"raden" wrote in message
...
snip

Mazak: 95% Zn, 4% Al, 1% Cu (typical).

Mazak is encountered as a die-casting alloy. It is a dreadful material
to drill and tap, and its only useful characteristic, apart from
diecasting properties, is that it has a high coefficient of friction and
therefore makes an excellent traction tyre.

Some manufacturers use Mazak for wheels, and such wheels have a bad
reputation for picking up dirt. However, like aluminium and other soft
materials, this only happens when sparking is allowed to occur, as when
an electrically-driven locomotive does not have enough pick-ups.


Going totally OT, that would be why the old Tri-ang toy railway locomotives
of the '50 and early '60 were so awful at running.