track cleaning question

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K

kwalker421

H-8 Lover
i was looking at various track cleaning railroad cars because im pretty much tired of crawing on my layout to clean some spurs. i was looking at the Electrak Clean II to ease my headache. it uses electronic pulses to loosen dirt then i just wipe it with your ordinary track cleaning car. do you think this'll work? or should i just go with a regular track cleaning boxcar or something?

heres the Electrak Cleaner

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/475-PEC21
 
It is one of those topics where some shake their heads and say save your money, while others claim to have good results with whichever track cleaning appliance or device they own. Some guys have two or three and say they work small "o" okay, and they keep looking for another gizmo.

If you are looking for other ideas with an open mind, don't overlook plain old 400 grit sandpaper. A light buff here and there will do wonders for your rails, and a wipe with a clean cloth and some isopropyl alcohol should also be done immediately afterwards.

There is another method that is more labour intensive right up front, but the results are apparently spectacular and long-lasting. It has come to be known as "gleaming". You rub the rails with 300-500 grit sandpaper, then switch to something like 1000 grit. Yup, this takes some time and crawling around, but keep with me...after the finer grit, you wipe the rails with a metal polish such as mag wheel polish (Mothers, Black Magic, etc.) The last step is to make the rails gleam (Jeff Wimberley will straighten me out if I have these last two steps mixed up...I hope) by rubbing them briskly (though carefully) with a steel washer or some other object, even an old spoon until the rails really shine with a mirror-like finish.

Those who had nothing to lose, even if they were skeptical, and have tried it have reported back on other forums that they were surprised and very pleased with their results.

-Crandell
 
I use a walthers trainline? track cleaning car just to help keep the rails clean. It has a fairly heavy stoneyou do have to remove the tarnish build up from the under car cleaning stone every so often. I also use a fine gritt sanding block for the track that needs immidate cleaning. The track car does help but you still need to clean sidings or tracks rarely used by hand that the car does pass often. I think the track car just prolongs the need to fully clean the track by hand.
 


Hi K Walker,
I've use MDC Old Time Track Cleaning Box Cab Deisels with fine abrasive pads front and rear, these are part of the kit or the ad on sections for the front and rear can be purchased seperately I would think if you find a Box Cab without them, and it seems to do a great job and I have some fun operating at the same time plus my units have a natural Deisel sound to them, as they are powered, which is pretty interesting too!

The round pads on each end of the Box Cab do rotate and the deisel moves forwad and back which also adds an additional cleaning action. There is quite a bit of dirt that the pads pick up and to help make the pads go farther I take a fine wire brush snd clean the pads off every so often. They seem to last quite awhile this way but do have additional self adhesive pads as needed.

In with my pictures you can find the Gray Box Cab to see what it looks like, it fits pretty well in with my era which is around the 1900's.

HTH
 
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For me, I will be burnishing all my track seeing as it will be new. Or I guess the other term gleaming... but I like saying burnishing better.
 
(Originally posted by Semafore on Trains.com)

I'm talking GLEAM!: ULTRA_SHINY and Smooth rails can now be had with my 'WHAT box?" approach to this conductivity problem. An HO modeller since 1970, I know the problem WELL!
THIS IS A ONE-TIME PROCESS. DO ALL TRACK!!
1] On an appropiate-sized block, use 400 wet/dry paper to remove the extrusion milling left on the railheads. The block must span both rails.
2] Now use 600 or finer, repeat process.
3] Using an appropiate-sized STAINLESS-STEEL piece, apply moderate pressure and BURNISH the rails! The more you slide back and forth, the smoother and shinier the rails become! [ the GLEAM part ]. This is because you have removed the ridges, bumps, and pits. Burnishing helps seal pores with metal, eliminating traps for dirt and tarnish; almost like a MIRROR!
4] [For Bob H.] Use BLUE MAGIC or equivalent metal polish to deep-clean the remaining contaminates.
5] Last, buff the rails to your eye's content!
The shine is 5x more lusterous than just polish alone. The wax left behind is minimal, is not insulating, and virtually eliminates rail cleaning.
This is a process HOT OFF THE PRESSES! [Of my brain] I've only been at it 6 weeks with amazing results! {I just added the wax step today.} prior to that, though, the NS HO rails I'm guinea-pigging (300') sans wax STILL gleams today, with slight tarnishing, so I'm gonna wax 'em next!
I will also try some classic brass rail to see how that stands up.

