Keep it simple stupid".

Many friends just don't have the time or money for this hobby.

Just one around the tree track to lay so far this year.  With Brass and D.C. for a beginner.

Boudreaux, B.C.E.  R.R.  in the Evening shade!

If you treat the brass with

If you treat the brass with No-Ox or Graphite it will be just as reliable as N-S.

There's nothing special about N-S.  If you put on something to stop the reaction, then brass will work.

No-Ox is intended for use with Copper. Brass is Copper and Zinc. So logically it will work, possibly better. 

Think of this, the thing that is tarnishing and getting gunk in N-S rail is the nickle in the mix. Nickle Silver after all is a mixture of Brass and Nickle.