Cleaning N-scale loco wheels?

[chimmike]

I've got some locos, N scale, that haven't been run in, hmm.....probably 13-15 years now. I can get the 0-4-0 and 0-6-0 to occasionally pick up the signal on fresh new track, but the lifelike gp38-2 and lifelike FA-1 won't pick up the signal at all now. I'm sure the wheels are terribly dirty...as I ran some brand new bachmann dash 8-40's on the track and they ran smooth as silk.....

suggestions?

 

[WCWBrassHat]

I have a Kadee wheel cleaner that works real well at cleaning wheels. A lot of guys around here put rubbing alchol on a paper towel laying on the rails. Then put some of the dirty wheels on the paper towel and let the engine run. It is hard to do if the engine picks up power on only one side of each truck. If the wheels are really gunked up, you might have to scrap the wheels with a small screwdriver to get the engine to pick up well enough for the paper towel to work.

Hope this helps!

 

[UP2CSX]

I have the Kadee wheel cleaner as well and it works very well with minimal effort. As Glenn wrote, if you really have a build up of crud on the wheels, using a jeweler's screwdriver to scrape it off before final cleaning is a good idea.

 

[chimmike]

well, on one of them, a life like pennsy PA1, I've cleaned the wheels and contacts are all good. It's picking up power, but the motor isn't turning....i'm curious as to what the problem could be.