QUOTE: Originally posted by Trackster Originally posted by locomotive3 And if you are really amtitious, roll your cars over the soaked cloth. SURPRISE! [/q I definitely would not recommend running rolling stock over the cleaning material, this wouldn"t remove the gunk, but would soften it up enough to be spread on the rails, a real mess. Mac I'm still spinning my metal wheels climbing the grade so please share with me"but would soften it up enough" soften what up? Reply Edit boomer5344 Member sinceOctober 2004 From: Mid South 47 posts Posted by boomer5344 on Saturday, October 30, 2004 7:52 PM Don Gibson is correct, use q tips and denatured alcohol. Place the unit upside down in a cradle and apply power using alligator clips. Standard rubbing alcohol has glycerine which is a oil. Goo gone or wahl clipper oil is fine for dissolving build up on track and wheels. But follow up with the deantured alcohol to remove the remaining residue. I use old clean cotton baby diapers for this. I use this method on my N and O layouts. My father uses this method on Z and it WORKS! Be sure to have plenty of ventilation while using denatured alcohol. Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Friday, October 29, 2004 6:08 AM Originally posted by locomotive3 And if you are really amtitious, roll your cars over the soaked cloth. SURPRISE! [/q I definitely would not recommend running rolling stock over the cleaning material, this wouldn"t remove the gunk, but would soften it up enough to be spread on the rails, a real mess. Mac Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, October 28, 2004 5:41 PM And if you are really ambitious, roll your cars over the soaked cloth. SURPRISE! Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, October 28, 2004 5:36 PM Originally posted by Thom I'm having a hard time visualizing the wheel-spinning cloth method. Does someone have a picture? [/qu Thom: It"s very simple, just lay a piece of cloth soaked with goo gone, or your favorite liquid cleaner, I like goo gone because it removes oil and grease very well, over the rails just a little longer than the length of one truck, and as wide as your roadbed, Hold the model back by hand as one truck spins over the cleaning patch, Then do likewise for the other truck, can"t be much more simple than that, use the same method with a clean, alcohol soaked cloth to remove the first cleaner, which, if it"s goo gone, leaves an unwanted film on the track, I don"t have a picture, but you should get the picture in your mind, I think. good luck. Mac Reply Edit Don Gibson Member sinceJune 2004 From: Pacific Northwest 3,864 posts Posted by Don Gibson on Thursday, October 28, 2004 5:17 PM ENGINE WHEELS: A Foam engine holder, your power pak, and Q-tip;s with denatured Acohohol. Cheapest and 'best'es'. Avoid oils of all kind's as they transfer to track, and eventually attract new dirt for the engine's to pick up, and re distribute. Doing less more. Don Gibson .............. ________ _______ I I__()____||__| ||||| I / I ((|__|----------| | |||||||||| I ______ I // o--O O O O-----o o OO-------OO ########################### Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, October 28, 2004 4:18 PM I'm having a hard time visualizing the wheel-spinning cloth method. Does someone have a picture? Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, October 28, 2004 1:01 PM My locomotive wheel cleaning is done with a length of cotton matirial, like an old sheet, cut into strips, and laid on the rails. I soak the material with goo gone and hold the locomotive while each truck spins through the cleaning patch, just be shure to leave one truck on the rails for electrical pickup while the other one is being cleaned, it doesn"t take long, and all the black gunk from the wheels will be transferred to the goo gone soaked cloth. I remove the engine, and switch to an alcohol soaked cloth, and repeat the process, this removes the goo gone from the wheels, which will leave an undesireable film on the rails if left uncleaned, I can clean several locomotives wheels in only a few minutes time useing this method, try it, it works really well, with minimal effort. Cheers Mac Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, October 28, 2004 11:26 AM QUOTE: Originally posted by BRAKIE I dipped in alcohol In my younger days I could handle the stuff. Reply Edit SPFan Member sinceOctober 2003 390 posts Posted by SPFan on Thursday, October 28, 2004 9:19 AM I guess I am pretty old tech. No DCC and no rubber tired locos so no problems with the wire brush method, but a brass wire brush should be pretty safe on nickel plated wheels. Also I am able to restore nickel plating using a nickel brush plating set I got from Rapid Electroplating in Chicago many years ago so no worries. Pete Reply BRAKIE Member sinceOctober 2001 From: OH 17,574 posts Posted by BRAKIE on Thursday, October 28, 2004 8:20 AM I turn the locomotive over-I have a home made locomotive cradle- and use a cotton swab dipped in alcohol to clean my wheels. Larry Conductor. Summerset Ry. "Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!" Reply dknelson Member sinceMarch 2002 From: Milwaukee WI (Fox