Automated track cleaners

[claycts]

QUOTE: Originally posted by trainnut57

I can't beleive nobody mentioned Flitz metal polish. This is available at just about any hardware store, K-Mart, Wal Mart, etc. I got the idea from an article in Model Railroader about two years ago. Granted, the application process is time consuming and you have ot be careful not to use too much, but like the guy from Clarion, this Erie guy rarely needs to take time to clean track. Last time I used Flitz? When I saw the article in MR. Trains are still running.

I have a ton of this stuff in the restoration shop. How LITTLE do you use. If you want the lazy mans trick. I bought a rechargeable CIRCULAR electric toothbrush for Tuesday Mornings for $6.00 (Bugs Bunny Model) it is a polish motion instead of brushing. It works wonders for any low speed polish job. I use it for fine polishing our cars trim and such.
Glad I posted this some great information!
George P.

[oleirish]

Flitz metal polish.

Will this stuff stop dust,I live in the dusty est place in the world,that is my track problem..Even if the house is closed up in the winter we still get dust.
JIM

[trainnut57]

I can't beleive nobody mentioned Flitz metal polish. This is available at just about any hardware store, K-Mart, Wal Mart, etc. I got the idea from an article in Model Railroader about two years ago. Granted, the application process is time consuming and you have ot be careful not to use too much, but like the guy from Clarion, this Erie guy rarely needs to take time to clean track. Last time I used Flitz? When I saw the article in MR. Trains are still running.

[TrainFreak409]

Wow, I'll have to try the metal polishing method. That's awesome!

[wireflight]

I'd like to know if anyone has noted a difference between variable voltage DC and fixed-voltage systems with respect to track oxidation, especially if anyone running AC has compared/contrasted it to either continuous DC, pulsed DC, or both.

Also -- just in case there is any such thing -- has anyone experimented with a semi-sealed system (at least covered by plexiglass or something), perhaps with filtered air or even something as exotic as helium or argon? I realize that may be too pricey for 99.99999 percent of us, but it seems like "someone" would have tried it.

[Anonymous]

Here's a simple low-tech solution to your problem which is amazingly effective and costs virtually nothing. A small block of scrap Balsa wood wiped along your rough running sections of track picks up dirt by the bucketful, without wearing down your rail.You can use a firm pressure without doing any harm. the wood turns black very quickly, so you'd need to change it fairly often. Try it !.

[Anonymous]

The CMX works as long as you keep up with changing the corduroy material.
I use lacquer thinner and adjust the drip sparingly.
Metal polish is good, too, and you'd be surprised how good traction is on a polished rail.
CR626 electronics lubricant is a good surface treatment...a little dab'll do ya.
I've given up using abrasives...it pits the rails.

But, has anyone mentioned NOT running plastic wheels on your rail?

...and what about that Miniatronics taser cleaner?

Having fun,
Glenn

[nobullchitbids]

The problem, it seems to me, with putting any kind of oil on the track is that it would make the track slick, so you pull less. Also, oil eventually attracts dirt, which will find its way onto wheels.

At one time, an excelent contact cleaner, named No-Ox, was sold by Craftsman Specialty Supply. Alas, I've heard of neither recently. But, for those who want a close-to-prototype track-cleaning car (plugs into the work train), go onto eBay and find an old kit made by TruScale. I used some extra wood and parts to individualize mine, and you can run them wet or dry (or wet and dry together -- buy two!) to good effect.

Another trick not mentioned so far: Take a pair of those phosphor-bronze t-bars which once came with the Atlas turnouts and make a pair of contact shoes from them. Install them on an appropriate hog or goat and simply run the engine. The phosphor bronze is better than brass, has a slightly rough surface and wears better, does not oxidize so easily. It should "activate" your rail so that cleaning becomes unnecessary. Indeed, you may find your "cleaner" engine runs so well with the shoes that you install shoes on all of the others -- if done right, one does not really notice them. Just make sure to bend up the ends slightly so the loco does not stub its toe on frogs or diamonds, and adjust the tension so the shoes don't lift the loco from the rails.

[Gavin Sowry]

Count me in as another great fan of the Wahl hairclipper oil idea. Have a look at the forum on Track Cleaning (hiding somewhere in the Garden Railways section).

[cmrproducts]

This track-cleaning question comes up all the time. And there are so many ways to do track CLEANING.

But I just got tired of cleaning my track. IS cleaning track more fun that running trains? It seems so as everyone has his or her own method.

But why do we have to keep cleaning the track? It obviously doesn’t work, as YOU keep having to do it over and over. WHY?

Wouldn’t it be better if you eliminated the problem and NOT have to clean track again!

Why are there so many different ways of cleaning track? Because they don’t work!

The trains won’t stay running smooth for long and you are back to CLEANING the track again, Right?

I finally got tired of cleaning 2600 feet of track as it took the better part of a day to do. I am a model railroader not a cleaning fanatic. If I want to do cleaning I can go upstairs and dust the house (the wife would love it!) and I do, so going down to the basement is the last place I want to be and have to clean track. I just want to run trains!

So I finally tried the metal polish on my rails. It STOPPED having to clean the rails period!

