Track cleaning: on or off


PrairieKnight

PrairieKnight

Active Member
I have a question regarding track cleaning. I have posted in the past about the products I use to clean my track on the layout which is in the basement of my one hundred year old home. This location makes my Atlas code 83 track susceptible to a variety of temperatures, humidity levels, and the ever present combination of dirt and dust in the basement. Track cleaning is a part of the hobby just as are operations, scenery, and modeling rolling stock and structures.

I use an old cotton T-shirt to apply WD-40 Contact Cleaner or Ronson Lighter Fuel to clean track with good results. However, I would usually clean the track while the layout is powered up and a locomotive is moving rolling stock to or from one of the industries from the yard. My son will be running the NCE system and when a locomotive points out a section of dirty track, he stops the locomotive and I use the T-shirt and one of the products I mentioned above to clean the dirty track. After we run the locomotive over the problem section a couple times without a problem, we continue with our operations.

I am working on ballasting the track. After ballasting a section of track I started cleaning track on other sections of the layout using the T-shirt and products I mentioned. The track is obviously not powered as the ballasted section needs time to dry and firm up. Is it just my imagination... or.... does it make sense that cleaning the track with the power off is resulting in less black gunk on the rails and a lot less stops for track cleaning during operating sessions. Because that is what seems to be happening during our operating sessions since I started ballasting track.

I know that many folks have track cleaning cars that are obviously putting cleaning solution on the rails while trains are running. But perhaps the products I am using attract dust and dirt when applied to a powered track. Any thoughts?
 
I use several Dust Monkeys (Woodland Scenics) with a touch of mineral spirits to clean my tracks.
While working in the basement, I'll set a couple trains in motion in opposite directions with a few weighted gondolas with the Dust Monkeys attached.
After a couple laps around the 6 1/2 scale miles of layout I'll clean them off with a rag then put a few drops of mineral spirits on em again and send em on their way for a couple more laps.

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D&J RailRoad said:
I use several Dust Monkeys (Woodland Scenics) with a touch of mineral spirits to clean my tracks.
While working in the basement, I'll set a couple trains in motion in opposite directions with a few weighted gondolas with the Dust Monkeys attached.
After a couple laps around the 6 1/2 scale miles of layout I'll clean them off with a rag then put a few drops of mineral spirits on em again and send em on their way for a couple more laps.

View attachment 206108
Click to expand...
Can you post a picture of one of these attached and in action? I'm having a hard time picturing exactly how this works.
 
PrairieKnight said:
But perhaps the products I am using attract dust and dirt when applied to a powered track.
Click to expand...
Doesn't matter if the track is powered or not WD-40 has some part of it that after everything else evaporates away what ever is left is sticky and attracts dust.

I use linen cloth as it doesn't snag on the ties as bad as t-shirt material, nor ball up.

I have never used a moving track cleaner.
 
BN-6811 said:
Can you post a picture of one of these attached and in action? I'm having a hard time picturing exactly how this works.
Click to expand...
They clip on to the axel of just about any rolling stock.
They can be on either end of the rolling stock.
Preferably, if ya put it on the trailing truck, the rotation of the axel will cause a slight downward pressure of the pad to the rail providing a bit better scrubbing action.
The pad is made of what seems to be a short nap of cloth. It can be run on the rails dry or with a cleaner applied to it. I use mineral spirits then after a couple laps around the layout I just wipe it on another cloth to clean the residue off then put it back on the rolling stock for more cleaning. It can stay on the rolling stock during op sessions too. It doesn't hang up on anything in the track and is barely noticeable.
Well worth the very affordable price. When prepping for an op session, I might put several of these on a train of rolling stock for a faster track cleaning.

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D&J RailRoad said:
They clip on to the axel of just about any rolling stock.
They can be on either end of the rolling stock.
Preferably, if ya put it on the trailing truck, the rotation of the axel will cause a slight downward pressure of the pad to the rail providing a bit better scrubbing action.
The pad is made of what seems to be a short nap of cloth. It can be run on the rails dry or with a cleaner applied to it. I use mineral spirits then after a couple laps around the layout I just wipe it on another cloth to clean the residue off then put it back on the rolling stock for more cleaning. It can stay on the rolling stock during op sessions too. It doesn't hang up on anything in the track and is barely noticeable.
Well worth the very affordable price. When prepping for an op session, I might put several of these on a train of rolling stock for a faster track cleaning.

