Ever wonder if ATF or Clipper Oil was Snake Oil? I had heard of this trick a few years ago and saw not a single reason it should work!
Little back ground on my layout. I am HO scale and went the way of DCC about 8 years ago. A fair sizes layout in the garage, 174 sq feet and around 300 feet of track. Parts of the layout is 11 years old and newest about 8 years old. I all so run the layout daily, 2 to 3 hours.
All was well when I was DC and maybe had to clean engine wheels every week. Then I went DCC and, well had to clean the wheels more often. Then I added some Walther Track Cleaning Cars into the train's I was pulling and all was well for a few more years. Maybe clean the wheels every 4 days or so. I could live with that!
Last year around Oct my shot line started to act up. Had to clean engine wheels every few days. This year when I added a few more engines to the roster that where real pickie (Walthers PK2000 Besemer SD 7 and BLI B&O F7's) I was cleaning there wheels every night and after a few runs around the layout light's where flikering! Give me a break, 2 to 3 run's around the layout and the wheels where drity all ready?
Hit problem area's with the bright boy over and over again! Helped a tad, but never took care of the problem.
In Febuary I was at my witts end and I was eating paper towels cleaning wheels! I finally made the plunge and try some ATF on the short line. I be dang, no stalling or lights flricking? Now I did read that ATF crude build up on wheels, so I held off and doing all the rails. Cleaning 100 rolling stock wheels would bite, cleaning 300 rolling stock wheels?
After 3 months, no build up on the wheels. Used a little ATF in the yard (did not use because I was to lazy to clean them), passing spurs and team track. I be dang, with out ceaning them with the bright boy they worked fine?
So last month I did them main line that is 100 feet and has 13 feet of tunnels. (reason I was holding back) It is all so working better than it has ever had in the past!
I have not cleaned a single engine wheel on the short line for 4 months! My tunouts frogs are not powerd and not a stall or light that has flricked! Had a few trains sitting in the yard for a few months, go as soon as I keyed them up!
In my case I used a Dextron III. Held a paper towel over the bottle and just touched the rail's on either side then moved 10 feet and did again.
Three time I did over oiled, kind of cool seeing my PCM Y6b spin it's drive wheels on a grade! Easy fix, used a little alcohol on a paper towel and problem was gone.
Guess the real old timers from the 50's knew what they where talking about using Clipper Oil on the rails!
Reason I waited this long to post about it? I wanted to make sure there would be no ill side effects.
Cuda Ken
I hate Rust
Ken
As I remember our late good colleague Jeffrey was a big proponent of ATF. Glad that it is working for you and thanks for posting your results.
Joe
Ken, I reported in a thread about rail cleaning maybe four years ago that I was about to dismantle my layout while building a new one. On a whim, with nothing to lose, I covered my rails liberally with Dextron III Mercon that I had been using since Day One for lubing my steamers. I thought the engines would slip and stall on my steep grades (3.4%). Nope, they ran like champs. I didn't have rail cleanliness as my goal, just to see if the lube affected traction. It didn't seem to, not unduly.
I would be interested to see how your cleanliness problem pans out over time. Maybe this, as opposed to Wahl's, is a better choice to keep crud off wheels.
-Crandell
Sorry, but I'm not buying the "keeps everything clean" deal. I can accept that electrical contact may be getting better. But if there is "stuff" in the environment that ends up making the track dirty, it's going to land on the track whether or not there is a coating of whatever on the track.
So if the "stuff" doesn't mix in the applied lubricant, and it doesn't end up on the wheels, then someone needs to explain to me where it goes. Does it land on the lubricant and slide off? Does Scotty beam it up? Inquiring minds want to know.
Several months ago Ken talked me into trying ATF on the rails. I heat my home with wood, and it is a daily chore to "dust" the tops of the furniture, window sills etc. I would have to clean the tracks with a gauze 4X4 on a stick that had a small amount of alcohol applied to make it damp to clean the rails before running any of my trains. It had gotten to the point that I had a yard stick that I used as a "helper" when everything went into the "herky-jerk"mode. I tried the ATF on one set of rails, and it all went away. On the second set I used Mystery Oil, and had the same results. I have not dusted the rails for over two months, everything is running just fine, as to where the wood ash goes--no idea, don't care either--all I know is that everything is running just fine, the rails and wheels are still clean, and to me that is the bottom line! Thank you again Ken.
herrinchoker
The only thing ATF means to me is that government agency Alcohol, Tobacco and Fire Arms. So what is the "other" meaning of ATF for those of us who live in a cave?