Point) 11,439 posts Posted by dknelson on Thursday, October 28, 2004 8:06 AM If you go the Dremel tool route remember the obvious: rubber traction tires could be destroyed by the wire brush -- and some cheap engines have entirely plastic wheels. Dave Nelson Reply bogp40 Member sinceJuly 2004 From: Weymouth, Ma. 5,199 posts Posted by bogp40 on Thursday, October 28, 2004 12:03 AM Originally posted by SPFan I use a Dremel with a wire brush. Apply power to unpowered wheels or the motor directly if they are all powered. About 5 seconds per wheel and they shine. Pete Be careful with this method of wheel cleaning in no time the nickel will be worn through to brass, not to metion other damage if you slip. The Alcolhol/ paper towel method mentioned above is the most effective. Bob K. Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 10:24 PM QUOTE: Originally posted by mikebonellisr Will my DCC equipped engines run off a DC power pack?I just mounted a couple of pieces of E-Z track along with a rerailer and wired power section.I also mounted 2 KD coupler guages isolated on each end.I suppose I could solder on alligator clips and connect it to my layout if I can't run with a regular power pack Yes, if you have the decoders set to recognize and run on DCC. It's one of the options in CV-29 -- not sure which one, since I'm not near my reference material right now, but I think most decoders default to having it turned on, and you can turn it off by subtracting 4 from the value in CV-29 (if memory serves, and I may be wrong). Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 3:33 PM I have a soft-foam cradle (that I mostly use for engine servicing). I place the engine upside down, use alligator clips to provide power, and hold a Q-tip soaked in isopropyl alcohol (light dirt) or Goo Gone (heavy dirt; need to follow up with the alcohol) against each wheel. Since I have too many locomotives, some build up more dirt than I should allow them to. A slightly tedious but highly effective and not overly abrasive cleaning technique for heavy build-up is a soft eraser. Do NOT use the wire brush unless you don't care about dramatically shortening the life of the plating that most locomotive wheels are given. Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 3:23 PM Thank You to all that replyed to my request "how to clean wheels on engine". I have used a previous tip for cleaning track with metal polish and it worked well. Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 12:32 PM I use an extra pack that came with a set and mounted in on my work bench, couple of wires, flip the engine and power up and use whatever cleaner I wish. Reply Edit mikebonellisr Member sinceJune 2003 From: US 641 posts Posted by mikebonellisr on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 9:39 AM Will my DCC equipped engines run off a DC power pack?I just mounted a couple of peices of E-Z track along with a rerailer and wired power section.I also mounted 2 KD coupler guages isolated on each end.I suppose I could solder on aligator clips and connect it to my layout if I can't run with a regular power pack Reply aluesch Member sinceMay 2003 From: CA 108 posts Posted by aluesch on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 9:22 AM QUOTE: Originally posted by Trub I'm new at building HO layout. Could anyone tell me how to clean the wheels on the engines? Lux makes a wheel cleaner that is installed in the layout and cleans all wheels of locos, coaches, cars etc. while you run your trains. It was featured in the May 04 Model Railroader issue. You can also check it out on my web site. Regards, Art http://www.mrsonline.net/ Reply SPFan Member sinceOctober 2003 390 posts Posted by SPFan on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 8:47 AM I use a Dremel with a wire brush. Apply power to unpowered wheels or the motor directly if they are all powered. About 5 seconds per wheel and they shine. Pete Reply scole100 Member sinceJanuary 2001 From: US 131 posts Posted by scole100 on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 8:40 AM Micro Mark has a great locomotive wheel cleaner. It is a piece of powered track with small velcroed section of cloth across the rails. You set the loco on the rails and move the wheels slowly across the cleaning section. I have used it for several years and it works great. Reply dknelson Member sinceMarch 2002 From: Milwaukee WI (Fox Point) 11,439 posts Posted by dknelson on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 8:10 AM There are some commercial wheel cleaning fluids out there; some people use Goo Gone or Wahl hair clipper oil. Mount some cheap, perhaps slightly damaged track on a piece of wood. You want it reasonably sturdy. For this purpose adhesive calk or Woodland Scenics tack glue works well, if spread with an old credit card or other stiff flat surface I think about 18 to 24" long is a good length Find some way of powering the rails while still keeping the track cleaning thing portable; perhaps alligator clips or use an Atlas terminal track piece. Some guys get a cheap power pack at a swap meet and dedicate it to this purpose. Other guys with DCC run wires from the