View attachment 206130




View attachment 206131





View attachment 206132
Click to expand...
Thanks, these look really neat, I'm going to get some.
 
D&J RailRoad said:
They clip on to the axel of just about any rolling stock.
They can be on either end of the rolling stock.
Preferably, if ya put it on the trailing truck, the rotation of the axel will cause a slight downward pressure of the pad to the rail providing a bit better scrubbing action.
The pad is made of what seems to be a short nap of cloth. It can be run on the rails dry or with a cleaner applied to it. I use mineral spirits then after a couple laps around the layout I just wipe it on another cloth to clean the residue off then put it back on the rolling stock for more cleaning. It can stay on the rolling stock during op sessions too. It doesn't hang up on anything in the track and is barely noticeable.
Well worth the very affordable price. When prepping for an op session, I might put several of these on a train of rolling stock for a faster track cleaning.

View attachment 206130




View attachment 206131





View attachment 206132
Click to expand...
I didn’t know these were a thing but I’m definitely gonna try them out when I get my next layout going.
 
D&J RailRoad said:
They clip on to the axel of just about any rolling stock.
They can be on either end of the rolling stock.
Preferably, if ya put it on the trailing truck, the rotation of the axel will cause a slight downward pressure of the pad to the rail providing a bit better scrubbing action.
The pad is made of what seems to be a short nap of cloth. It can be run on the rails dry or with a cleaner applied to it. I use mineral spirits then after a couple laps around the layout I just wipe it on another cloth to clean the residue off then put it back on the rolling stock for more cleaning. It can stay on the rolling stock during op sessions too. It doesn't hang up on anything in the track and is barely noticeable.
Well worth the very affordable price. When prepping for an op session, I might put several of these on a train of rolling stock for a faster track cleaning.

View attachment 206130




View attachment 206131





View attachment 206132
Click to expand...
Those look really cool. Can move them to any car.
 
PrairieKnight said:
Is it just my imagination... or.... does it make sense that cleaning the track with the power off is resulting in less black gunk on the rails and a lot less stops for track cleaning during operating sessions
Click to expand...
I have very limited experience with track cleaning but had a career that required some knowledge of chemistry and reactions. And i would agree there would be a static effect that could potentially attract dust. Electricity could possibly be acting as a catalyst to breaking down some component at the molecular level the product that your cleaning with as well.

But hey those dust monkeys look great ill be looking for a troop of them.
 
I use the John Allen method of a small piece of Masonite under an old boxcar. If you're not familiar with it, it's done by cutting the Masonite just a tad wider than the rail gauge and to fit between the trucks. It goes rough side down, and it's as simple as drilling a pair of holes in the floor of the car and gluing two small nails to the top of the Masonite. Basically, it "floats" on the railhead, and its own weight is enough to do the job. You also want to bevel the leading and trailing edges of it. You clean it by running an emery board over the dirty parts. It works great for me, I very rarely have to resort to more intensive cleaning methods.
 
D&J RailRoad said:
I use several Dust Monkeys (Woodland Scenics) with a touch of mineral spirits to clean my tracks.
While working in the basement, I'll set a couple trains in motion in opposite directions with a few weighted gondolas with the Dust Monkeys attached.
After a couple laps around the 6 1/2 scale miles of layout I'll clean them off with a rag then put a few drops of mineral spirits on em again and send em on their way for a couple more laps.

View attachment 206108
Click to expand...
Agreed wholeheartedly. With Kerosene and Naptha (lighter fluid) being the very best, and Mineral Spirits darned close, these are probably the top three, easiest available chemicals for non-polar track cleaners. Use with WS Dust Monkeys is a great way to apply, if nothing more than you get to run trains while applying! :)

One caveat however, I wouldn't recommend using locos with traction tires during cleaning, as these chemicals don't always play well with traction tires. Perfectly safe to run traction tires AFTER the rails are clean and dry, though. 👍

That's been my experience, others may vary. :cool:
 
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