Gleamed my track , about 300 ft, in 2006, run masonite pads under four boxcars to pick up oxidation, haven't had to clean it since. On little used sidings i do have to wipe them with alcohol now and then. Using a bright boy is a hanging offense on the Central Pensylvania
Bart,
I'm a firm believer in the "gleaming" of the track. Was a tedious process "gleaming" all the track on my previous layout, but well worth the effort as the layout shared the garage with the family automobile. This time around with the new layout I'm "gleaming" as I go, less daunting and less broken trackside scenery items.
regards, Peter
forget the liquid cleaners and rubbing the rails. I gleamed several years ago and now just run locomotive wheels over clean paper towel occasionally for about 30 seconds per truck...no stalls now.
Medina1128I bought a pack of Woodland Scenics "Dust Monkeys" last year. I install one on the front axle of a freight car and one on the rear axle. I wet the front one with rubbing alcohol and leave the read one dry.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
eaglescout I too recommend the gleaming process but have one question. If after gleaming I periodically rub the rails with alcohol won't that take the polish off the rails and negate the effort of polishing? Maybe I should just run the dry masonite pad cleaning car and be done with it?
I too recommend the gleaming process but have one question. If after gleaming I periodically rub the rails with alcohol won't that take the polish off the rails and negate the effort of polishing? Maybe I should just run the dry masonite pad cleaning car and be done with it?
I bought a pack of Woodland Scenics "Dust Monkeys" last year. I install one on the front axle of a freight car and one on the rear axle. I wet the front one with rubbing alcohol and leave the rear one dry. I haven't run the cleaning car in 3 months. This morning, I went to the basement to make up and a train and run it. The locomotives (DC powered) crept with NO light flickering at crawling speeds. What's even more impressive is that my layout is in my basement with an unfinished ceiling.
Woodland Scenics Dust Monkeys
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
It's very possible to have bad solder joints in the locos wiring. They look OK on visual inspection but there can be so much slag in an improperly soldered joint that it can inhibit good electrical contact. I've run into this on some Athearn RTR locos. Pull on the wire a little and it just breaks off. Seriously! I've had it happen. Or if the loco has the wires held in place by those slide-on plastic retainers ala Athearn, Life-like, Walthers, that's another source of bad connections. I take the retainers off and solder those connections.
Check the pick ups on those GP9s.
If all the other locos run fine, you may not be getting sufficient power up to the motor.
Rich
Alton Junction
Thanks for all the replies...my track is 90% Peco nickel silver code 83 with a few segements of Atlas Code 83 mixed in from previous layout.
Gunk might have been the wrong word as it is mainly the black residue Richo mentioned when I run my finger across.
I'm in the stage of testing all the track layed before diving into scenery and just looking for other's experience....I have six loco's....two older Atlas GP7's that seem to run over anything, a MTH F7 AB unit that seems to handle everything ...BUT my two newest additions---Athearn Genesis GP9's seem to be very finicky and will not run without intermittent pauses unless I clean the tracks thoroughly...
I have had problems with my track being dirty during the construction phase as dust tends to settle every where in the layout room. Although still under construction with the scenery process, this portion of construction must not be as dirty, as I'm needing to clean track far less. Although I have considered the Gleaming process, i have yet to bite the bullet on it. My layout is essentially idle from may to October as I am involved in my other hobbies at that time; Sailing and R/C model Airplanes. When I come back to Model Railroading, the first thing I do is go over all track with my Bright Boy (I feel the use of a Bright Boy is a polishing process, not a abrasive process). After this is completed I run trains and intermixed with my trains are four 40 foot box cars, with cleaning pads, built in the same exact way "JaBear" built his. This seems to keep my track in good working order.
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
JaBear raises an excellent point.
The problem should subside as the construction phase concludes.
Meanwhile, continued applications of denatured alcohol should do the trick.
Gidday Bart, while certainly not disregarding the very good advice that you've already received, I think your phrase........
TravelinJohnnie I am in the construction process
No matter how tidy a worker you are, whether it be further woodwork, ballasting , or scenicing, it all creates dust and dirt, which unfortunately I hope you can put up with until you're finished, that is if a model railroad is ever actually finished ??
What I would suggest is that at this stage running track cleaning cars would help a little, as I am also a fan of the "John Allen" masonite pad cars.
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
My layout consists entirely of nickel-silver track.
All of my rolling stock has metal wheels.
I rarely clean my track, and I rarely need to except after ballasting when I need to remove glue residue from the rails.
I do use denatured alcohol on a white cloth and also a Bright Boy.
If I rub my finger on the rail, I do see a black colored residue, but it does not affect the operation of my locos.
You mentioned gray/black gunk which suggests a build up on the rails. The only time I ever had gunk on the rails, and on the wheels of locos, is when I still had plastic wheels on my rolling stock. I have long since replaced all of the plastic wheels with metal wheels.
Add me to the list of gleaming fans. I polished my entire layout well over eight years ago - I remember that because it was just before I retired.
My layout will sit idle for literally months and I can power it up and everything works perfect. I have three cars with masonite pads under them that I will run around the layout a couple laps before any operators come over, but even then, the first train around the layout with the masonite cars runs perfect - probably don't even need to do that.