layout to this isolated piece of cleaning track, but you probably want wires that can be detached readily again to make this portable. If you have a test track you might use it for this same purpose BUT the underlying wood or homasote will get soaked with the cleaning flued over time. Get some of the strong cloth-like paper towels and soak a small area with the cleaner or goo gone or whatever, and run the engine one truck at a time over the cloth/towel. You will see dark streaks. You may need to hold the engine so the turning wheels rub against the towel. Using weights or thumb tacks to hold the towel in place might prevent it just sailing away. :) Then do the other truck. Sometimes it is necessary to do this a couple of times to get the wheels visually clean. Remember that the dirty streaks will transfer dirt to the wheels so keep moving that towel around so that the wheels are touching clean areas. Do not scrape at the wheels with a knife or other hard surface as this might create tiny scratches that will just gather more dirt. The other thing of course is to keep the track clean so you do not have to clean the wheels so often. This is difficult because all your dirty freight car wheels keep transferring dirt right back to the track. Sometimes running freight cars over the damp towel can remove some dirt but the wheels turn of course so there is no real rubbing action. Dave Nelson Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Wheel cleaning Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 6:37 AM I'm new at building HO layout. Could anyone tell me how to clean the wheels on the engines? Reply Edit Subscriber & Member Login Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more! 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Originally posted by locomotive3 And if you are really amtitious, roll your cars over the soaked cloth. SURPRISE! [/q I definitely would not recommend running rolling stock over the cleaning material, this wouldn"t remove the gunk, but would soften it up enough to be spread on the rails, a real mess. Mac
Originally posted by locomotive3 And if you are really amtitious, roll your cars over the soaked cloth. SURPRISE! [/q I definitely would not recommend running rolling stock over the cleaning material, this wouldn"t remove the gunk, but would soften it up enough to be spread on the rails, a real mess. Mac Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, October 28, 2004 5:41 PM And if you are really ambitious, roll your cars over the soaked cloth. SURPRISE! Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, October 28, 2004 5:36 PM Originally posted by Thom I'm having a hard time visualizing the wheel-spinning cloth method. Does someone have a picture? [/qu Thom: It"s very simple, just lay a piece of cloth soaked with goo gone, or your favorite liquid cleaner, I like goo gone because it removes oil and grease very well, over the rails just a little longer than the length of one truck, and as wide as your roadbed, Hold the model back by hand as one truck spins over the cleaning patch, Then do likewise for the other truck, can"t be much more simple than that, use the same method with a clean, alcohol soaked cloth to remove the first cleaner, which, if it"s goo gone, leaves an unwanted film on the track, I don"t have a picture, but you should get the picture in your mind, I think. good luck. Mac Reply Edit Don Gibson Member sinceJune 2004 From: Pacific Northwest 3,864 posts Posted by Don Gibson on Thursday, October 28, 2004 5:17 PM ENGINE WHEELS: A Foam engine holder, your power pak, and Q-tip;s with denatured Acohohol. Cheapest and 'best'es'. Avoid oils of all kind's as they transfer to track, and eventually attract new dirt for the engine's to pick up, and re distribute. Doing less more. Don Gibson .............. ________ _______ I I__()____||__| ||||| I / I ((|__|----------| | |||||||||| I ______ I // o--O O O O-----o o OO-------OO ########################### Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, October 28, 2004 4:18 PM I'm having a hard time visualizing the wheel-spinning cloth method. Does someone have a picture? Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, October 28, 2004 1:01 PM My locomotive wheel cleaning is done with a length of cotton matirial, like an old sheet, cut into strips, and laid on the rails. I soak the material with goo gone and hold the locomotive while each truck spins through the cleaning patch, just be shure to leave one truck on the rails for electrical pickup while the other one is being cleaned, it doesn"t take long, and all the black gunk from the wheels will be transferred to the goo gone soaked cloth. I remove the engine, and switch to an alcohol soaked cloth, and repeat the process, this removes the goo gone from the wheels, which will leave an undesireable film on the rails if left uncleaned, I can clean several locomotives wheels in only a few minutes time useing this method, try it, it works really well, with minimal effort. Cheers Mac Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, October 28, 2004 11:26 AM QUOTE: Originally posted by BRAKIE I dipped in alcohol In my younger days I could