track cleaning question

[Larry]

I use to own a Game Room quite a few years ago & it only had one restroom for Ladies & so called Gentlemen.
I had a sign right above the toilet tank that read;
If you sprinkle when you tinkle,
On your feet,
Please, raise the Damn toilet seat.
Never had any problems after that.

Larry

 

[Larry]

I occassionaly(sp) add a small piece of 1200 grit sandpaper to my masonite skid under my boxcars for those hard to get at dirty spots on my layout. I glue it on w/E6000 cement & let it dry for about an hour before I run it. When it gets too dirty I just peel it off & keep running it.
After I paint around my tracks or add scenery that leaves residue on the rails I clean them w/Acetone on a soft rag. I have plenty of ventalation in my trainroom & don't have to worry about getting high from the fumes. I just added a 3ft. exhaust fan to 1 end of my building this past weekend for those hot summer days.

Larry

 

[latenttrainfan]

When I was a telephone installer, (the FIRST woman in Canada to hold that distincion, by the way) there WERE no womens rooms. I had to share with the guys.

THAT was a whole 'nuther education right there.

I don't advise it for any other women. I learned things no female needs to learn. mostly about how gross and disgusting it can get to be in a mens room.
on the up side, though, I learned to swear in about fifty different languages, including NAvajo.

I must say, I like the burnishing route. labour intensive to begin, but after that, (as in, after you've done it you've lost interest in working that hard ever again) you don't need to clean as much.

What about scenery and stuff? how do you keep that looking fresh and civilized?

 

[Selector]

Ah, an excellent question... The best you can do in that regard is to prepare your trainroom properly before you erect your layout. That means, ideally, no forced air heat...unless you have a good filtration system. You are not going to have to deal with that, so the other best practises are ceiling and wall preparation and good floors. Finished ceiling and floors keep the room inaccessible to creepies that crawl, and from dusty intrusions. The flooring is hardest to keep clean when it is of the carpeting type...as you scuff along it, it raises microfibres. On the other hand, hard flooring is hard on the legs and back after while...but it's easy to see dirt and to deal with it. Some guys use matting of rubberized textile, even the interlocking ones, to ease the back pains from standing. The other thing to consider is texture and colour...little bits, important bits, fall from cold or tired/unfocused fingers...where did they land?

Eventually, though, dust accumulates. If you fixed the scenic materials well, vacuuming is an option...just do it carefully. Alternatively, you can spray more glue and sprinkle fresh ground foam to get it looking good again. If you are not faint of heart, and don't mind the cleanup afterwards, there is always compressed air.

 

[loco]

So what are tips for the Turnouts? Just be more careful?

 

[Selector]

I don't understand the question; is it directed to an earlier poster? If you mean in relation to track cleaning, I clean my turnouts with fine grit sandpaper, and only when poor performance across them indicates as much. I prefer to wrap a long strip around an index finger and wipe back and forth. I also wipe the inner points blade and its mating surface on the stock rail to ensure good continuity.

 

[latenttrainfan]

okay, how about stall mats? I have a bunch that I don't use in the stalls, they're just sitting there taking up space. clean, and I can power wash them before they go in.
They're black, though. BUT, might be good on the floors. the floors are heavy plywood, in very good condition. With good lighting, its easier to find things that fall down. Lighting is easy, I have an electrician coming tomorrow to do stuff in the house. (I think whoever wired this old house was drunk at the time. either that or on drugs. )

does anyone cover their layout with anything when its not in use?

 

[loco]

I don't understand the question; is it directed to an earlier poster? If you mean in relation to track cleaning, I clean my turnouts with fine grit sandpaper, and only when poor performance across them indicates as much. I prefer to wrap a long strip around an index finger and wipe back and forth. I also wipe the inner points blade and its mating surface on the stock rail to ensure good continuity.

Yup, was wondering if you burnished the turnouts as well, or just left them alone until cleaning was needed. But was thinking if I go ahead and build them, then I could "pre-burnish" them.

 

[Selector]

Either or for the turnouts...personally, I would build them first since handling them will get them gucky as you build them. Once built, gently do what you must to get them burnished. If your solders are solid, you should be fine.

I don't know what stall mats are, but if they are solid and won't let small screws or grab irons and stuff fall into them (i.e., below their usable surfaces) they may suffice. As you have surmised, seeing is a problem on layouts...seeing to get rolling stock and engines properly seated on the tracks, enjoying the motions of valve gear if you are a steam nut, and being able to see fairly easily where a dropped item has fallen. Dark, non-motif or textured flooring is best.

If you have not thought much about the lighting, and depending on your age and visual acuity, I would strongly suggest track lighting (Home Depot carries an inexpensive brand that I use...8' tracks that you can use to hold several pointable fixtures that take GU10 50 watt halogens. They are warm (!), even hot to handle when they have been on for more than 5 minutes, but they sure light up your viewing pleasure. My point is that if you decide that your handiwork is rather pleasing to the eye, and you'd like to post some nice imagery here, say on Weekend Photo Fun, you will have wished that you had a way to direct lighting to best show your various scenes. The system I am talking about, from HD, allows you to reposition the pots/fixtures as you need them..albeit on their track. I have two over my 13' X8' layout, each with five fixtures, and I can get good lighting with the twin tracks set parallel and 4' apart.

You have to be careful with flourescents...they can be very cold in colour temperature, and they do not direct light to any great extent. They also give off UV, not unlike the halogens, and that can have a deleterous effect on the ground foam and its colour over time.

 

[latenttrainfan]

stall mats are thick spongy black rubber. they sort of interlock together, so they appear seamless. they're big, about 8x8 and HEAVY. i have a bunch.

my room is 10x20, with a door in the short side, right at the left corner as you walk in. I think that will be ample room for me. There are no windows, and its sealed quite well, with plastic on the outside. the floor is smooth, so ideal for the mats to be laid evenly.

I can do track lighting quite easily. I like the idea of being able to direct the light to wherever I need it. (I HATE flourescents, I have them in the arena, and its looks so cold all the time, but they're reasonably practical, I guess. ) Anything that gives off heat in the winter is okay by me.

 

[UP2CSX]

Stall mats would be a great surface for around the layout room. The will make it easier to stand for long periods, make it easier find things that fall, and wont get stained like carpet. I would secure the actual layout to the plywood floor, however. Given the climate changes you have, it's hard enough to keep things level with one surface (the plywood floor) moving in different directions than the other surface (the layout itself). Adding the stall mats just doubles the problem of more things expanding and contracting at different rates.