CMX Track Cleaning Car


Mark,

Not saying or suggesting you should.

I agree with you that "cheaper options for engines doesn't exist" and even if you find a second hand engine somewhere, often the cost and time of repairs or modifications or additions (DCC/Sound) negates the initial cost of the engine itself. So yep, "cheap engines" are virtually a thing of the past and; therefore, that option doesn't exists as such. That is why I was asking "IF' that option existed.

Needless to say, a persons financial position MUST play apart in their decisions of what to buy. Anyone who would pay for "anything" that was (in reality) beyond their means would be foolish. So, perhaps a better argument would be, if you can afford a CMX Car, then I wouldn't buy anything else.

At the end of the day, a Track Cleaning Car is not essential if you want to put the time and effort into cleaning track by hand - something I did using alcohol and paper towel for a long time before buying my HO CMX. Having one just makes life a little easier and (possibly) quicker.
 
Tony,

I'm standing on the edge of the proverbial cliff waiting to take the leap! All who have responded speak highly of the CMX car. An equivalent to the custom bicycle frame (just the naked frame itself) I paid $400 for in 1979 would cost $2,500 or more today. I'm still riding it every day and on trips all over Europe. Yep it was worth it, and this car should last a lifetime and then some as well. Besides, I don't own enough T-shirts to justify cutting them up into pieces just to clean the tracks. :rolleyes:
 
"...I don't own enough T-shirts to justify cutting them up into pieces just to clean the tracks..."
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:) Me neither.

But is does come down to affordability. As I mentioned, if you can afford one then I wouldn't buy anything else for track cleaning. If you can't then obviously you have to opt for alternatives.
 
I would love to have a CMX car but as many have stated, cost is what's keeping off my track. I have a ceiling track so cleaning by hand is labor-some. I use a swiffer dry pad with 90% alcohol, cut to fit a piece of foam board and attached to the bottom of a hopper car. For weight, I use two toe shifter pegs from my Harley. Jerry-rigged for sure but seems to work fairly well. Until the day I can afford a CMX (real meaning is the wife won't freak out) I will have to stick to my DIY.
 
wombat457,
It does work for now but the track isn't that old. I have looked at the CMX car and the Dapol/Atlas vacuum cleaning car. If the stars align just right, both will be running my tracks with either the new Athearn Genesis SD70Ace or a BLI American Freedom AF1 loco. A man can dream can't he.....lol
 
Olie,

Absolutely, I dream of having a room 40' X 30' (or bigger) for an N Scale layout so your dream of a CMX with the Atlas Vacuum Car is much MUCH more doable than mine not to mention you have a much better chance of convincing the wife :)

By the by, what scale do you work in and can you post some things about your layout and what your doing with it? Nice to follow a new build and perhaps new ideas.
 
Gentlemen,

I took the plunge and splurged on the CMX car last month! Well worth the expenditure. It took three pads (and lacquer thinner) to remove all the accumulated grime that an old T-shirt and isopropyl couldn't chase away. Pre-CMX, the tracks required cleaning every few weeks - and that's in a clean, dedicated spare bedroom with but one dust bunny generator in the entire residence. Following that trifecta of cleaning, everything is running much more smoothly and reliably, the tracks have remained problem free and all's well in the neighborhood.
 
Couldn't agree more with you Mark - the CMX IS the Rolls Royce of track cleaning cars. Nothing compares to them and that is why they are more expensive than others. In this case, you pay for quality and you actually get what you pay for for a change.

To me, $150 (N Scale) isn't a lot of money to pay for something that works as well as these cars work. Nor is it a lot of money when it cuts down on your maintenance time and improves the running of the layout. I'd much rather pay that money for one of these cars than spend the same amount (or more) on an engine or some other item. At the end of the day though, it does come down to what a person can afford at the time but they should be high on the list of items to get when able.
 
wombat457 said:
Olie,

Absolutely, I dream of having a room 40' X 30' (or bigger) for an N Scale layout so your dream of a CMX with the Atlas Vacuum Car is much MUCH more doable than mine not to mention you have a much better chance of convincing the wife :)

By the by, what scale do you work in and can you post some things about your layout and what your doing with it? Nice to follow a new build and perhaps new ideas.
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Just posted in the Layout Design and Construction section. To the OP, didn't mean to hijack your thread. I think the CMX car along with the DAPOL/ATLAS vacuum car is the perfect setup for track cleaning. Oh, adding a magnet to either would be the only other thing.
 
Olie said:
Just posted in the Layout Design and Construction section. To the OP, didn't mean to hijack your thread. I think the CMX car along with the DAPOL/ATLAS vacuum car is the perfect setup for track cleaning. Oh, adding a magnet to either would be the only other thing.
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You're forgiven. But just this once! :cool:
 
wombat457 said:
Couldn't agree more with you Mark - the CMX IS the Rolls Royce of track cleaning cars. Nothing compares to them and that is why they are more expensive than others. In this case, you pay for quality and you actually get what you pay for for a change.

To me, $150 (N Scale) isn't a lot of money to pay for something that works as well as these cars work. Nor is it a lot of money when it cuts down on your maintenance time and improves the running of the layout. I'd much rather pay that money for one of these cars than spend the same amount (or more) on an engine or some other item. At the end of the day though, it does come down to what a person can afford at the time but they should be high on the list of items to get when able.
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Tony,

Who's Mark?
 
wombat457 said:
Ahh crap - sorry mate I was looking at another post at the same time and not thinking :(
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Tony,

That's OK. See what distracted surfing does to a person?! :eek: But I have to say that the Aussie term "mate" is preferable to and much more poetic-sounding than the American "bub" or "bud, or "pal."
 
While the CMX car and others such as the Centerline car, will do a good job of cleaning track, keeping it from becoming dirty in the first place might be a better solution. Not all environments are equal so one person's experience may vary from another.
A less expensive solution might be to attach a Woodland Scenics "Dust Monkey" to an axle or two and clean while you run. HO scale is about $10 for a package of four at any discounter. I have one attached to each of my cabooses and they work well. I run a track cleaning car (in my case a Centerline model) about once a year, not because it needs it, but as a preventive maintenance only.

Willie
 
GNMT76

Just out of curiosity, do you "push or pull" your CMX and what loco/s do you use? I pushed my HO CMX but only had a little GP38-2 to do it with and that wasn't all that powerful enough I don't think.
 
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