handle the stuff. Reply Edit SPFan Member sinceOctober 2003 390 posts Posted by SPFan on Thursday, October 28, 2004 9:19 AM I guess I am pretty old tech. No DCC and no rubber tired locos so no problems with the wire brush method, but a brass wire brush should be pretty safe on nickel plated wheels. Also I am able to restore nickel plating using a nickel brush plating set I got from Rapid Electroplating in Chicago many years ago so no worries. Pete Reply BRAKIE Member sinceOctober 2001 From: OH 17,574 posts Posted by BRAKIE on Thursday, October 28, 2004 8:20 AM I turn the locomotive over-I have a home made locomotive cradle- and use a cotton swab dipped in alcohol to clean my wheels. Larry Conductor. Summerset Ry. "Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!" Reply dknelson Member sinceMarch 2002 From: Milwaukee WI (Fox Point) 11,439 posts Posted by dknelson on Thursday, October 28, 2004 8:06 AM If you go the Dremel tool route remember the obvious: rubber traction tires could be destroyed by the wire brush -- and some cheap engines have entirely plastic wheels. Dave Nelson Reply bogp40 Member sinceJuly 2004 From: Weymouth, Ma. 5,199 posts Posted by bogp40 on Thursday, October 28, 2004 12:03 AM Originally posted by SPFan I use a Dremel with a wire brush. Apply power to unpowered wheels or the motor directly if they are all powered. About 5 seconds per wheel and they shine. Pete Be careful with this method of wheel cleaning in no time the nickel will be worn through to brass, not to metion other damage if you slip. The Alcolhol/ paper towel method mentioned above is the most effective. Bob K. Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 10:24 PM QUOTE: Originally posted by mikebonellisr Will my DCC equipped engines run off a DC power pack?I just mounted a couple of pieces of E-Z track along with a rerailer and wired power section.I also mounted 2 KD coupler guages isolated on each end.I suppose I could solder on alligator clips and connect it to my layout if I can't run with a regular power pack Yes, if you have the decoders set to recognize and run on DCC. It's one of the options in CV-29 -- not sure which one, since I'm not near my reference material right now, but I think most decoders default to having it turned on, and you can turn it off by subtracting 4 from the value in CV-29 (if memory serves, and I may be wrong). Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 3:33 PM I have a soft-foam cradle (that I mostly use for engine servicing). I place the engine upside down, use alligator clips to provide power, and hold a Q-tip soaked in isopropyl alcohol (light dirt) or Goo Gone (heavy dirt; need to follow up with the alcohol) against each wheel. Since I have too many locomotives, some build up more dirt than I should allow them to. A slightly tedious but highly effective and not overly abrasive cleaning technique for heavy build-up is a soft eraser. Do NOT use the wire brush unless you don't care about dramatically shortening the life of the plating that most locomotive wheels are given. Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 3:23 PM Thank You to all that replyed to my request "how to clean wheels on engine". I have used a previous tip for cleaning track with metal polish and it worked well. Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 12:32 PM I use an extra pack that came with a set and mounted in on my work bench, couple of wires, flip the engine and power up and use whatever cleaner I wish. Reply Edit mikebonellisr Member sinceJune 2003 From: US 641 posts Posted by mikebonellisr on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 9:39 AM Will my DCC equipped engines run off a DC power pack?I just mounted a couple of peices of E-Z track along with a rerailer and wired power section.I also mounted 2 KD coupler guages isolated on each end.I suppose I could solder on aligator clips and connect it to my layout if I can't run with a regular power pack Reply aluesch Member sinceMay 2003 From: CA 108 posts Posted by aluesch on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 9:22 AM QUOTE: Originally posted by Trub I'm new at building HO layout. Could anyone tell me how to clean the wheels on the engines? Lux makes a wheel cleaner that is installed in the layout and cleans all wheels of locos, coaches, cars etc. while you run your trains. It was featured in the May 04 Model Railroader issue. You can also check it out on my web site. Regards, Art http://www.mrsonline.net/ Reply SPFan Member sinceOctober 2003 390 posts Posted by SPFan on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 8:47 AM I use a Dremel with a wire brush. Apply power to unpowered wheels or the motor directly if they are all powered. About 5 seconds per wheel and they shine. Pete Reply scole100 Member sinceJanuary 2001 From: US 131 posts Posted by scole100 on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 8:40 AM Micro Mark has a great locomotive wheel cleaner. It is a piece of powered track with small velcroed section of cloth across the rails. You set the loco on the rails and move the wheels slowly across the cleaning section. I have used it for several years and it