AND REMEMBER; NO MORE ABRASIVES...EVER!!!!!!
Or you'll just ruin your mirror finish, and will have to gleam and wax AGAIN!
Dry-wipe with paper towel or cotton. You can always polish anytime; wipe away excess.

I've had DCC and DC locos/lash-ups creep at a scale 3-5MPH around the staging level loop 100' with NO STALL or FAULTER. gotta love it
 
This is a hot topic At our clubs layout. they just replaced most of the mainline as the track was worn down from 20 years of use. They dont want us to use the abrasives as it wears down the rails. This is true on a club layout that is used allot. but on a home layout I see no issues. I think that a very fine gritt sand paper cleans the rails and helps with traction on grades. the down side is that it needs to be cleaned more often. I was looking at the club layout and noticed that the rails leading up a grade will be shiny where the flat mainline is a little more dull. It makes sence as the locos wheels are slippin up a grade and polising the rails so to speak.

Just my observation.
 
Agree 100%...stay away from steel wool. Using sand paper is bad enough with the metallic residue it would leave behind. But steel wool? Nope, not on my layout.

Mind you, if you have nothing else and are on a tight budget, I suppose you could vacuum carefully after the cleaning.
 


I use a piece of Masonite slung from the bottom of a freight car. Quite simple two finish nails through the Masonite, through two matching holes in the bottom of the freight car.

Cheers
Willis
 
lmackattack said:
I dont like to use steel wool as the steel strands can snag and brake off and get lost between the rails. then the locos can pick them up and get wound around axels or short the rails?
Click to expand...

Man, you're not kidding!! When I first got back into the hobby, I thought that I would try steel wool.... bad mistake. My locos picked up all the little steel strands and would screw up the pickups. I even used a powerful magnet to try an rid the layout of the strands, but it took over 6 months of running before I wasn't picking them up anymore:o:(;).
 
I've used the "gleam" process and it does work. I haven't done anything but occasionally wipe down the rails with rubbing alchohol for the last six months and that was mostly for cosmetic purposes, since my trains run fine with the rails heads almost black. It was a pain to do but it has cut my track cleaning time down to almost nothing.

I'd try the box car with the masonite pad the Willis mentioned as a second alternative. $110 is a lot to pay for a track cleaning car that I don't even know would work any better than a Brite Boy.
 
Unless I've missed it I didn't see anyone chime in about Wahl clipper oil?
I've run on layouts where it's used by putting a drop here and there in front of trains and letting them distribute it along the tracks.
Now you'd think it would build up gunk and make things worse but from what I've seen it actually improves pickup and reduces oxidation.
Has anyone tried it here? There's also a product called "Railzip", same idea.

D'oh! forgot to mention what I use... A Walthers car with the bright boy underneath, a masonite strip car as was mentioned, and an alcohol car with a moist pad. These will be incorporated into the Loram grinding train I plan on building and run in typical op sessions.
 
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Wahl clipper oil? no kidding? THAT I have lots of, I use them on the horses.

If guys can remember to do all the things I'm reading about here, why can't they remember to put the seat down?
 
latenttrainfan said:
Wahl clipper oil? no kidding? THAT I have lots of, I use them on the horses.

If guys can remember to do all the things I'm reading about here, why can't they remember to put the seat down?
Click to expand...

Now why is it, we have to remember to leave the seat down? Maybe there should be a new rule where the ladies need to leave the seat up.
 
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Ha! I always respond the same way. If there is only one fixture, and the seat flaps both ways, what does it matter if one encounters it up or down? One should suit oneself and adapt the device for its intended purpose. Or, if the issue is one of courtesy, then both users should act accordingly. :D

-Crandell


Darn, that got us off topic!!!!! :eek:
 


smoother.

:D


for the record, the LID has to stay down in this house.

otherwise the cats and dog drink out of the toilet.

I have no preference as to wether the TP hangs from the front or the back of the roll.

as long as its THERE, that's the main thing.

allright, carry on.

:)
 
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