Yes all of your other ways work but you keep doing them over and over. I DON’T!

I just had OPTUD 6 (OP Till U Drop) a month ago and had 50 operators in for three 4-hour sessions! That’s 12 hours of running trains. And I did not clean the track before the session. In fact I hadn’t cleaned the track since the last OPTUD back in July of 2004. And I really don’t remember if I cleaned it then! It has been so long since I cleaned anything other than the loco wheels.

So what am I trying to say is! Use the metal polish any type and it stops the track cleaning - period!

Unless that is the only reason you have for running your trains (to use that expensive track cleaning car)!

BOB H – Clarion, PA

[claycts]

Great Ideas with good answers
Thank You

[Anonymous]

If after you get your track clean you take a cloth with just a few drops of Whal of Oster clipper oil and run it over the track you can wait a year and a half to clean it. I use a standard pencil art earaser then the oil and it works like a charm. Cheep to.
James[C):-)]

[TrainFreak409]

I think a Bright Boy abrasive pad works best over everything.

But, you could always kitbash one. All you need is two gondolas. One the bottom of the one, build a block to hold a piece of Scotch-Brite like material firm against the track, and on the other, do the same, but with felt or polishing cloth. Make sure the pads do not press too hard against the track to strain whatever locomotive you choose to pull it. Add weights in the top, and VIOLA, a track cleaning train. If you wish, you could add a third gondola, with a pad dedicated for soaking with track cleaning fluid. Or use a tanker for this car, and have it hold the fluid. We have done this at the train store I work at, and it seems to work fairly well.

~[8]~ TrainFreak409 ~[8]~

[gmpullman]

I had used a Centerline for several years with moderate success but at times it became a hassle, especially if you needed to back up. I tried a small rubber-band to keep the pad on the wheel from unraveling but the band would break and cause derailments.
I broke down and bought the CMX Clean Machine and I am very happy with the results. A bit pricey but I believe it is worth the expense!
One caution on abrasives! You want to keep the rail head as smooth and scratch-free as possible. Using anything more aggressive than a "brite-boy" will leave a rough surface on the rail that will accumulate gunk more quickly than a smooth surface... Just my $.02
ED

[cacole]

At the Cochise & Western Model Railroad Club's 20x40 foot HO scale layout, we tried many different brands of track cleaning cars, both dry and liquid, commercial and homemade.

The best combination we have found is the CMX Clean Machine sold by Tony's Train Exchange (http://www.tonystrains.com) containing Laquer Thinner, followed by a Centerline Track Cleaning Car running dry to mop up the dirt loosened by the thinner.

In between runs of these cars we use Kato track cleaning blocks if spot cleaning is necessary.

Metal wheels on all rolling stock help a lot, too.

[claycts]

Thanks all. I went to an OLD hobby shop and he said he had a VARENY boxcar with rotating stones that whe he found it I can have it. Varney was the NAME along with John Allen when I was last in this. The Masonite trick does it work better with some weight added to it? I have an OLD traction tire 0-8-0 that is going to be the goat to pull it around.
Again thank you
George P.

[2021]

Two methofs: First the masonite - take a small piece the width of the track plus a bit, glue two roofing nails to the smooth side, drill two accompanying holes in the bottom of a box car large enough for the nails to fit loosely, slide into boxgar and set it on the track, run it regularly (I run mine continuosly. Second buy a center-line cleaning car, expensive but worth the investment. I only run this occasionally when the track starts to get dirty.
You will still need to use a bright-boy occassionally unless you run your trains all the time which is the best method of all and the most fun.
Good luck, Ron K.

[Anonymous]

We use the center-line track cleaning car with the roller, I have one for wet and one for dry cleaning. I have tried rubbing alcohol, Goo Gone with varied results. I did get a new cleaner from Skidmore Products called Aero-Locomotive Works ACT-6006 which is a track cleaner and wheel cleaner. It seems to be the best for my situation. I have also tried Rail-Zip which is also good.

I found that if I kept the loco wheels clean it required only an occasional track cleaning. You mau want to check out this new product:

http://www.cleantrains.com/index.htm

I ordered one for my layout in N-Scale. It works pretty darn good.

I have also tried the Atlas Track Cleaning car, but only use it now to vacum the track.

Also like stated above, I use a BrightBoy for an occasional turnout cleaning.

I have about 1900' of track to maintain with about 2 scale miles of mainline.

HTH

[selector]

Yes, the best automated track cleaner on my layout is the hand-eye-brain interface. [:D] As soon as it detects dirty track, it automatically cleans it. HAR!!

I don't seem to have any luck with searches on this forum, but this subject has come up several times since I joined. Some swear by the towed reservoir car, others use a piece of masonite towed behind a loco, but I believe tha majority use a combination approach with the Bright-Boy being the usual method between major cleanings. If the Bright Boy or ink erasor doesn't work, then responders claim to have had great success with MAAS, Goo-Gone, Goof-Off, and other exotic fluids whose names are probably best left unsaid.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

[claycts]

DO ANY of the track cleaning devices on the market today WORK as advertised. With over 700ft I would like to find one. Years ago MDC made a desiel engine that work most of the time (30 years ago on brass).
Thank You
George P.