works great. Reply dknelson Member sinceMarch 2002 From: Milwaukee WI (Fox Point) 11,439 posts Posted by dknelson on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 8:10 AM There are some commercial wheel cleaning fluids out there; some people use Goo Gone or Wahl hair clipper oil. Mount some cheap, perhaps slightly damaged track on a piece of wood. You want it reasonably sturdy. For this purpose adhesive calk or Woodland Scenics tack glue works well, if spread with an old credit card or other stiff flat surface I think about 18 to 24" long is a good length Find some way of powering the rails while still keeping the track cleaning thing portable; perhaps alligator clips or use an Atlas terminal track piece. Some guys get a cheap power pack at a swap meet and dedicate it to this purpose. Other guys with DCC run wires from the layout to this isolated piece of cleaning track, but you probably want wires that can be detached readily again to make this portable. If you have a test track you might use it for this same purpose BUT the underlying wood or homasote will get soaked with the cleaning flued over time. Get some of the strong cloth-like paper towels and soak a small area with the cleaner or goo gone or whatever, and run the engine one truck at a time over the cloth/towel. You will see dark streaks. You may need to hold the engine so the turning wheels rub against the towel. Using weights or thumb tacks to hold the towel in place might prevent it just sailing away. :) Then do the other truck. Sometimes it is necessary to do this a couple of times to get the wheels visually clean. Remember that the dirty streaks will transfer dirt to the wheels so keep moving that towel around so that the wheels are touching clean areas. Do not scrape at the wheels with a knife or other hard surface as this might create tiny scratches that will just gather more dirt. The other thing of course is to keep the track clean so you do not have to clean the wheels so often. This is difficult because all your dirty freight car wheels keep transferring dirt right back to the track. Sometimes running freight cars over the damp towel can remove some dirt but the wheels turn of course so there is no real rubbing action. Dave Nelson Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Wheel cleaning Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 6:37 AM I'm new at building HO layout. Could anyone tell me how to clean the wheels on the engines? Reply Edit Subscriber & Member Login Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more! Login Register Users Online There are no community member online Search the Community ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Model Railroader Newsletter See all Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox! Sign up
Originally posted by Thom I'm having a hard time visualizing the wheel-spinning cloth method. Does someone have a picture? [/qu Thom: It"s very simple, just lay a piece of cloth soaked with goo gone, or your favorite liquid cleaner, I like goo gone because it removes oil and grease very well, over the rails just a little longer than the length of one truck, and as wide as your roadbed, Hold the model back by hand as one truck spins over the cleaning patch, Then do likewise for the other truck, can"t be much more simple than that, use the same method with a clean, alcohol soaked cloth to remove the first cleaner, which, if it"s goo gone, leaves an unwanted film on the track, I don"t have a picture, but you should get the picture in your mind, I think. good luck. Mac Reply Edit Don Gibson Member sinceJune 2004 From: Pacific Northwest 3,864 posts Posted by Don Gibson on Thursday, October 28, 2004 5:17 PM ENGINE WHEELS: A Foam engine holder, your power pak, and Q-tip;s with denatured Acohohol. Cheapest and 'best'es'. Avoid oils of all kind's as they transfer to track, and eventually attract new dirt for the engine's to pick up, and re distribute. Doing less more. Don Gibson .............. ________ _______ I I__()____||__| ||||| I / I ((|__|----------| | |||||||||| I ______ I // o--O O O O-----o o OO-------OO ########################### Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, October 28, 2004 4:18 PM I'm having a hard time visualizing the wheel-spinning cloth method. Does someone have a picture? Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, October 28, 2004 1:01 PM My locomotive wheel cleaning is done with a length of cotton matirial, like an old sheet, cut into strips, and laid on the rails. I soak the material with goo gone and hold the locomotive while each truck spins through the cleaning patch, just be shure to leave one truck on the rails for electrical pickup while the other one is being cleaned, it doesn"t take long, and all the black gunk from the wheels will be transferred to the goo gone soaked cloth. I remove the engine, and switch to an alcohol soaked cloth, and repeat the process, this removes the goo gone from the wheels, which will leave an undesireable film on the rails if left uncleaned, I can clean several locomotives wheels in only a few minutes time useing this method, try it, it works really well, with minimal