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Over on the Bachmann forums, HO, about 8 threads down from the top is a thread entitled "Track Cleaning." Some of you may have seen it but I bring this up because it turns out to be the best and most thorough one I've ever read.
Yes, my 2 cents is there too under "K487", but the point is that there is info there I've never considered before, particularly by "Doneldon" and "Jim Banner", and I've been model railroading for 50 years. You might find it as helpful as I did.
Thanks. Every model forum I have been on over the years has dozens of those threads, each one replete with posts from all sorts of experienced modellers who insist their method works and is the best they have found. They use everything from cardboard to paint thinner to sand paper to steel washers to Wahl's Clipper oil and even metal wheel polish compounds such as Mother's. I even tried auto transmission fluid last fall because I was about to decommission my layout and had little to lose. It didn't do any harm. Can't say it did any good.
If a layout's room is relatively dust free, and if you run metal wheels around the track system about once every week or so, you are likely to have no problems with dirty N/S track. If you overlube, or if you like smoke in steamers, expect problems.
Some good pointers were made, I felt CNE made some very good points in that it many times become necessary too mechanically remove rail crud [RC] from both the rail and wheels as well as the occasional wipe down maintenance. Also that it is necessary to clean both the Loco drivers and car wheels to keep RC from developing any sooner than necessary.
I can attest to that as even though I'm building my C&S Short Line RR in a finished off garage I do most of the cutting of materials in there too so there is a fair amount of dust and I also tend to be a fairly liberal applier of light oil and light gear lube to my locos which probably doesn't help the rail head stay too clean either.
What I've used for a long time is a combination of things from my MDC Early Box Cab Diesel TC which does a pretty darn good job with four very lightly abrasive pads that ride on the track head to bright boys to just a general wipe down which all work but with most anything that is hand held such as the bright boy any items close to the track are too easily and most often disturbed even when attempting to be careful.
What I have on order, from my wholesale distributor, is the new Tidy Track Cleaning System from Woodland Scenics. After watching their video and even talking to Trevor, who demonstrated the product in the video, it seem like a very good and well thought out overall method to not only clean the rail easily but also cleaning the loco drivers as well as the car wheels very easily too! I'll be trying it out very shortly to have first hand knowledge.
The hand wand with the swivel head seems like the perfect thing to use to wipe over your rail without bumping into things on either side even in fairly tight areas and it comes with a selection of 4 different grades of clean pads as well as a bottle of cleaning solution. Oh, the cleaning pads can be washed with mild soap and warm water and reused a few times before they need to be replaced and the same goes for the driver cleaner pads.
I have the complete system on order for my own use as well as another set for a local customer.
Let me know if I can be of any further help if you want the system?
Good thread, thanx.
I've heard so many people praising Whal clipper oil before and I've run on layouts that it's used on. Personally I never have used it myself due to the grades on my past layouts but I do plan to on the next one.
Reminds me of the times I've run in the mountains where they had mounted flange greasers on the tight curves that were on a grade, oh what a joy that was (not)!
I've also heard that no-ox is very good on electrical contacts by folks in the business.
I have run wet track for decades and I would never go back to dry. There are some things to be aware of but the benefits outweigh the issues to where I'd never consider running dry track again - especially since I switched to DCC 13 years ago.
I don't use Wahl oil, although I was aware of it at the time I first tried using LaBelle 108 on my track. It worked stupendously well so I've never used anything else.
The problems I'm having now have to do with running on carpet - aging carpet. I had very few problems and could get by with a mechanical cleaning once a year, or more often if I let it sit too long between runs. But the carpet fuzz is getting worse, and it's to the point that I will probably dismantle the Kato Karpet Route well before I have any trains running in the basement, I hate to say. Either that or considerably downsize the Kato to where it's easier to maintain - right now two rooms and a hall, and going in and out and under my office furniture it's just too much trouble to keep it clean. It's not the oxidation or crud that is the problem it's the ever-increasing fuzz that gets picked up and wound around axles. I *never* had this problem the first 4-5 years, but it has gotten much worse since 2007 and I think it's just because this builder-grade carpet is well past its prime.
The mechanical cleaning to remove built up crud requires some effort, but I also need to vacuum up the fuzz constantly and it's just a losing battle if I don't completely pull up the track and vacuum deeply with a beater attachment.
I think the Karpet Route has served its purpose but right now anything I run on it will need a thorough disassembly and bench cleaning sooner than later. Lead unit acts as a carpet sweeper. I was running three Atlas GP40-2s, and the lead unit simply quit running due to the loads of fuzz on the axles. Other two were fine and *still* are fine. But all four axles of the lead need to be removed and hand cleaned.
I do like being able to keep trains running - it keeps me interested and I've rarely gone long in life without having *some* way to run trains. But at this point, dismantling the Kato might be more incentive to push forward on the basement layout and keep going. There have been far too many delays, diversions, and setbacks.
Clean,Clean, Clean. I clean my track and wheels about every 4 month for the last 8 years. Use mineral sperits (pain thinner). Takes about 1 hour and never had a problem. I run trains everyday in the basement. Some of my plastic wheel never pick up any crud.
Sometimes only one wheel (metal or plastic) on the same car will be caked with crud while the others are still clean.
....but when I went to respond to that discussion it did not let me? I saw some little 'lock symbol' on one posting, so I wondered it that discussion had been 'locked'?? Some interesting comments from experienced model railroaders.
I wanted to ask about the 'oxidation factors' of the rails, and the use of plastic wheeled rolling stock. So I started a new conversation on that forum: http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/213344.aspx
