TRACK CLEANING

[kgstakes]

I surprisingly don't have to clean mine that often, I use the John Allen method, a boxcar with holes drilled in the bottom with two screws (or nails) glued to a strip of Masonite. I run one of these with most of my trains, keeps the rails pretty clean longer. (Rough side on the rails) I can't seem to find a photo of one of mine, but here's a diagram I found of one on the web.View attachment 219464

That’s exactly what I made, works really well. With my switching layout being small I’ve been using the eraser that I mentioned before and that surprisingly works as well.

 

[Kusojiji]

What are you folks running on your track? My SD40, GP35, SD70 and DD35 all have no issues on dirty track. My 0-4-0 and 0-6-0 are the ones that are feeling the effect. That's an important detail that I forgot to mention.

 

[KB02]

I recently gave up on all the "try this's" an "I use that's" and switched to good ole' fashion contact cleaner sprayed onto a 1" furniture pad. I was amazed at just how much dirt and grime I was pulling off my rails. Kind of a lesson learned for me: If you want to clean electrical contacts, use an electrical contact cleaner.

 

[AuburnCentral]

I remember the old glass bottles of track cleaning fluid that had a wire stuck to the cap with a cloth ball at the other end to clean your tracks, who knows what fluids I was getting on my fingers, but I use to take an old sock and put it over my hand and wet the end with the fluid then place one finger on each rail and clean them that way

 

[steelwheels]

I recently gave up on all the "try this's" an "I use that's" and switched to good ole' fashion contact cleaner sprayed onto a 1" furniture pad. I was amazed at just how much dirt and grime I was pulling off my rails. Kind of a lesson learned for me: If you want to clean electrical contacts, use an electrical contact cleaner.

Here is a thought: When was the last time you cleaned the wheels on the train? The whole train that is being run; that's where the dirt (black) is coming from.

I remember chasing the black, cleaning the track, and running a few laps. Wipe my hand on the track.... Guess what? If the track is contaminated, the train is also.

 

[ctclibby]

I will chime in here as I don't remember reading anything about the track itself. Never/Ever use anything abrasive on the rails. When you do that the scratches you make hold dirt/grime/black sh.t. If you have used abrasives, get a fender washer and burnish/polish the rails with it. Same for your wheels on your power - little harder, do one side at a time. Not sure? Get a big magnifier out and look. You can see the bigger canyons. Once done, track cleaning pretty much goes out the window - maybe once or twice a year; if that.

L8r

 

[Selector]

What makes the crud and the dark smears when you wipe the rails by hand with a solvent of any kind is arcing. You can see it if you can completely darken your layout and run it. Nobody, but NOBODY...has rails that are perfectly level along the major axis, or even across from each other all the time. Variations in height with unsprung axles means momentary separations, often by short distances approaching a tenth of a mm. With the amperage and voltage available to the rails, those micro-separations cause arcing which is visible here and there....repeatedly. The arcing, fleeting though it is, is still plasma temperature for a fraction of a second, and that oxidizes pretty much anything you're likely to find on a layout, especially any dust, pollen, goo, lubes...anything left in even minute quantities on the rail surfaces or on your wheels' treads.

 

[AuburnCentral]

So what ways do people use to clean the wheels on the cars

 

[Kusojiji]

I am always cleaning my locomotive wheels. I flip it over and use the q-tip and 9v battery. For the non-powered wheels, like cars, I put a piece of scott shop towel on a set of rails, add some mineral spirits and roll the car over it. I skew the truck a bit to give it some friction and better coverage. Takes it all off in a few rolls. For my steamers, some of them have removable bogies so they come off and get the same treatment as the car wheels. I vacuum the lint with a hand vac and pull some of the sticklers with tweezers.

I printed a pad for my aquarium glass scraper that is made of metal and has a 18 inch handle. Attach some pieces of shop towel and a piece of cloth-like pad to it (not sure what it is made of but it resists tears well), add some mineral spiirits to it and start wiping down the rail. The handle saves my back and allows me to reach the difficult spots. I apply the no-ox ID the same way. New pad, no-ox, new pad, wipe it off.