effort. Cheers Mac Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, October 28, 2004 11:26 AM QUOTE: Originally posted by BRAKIE I dipped in alcohol In my younger days I could handle the stuff. Reply Edit SPFan Member sinceOctober 2003 390 posts Posted by SPFan on Thursday, October 28, 2004 9:19 AM I guess I am pretty old tech. No DCC and no rubber tired locos so no problems with the wire brush method, but a brass wire brush should be pretty safe on nickel plated wheels. Also I am able to restore nickel plating using a nickel brush plating set I got from Rapid Electroplating in Chicago many years ago so no worries. Pete Reply BRAKIE Member sinceOctober 2001 From: OH 17,574 posts Posted by BRAKIE on Thursday, October 28, 2004 8:20 AM I turn the locomotive over-I have a home made locomotive cradle- and use a cotton swab dipped in alcohol to clean my wheels. Larry Conductor. Summerset Ry. "Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!" Reply dknelson Member sinceMarch 2002 From: Milwaukee WI (Fox Point) 11,439 posts Posted by dknelson on Thursday, October 28, 2004 8:06 AM If you go the Dremel tool route remember the obvious: rubber traction tires could be destroyed by the wire brush -- and some cheap engines have entirely plastic wheels. Dave Nelson Reply bogp40 Member sinceJuly 2004 From: Weymouth, Ma. 5,199 posts Posted by bogp40 on Thursday, October 28, 2004 12:03 AM Originally posted by SPFan I use a Dremel with a wire brush. Apply power to unpowered wheels or the motor directly if they are all powered. About 5 seconds per wheel and they shine. Pete Be careful with this method of wheel cleaning in no time the nickel will be worn through to brass, not to metion other damage if you slip. The Alcolhol/ paper towel method mentioned above is the most effective. Bob K. Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 10:24 PM QUOTE: Originally posted by mikebonellisr Will my DCC equipped engines run off a DC power pack?I just mounted a couple of pieces of E-Z track along with a rerailer and wired power section.I also mounted 2 KD coupler guages isolated on each end.I suppose I could solder on alligator clips and connect it to my layout if I can't run with a regular power pack Yes, if you have the decoders set to recognize and run on DCC. It's one of the options in CV-29 -- not sure which one, since I'm not near my reference material right now, but I think most decoders default to having it turned on, and you can turn it off by subtracting 4 from the value in CV-29 (if memory serves, and I may be wrong). Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 3:33 PM I have a soft-foam cradle (that I mostly use for engine servicing). I place the engine upside down, use alligator clips to provide power, and hold a Q-tip soaked in isopropyl alcohol (light dirt) or Goo Gone (heavy dirt; need to follow up with the alcohol) against each wheel. Since I have too many locomotives, some build up more dirt than I should allow them to. A slightly tedious but highly effective and not overly abrasive cleaning technique for heavy build-up is a soft eraser. Do NOT use the wire brush unless you don't care about dramatically shortening the life of the plating that most locomotive wheels are given. Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 3:23 PM Thank You to all that replyed to my request "how to clean wheels on engine". I have used a previous tip for cleaning track with metal polish and it worked well. Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 12:32 PM I use an extra pack that came with a set and mounted in on my work bench, couple of wires, flip the engine and power up and use whatever cleaner I wish. Reply Edit mikebonellisr Member sinceJune 2003 From: US 641 posts Posted by mikebonellisr on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 9:39 AM Will my DCC equipped engines run off a DC power pack?I just mounted a couple of peices of E-Z track along with a rerailer and wired power section.I also mounted 2 KD coupler guages isolated on each end.I suppose I could solder on aligator clips and connect it to my layout if I can't run with a regular power pack Reply aluesch Member sinceMay 2003 From: CA 108 posts Posted by aluesch on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 9:22 AM QUOTE: Originally posted by Trub I'm new at building HO layout. Could anyone tell me how to clean the wheels on the engines? Lux makes a wheel cleaner that is installed in the layout and cleans all wheels of locos, coaches, cars etc. while you run your trains. It was featured in the May 04 Model Railroader issue. You can also check it out on my web site. Regards, Art http://www.mrsonline.net/ Reply SPFan Member sinceOctober 2003 390 posts Posted by SPFan on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 8:47 AM I use a Dremel with a wire brush. Apply power to unpowered wheels or the motor directly if they are all powered. About 5 seconds per wheel and they shine. Pete Reply scole100 Member sinceJanuary 2001 From: US 131 posts Posted by scole100 on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 8:40 AM Micro Mark has a great locomotive wheel cleaner. It is a piece of powered track