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
I tried the GLEAM process with a stainless washer and then coated the rail head with NO-OX (?), a wax coating that is electrically conductive and prevents oxidation. I did my G scale shelf layout in my computer room with just the NO-OX after a good solvent cleaning (about 2 years ago) and it never stalls any more, and this is on Bachmann steel rails! The Gleam process I only did on my HO layout with Code 83 NS and it stays very clean. Try it, you'll like it!
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
Hello I have gleamed my track also. But now I have the same thing going on with my layout for 4 months now. I could run my trains for hours and they would be fine come back a month later and run them. I would not do anything to the rails it was still fine. Once I started to work on the scenery it was all over. If are using stuff that makes dust that's why.
I was using real dirt for ground cover and plaster for making rocks the dust got all over everything. I have not been working on the layout in the last month. I was in there last night wiped the rails down with 90% alcohol and they ran fine. I know when I start working on it. It will start over. I am getting ready to put a new window in the room right over the layout so that wont help. Do your best to keep it clean as you work and keep the dust down and that will help. Hope this helps Frank
I used the GLEAM method (code 83 HO track) that Jeffrey references and do CMX car cleaning with denatured alcohol about every 60 days. With gleaming, I used wide stainless washers and for polish used Simichrome polish, thinly applied to a piece of 1x4, from bicycle days. When I do that I usually clean the loco wheels by running over a alcohol wetted piece of paper towel. My car wheels are metal. All works reliably. To me the Gleaming method just makes sense.
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
I use the CMX cleaning car too, with paint thinner. Depending on how much I run the layout, it usually is good for 3-4 month intervals.
Michael
CEO- Mile-HI-RailroadPrototype: D&RGW Moffat Line 1989
I use a CMX machine with lacquer thinner as the cleaning agent. I clean my track about 3-4 times a year. I have all nickel-silver track, and I'm almost done replacing all my plastic wheels with metal ones.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I use the GLEAM method myself. First I sand all the track with 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper wrapped around a small sanding block that spans both rails then go over it again with 800 or 1200 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Then I burnish the rail heads with a piece of stainless steel wide enough to span both rails. This has to be solid stainless steel, not a piece of metal with stainless steel plating. I do all the track, back and forth, always going in the direction of the rails. Then I put a thin coating of Blue Magic cream metal polish on a piece of roadbed cork and lightly dab it on the rail heads while not getting any on the sides of the rails. I do all the track. Now I let that dry. When it's dry I use a fresh piece of cork to buff the polish off. One piece will do about eighteen inches then I flip the cork over and use the other side the repeat with a new piece of cork. I keep doing this until all the track is done. I GLEAMed my layout some time ago, around the time of hurricane Katrina. I did it again a couple of years ago when I rebuilt part of the layout. The trains were running fine before I left my home earlier this month. When I go back in a couple of months it'll take only a quick wipe with a clean dry cloth to clean the track.
I too, just clean the track when I need too!
The last time I cleaned my track was back in 2003 - I think ? ;-)
I used to have to clean track a lot before 2003 as I was building the layout
Once the Operations sessions started the Track cleaning was becoming a real chore as I had over 2800 feet of track back then
SO cleaning track was a 2 day long job.
I tried EVERY cleaning fluid and car type there was!
And EVERYONE worked !
BUT!
Then next time I had an OPS Session
Guess What?
I had to clean the track again
The Cleaning was just that a CLEANING
It did NOTHING to stop the PROBLEM!
An article in MRR Mag suggested Polishing the track with Metal Polish (I used Mothers Mag Wheel Polish)
And my Track Cleaning problems were GONE!
As I stated earlier that was back in 2003!
I now have over 3600 feet of track and IF I had to try and clean that much track it would be a WEEK long process!
I probably would have quit Model Railroading - if the Metal Polish had NOT worked!
Until you are done with building the layout and making dust
YOU WILL have to clean the track a LOT!
Once the dust is gone - it should settle down.
It did for me!
BOB H - Clarion, PA
What Type of track do you have?
Brass and steel require more frequent cleaning than niickle silver. I use a brite boy and about twice a year put a few drops of Wahl Clipper oil to maintain good conductivity.
Joe Staten Island West
I stay away from using any type of abrasive cleaning,,,in my opinion,,it roughs up the track,attracting dirt and grime,alcohol and clean rag,should do the trick and you didn't mention,if you clean the wheels,on rolling stock and engines,,if you don't,your just putting the dirt and grime back on your track,everytime you run them.. MY personnel choice is a masonite pad on a boxcar,followed by a CMX clean machine,with lacquer thinner in it...About once,every three months..
Cheers,
Frank
Bart,On my past DC ISLs I clean track as needed with 91% alcohol and bright boy as needed which wasn't very often.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
I am really frustrated by how dirty my track appears to get. I am in the construction process so my train running is intermittent but it seems that I have to wipe down the rails everytime ( once a week ) before I can get reliable running out of my loco's. It amazes me that the rails seem to accumulate so much gray/black gunk between runnings.
I have a continous round the room DCC-HO layout 11x18...so far my cleaning methods have consisted of brightboys and more recently using a damp cloth with denatured alcohol and just running my fingers over the rail. All my wheels are metal and the track is only a year old.
I am curious how everyone cleans their track , how often and any tips or suggestions on different / more efficent methods that are used
Thanks,
Bart