It is hard to comprehend that all that stuff is from arcing. Looks like oil spill like the cr@p in the garage. But, it is what it is. Appreciate all the inputs!

 

[Rico]

So what ways do people use to clean the wheels on the cars

Hold a loco with the wheels slightly spinning on a good quality paper towel draped over the track with a drop of track cleaner of your choice.
I don’t recommend using those “powered” metal brush wheel cleaners.

 

[AuburnCentral]

Thanks, I was asking about the cars not the engines

 

[Rico]

Thanks, I was asking about the cars not the engines

D'oh!
Yeah same thing just roll the cars over it then over a dry one.
I only have two cars with plastic wheels, rest are metal.

 

[Kusojiji]

Cleaning rod.

 

[Colorado Midland Modeler]

I think the Masonite is also a good candidate.

Pep

Indeed, it is. It works quite well for me. I forgot to mention that when the gunk builds up on it, all you have to do is sand it off with an emery board, and the pad is good to go again. The Masonite is pretty tough too, so it lasts a long time I only just recently replaced one of the pads, which had lasted for several years.

 

[AirbrushNo5]

What makes the crud and the dark smears when you wipe the rails by hand with a solvent of any kind is arcing. You can see it if you can completely darken your layout and run it. Nobody, but NOBODY...has rails that are perfectly level along the major axis, or even across from each other all the time. Variations in height with unsprung axles means momentary separations, often by short distances approaching a tenth of a mm. With the amperage and voltage available to the rails, those micro-separations cause arcing which is visible here and there....repeatedly. The arcing, fleeting though it is, is still plasma temperature for a fraction of a second, and that oxidizes pretty much anything you're likely to find on a layout, especially any dust, pollen, goo, lubes...anything left in even minute quantities on the rail surfaces or on your wheels' treads.

This is where NO-OX-ID comes in… there is still micro-arcing black stuff happening but the micro layer of NO-OX seems to remedy the electrical contact / performance issues on the wheels and rails…

Like I said, I have gone without rail or wheel cleaning pushing 3 years now… trains run fine

 

[Kusojiji]

I don't have that kind of longevity with the no-ox. Maybe a couple of days.

 

[bigfoot13]

I've burnished some of my track with the fender washer. Usually I'll just take a block of wood and clean the problem spots. Unfortunately I go for weeks at a time without using it and have a fireplace in the same room that get's used sometimes. I'll also occasionally run the CMX around with minerals spirits. Between the CMX and the block of wood (2x4 scarp) things usually run pretty smooth.

 

[AirbrushNo5]

just looking at the pro and con videos on YouTube…comparing to my experience with NO-Ox…

When I first applied it, the locos didn’t run smoothly for a few circuits…jerky for a few minutes and then they ran fine..

When I would get a new loco a couple months down the road, the same thing happened…jerky then the loco ran fine

I have been getting about 3 new locos a year…gradually the initial new loco jerky running phase has stopped altogether…

As far as rail time, I run trains about 5 minutes a day.. 1 or 2 locos with 10-14 cars per consist…

I like not having to clean rails… I applied NO-OX once in the spring of 2022…and tonight’s rail pic…no cleaning since prior to the the NO-OX application…

 

[Kusojiji]

Wow, my stuff would be stopping dead on your tracks. What kind of loco are you driving? I have 0-6-0s and 0-4-0s that really like to take their breaks at the first site of gunk. My GP35 doesn't care and runs all day.

I run 11-12 hours a day...

 

[AirbrushNo5]

Rapido, Athearn, and Atlas diesels are on my layout

There is some (3 years worth) grime there, but it doesn’t effect loco operation at all ..

Prior to NO-OX, when I was cleaning the tracks with soft white rubber erasers every 3 weeks just to keep the trains running and there was a lot more gunk on the rails…