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Stay in the cave... It's scary out here.
Tom
Pittsburgh, PA
ATF is Automatic Transmission Fluid.
riogrande5761 The only thing ATF means to me is that government agency Alcohol, Tobacco and Fire Arms. So what is the "other" meaning of ATF for those of us who live in a cave?
Automatic Transmission Fluid. CRC 2-26 works the same.
SouthPenn CRC 2-26 works the same.
CRC 2-26 works the same.
Chuck - Modeling in HO scale and anything narrow gauge
ATF is reportedly a very high detergent solvent based substance.
I'm no chemist, but I assume all of these oily potions help to keep the crud from drying and building up, which has been my experience with dirty track.....dried build up. I assume conductivity is less impeded by "liquified" dirt than dried built up dirt in places.
- Douglas
tcwright973 Stay in the cave... It's scary out here.
That's why there is such things as a Man Cave, complete with beer fridge and big screen TV, and trains of course - and no confusing acronyms!
maxmanSorry, but I'm not buying the "keeps everything clean" deal. I can accept that electrical contact may be getting better. But if there is "stuff" in the environment that ends up making the track dirty, it's going to land on the track whether or not there is a coating of whatever on the track.
Maxman I was not buying either, but I finally gave it a shoot. If I rub a finger on the rail, there is black residue on it just like with out ATF. I think the black bulid on the engines wheels and rails is due to arcing from poor rail contack?
Does the ATF make for better conductivity or keep cude the from sticking to the wheels? Far as where it goes? Maybe in 10 years it turn's into Ballast!
Doughless I was all so thinging the high detergent could be why it is working.
Crandell Thank for posting! Guess with your old grades you where not pulling 40 freight cars up the grade. Well I am still pulling the long train's and traction has not really been a problem. Well like I posted I did get to much on the rails a few times. As I posted, it was a very easy fix.
South Penn How often do you use CRC 2-26 on the rails? Do you wipe down all of the rails or just a spot or so?
Give it a try, I am 99% sure you will not be sorry!
I use a CMX track cleaner to apply the CRC 2-26.
Behind that I have a Centerline track cleaner to sop up the excess if there is any.
Works great. I still get the black film on the track like mentioned above, but it doen't seem to hurt anything. The CRC 2-26 has been on the track a very long time. No problems so far.
I haven't had to reapply in over a year.
Just curious as to how you apply the crc 2-26, do you spray it into the cmx, or spray it onto the cleaning pad?
I've not tried it with trains yet, but when running 1/32 slot cars on both plastic steel rails and wood track with copper tape, I use Inox lubricant in a needle bottle. I'll be curious to see if it has the same affect on the trains as it did the slot cars. Since they both run on track it would make sense that it will work.
johnnyrails Just curious as to how you apply the crc 2-26, do you spray it into the cmx, or spray it onto the cleaning pad?
I managed to find CRC 2-26 in a manually operated squirt bottle. Sometimes it's hard to find these.
I just pour it into the CMX.
South Penn How often do you need to treat the layout? So far the short line has not had any issues in 4 months.
Amazon.com- CRC Plastic Safe Multi-Purpose Precision Liquid Lubricant, 1 Gallon Bottle, Amber
Just a quick update. Today is June 26th and I have yet to clean a engine wheels and no crude build up on the rolling stock wheels!
Still working for me Cuda Ken Happy Again!
So, ATF = Automatic Transmission Fluid. Ken should have a lot of that around the house to feed the great purple beast (unless it is not slush)
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
cudaken South Penn How often do you need to treat the layout? So far the short line has not had any issues in 4 months. Cuda Ken
I have only applied 2-26 once in the past year. I am replacing some track and switches so I might have do some touch up.
BTW, the 2-26 seems to work better if you let it sit for a few hours, like overnight. But maybe it's just my imagination.
July 7 2017 Well I finally had to clean the wheels on the Bessemer SD 7 and my Monon FA 3. But still not a bad run of not cleaning engine wheels or cleaning track on the short line.
Added a little more ATF to the section that has been a problem for some time now. Cleaned the engine's wheels just to be safe.
Later, Ken