with small velcroed section of cloth across the rails. You set the loco on the rails and move the wheels slowly across the cleaning section. I have used it for several years and it works great. Reply dknelson Member sinceMarch 2002 From: Milwaukee WI (Fox Point) 11,439 posts Posted by dknelson on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 8:10 AM There are some commercial wheel cleaning fluids out there; some people use Goo Gone or Wahl hair clipper oil. Mount some cheap, perhaps slightly damaged track on a piece of wood. You want it reasonably sturdy. For this purpose adhesive calk or Woodland Scenics tack glue works well, if spread with an old credit card or other stiff flat surface I think about 18 to 24" long is a good length Find some way of powering the rails while still keeping the track cleaning thing portable; perhaps alligator clips or use an Atlas terminal track piece. Some guys get a cheap power pack at a swap meet and dedicate it to this purpose. Other guys with DCC run wires from the layout to this isolated piece of cleaning track, but you probably want wires that can be detached readily again to make this portable. If you have a test track you might use it for this same purpose BUT the underlying wood or homasote will get soaked with the cleaning flued over time. Get some of the strong cloth-like paper towels and soak a small area with the cleaner or goo gone or whatever, and run the engine one truck at a time over the cloth/towel. You will see dark streaks. You may need to hold the engine so the turning wheels rub against the towel. Using weights or thumb tacks to hold the towel in place might prevent it just sailing away. :) Then do the other truck. Sometimes it is necessary to do this a couple of times to get the wheels visually clean. Remember that the dirty streaks will transfer dirt to the wheels so keep moving that towel around so that the wheels are touching clean areas. Do not scrape at the wheels with a knife or other hard surface as this might create tiny scratches that will just gather more dirt. The other thing of course is to keep the track clean so you do not have to clean the wheels so often. This is difficult because all your dirty freight car wheels keep transferring dirt right back to the track. Sometimes running freight cars over the damp towel can remove some dirt but the wheels turn of course so there is no real rubbing action. Dave Nelson Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Wheel cleaning Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 6:37 AM I'm new at building HO layout. Could anyone tell me how to clean the wheels on the engines? Reply Edit Subscriber & Member Login Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more! 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QUOTE: Originally posted by BRAKIE I dipped in alcohol
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Originally posted by SPFan I use a Dremel with a wire brush. Apply power to unpowered wheels or the motor directly if they are all powered. About 5 seconds per wheel and they shine. Pete Be careful with this method of wheel cleaning in no time the nickel will be worn through to brass, not to metion other damage if you slip. The Alcolhol/ paper towel method mentioned above is the most effective. Bob K. Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 10:24 PM QUOTE: Originally posted by mikebonellisr Will my DCC equipped engines run off a DC power pack?I just mounted a couple of pieces of E-Z track along with a rerailer and wired power section.I also mounted 2 KD coupler guages isolated on each end.I suppose I could solder on alligator clips and connect it to my layout if I can't run with a regular power pack Yes, if you have the decoders set to recognize and run on DCC. It's one of the options in CV-29 -- not sure which one, since I'm not near my reference material right now, but I think most decoders default to having it turned on, and you can turn it off by subtracting 4 from the value in CV-29 (if memory serves, and I may be wrong). Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 3:33 PM I have a soft-foam cradle (that I mostly use for engine servicing). I place the engine upside down, use alligator clips to provide power, and hold a Q-tip soaked in isopropyl alcohol (light dirt) or Goo Gone (heavy dirt; need to follow up with the alcohol) against each wheel. Since I have too many locomotives, some build up more dirt than I should allow them to. A slightly tedious but highly effective and not overly abrasive cleaning technique for heavy build-up is a soft eraser. Do NOT use the wire brush unless you don't care about dramatically shortening the life of the plating that most locomotive wheels are given. Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 3:23 PM Thank You to all that replyed to my request "how to clean wheels on engine". I have used a previous tip for cleaning track with metal polish and it worked well. Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 12:32 PM I use an extra pack that came with a set and mounted in on my work bench, couple of wires, flip the engine and power up and use whatever cleaner I wish. Reply Edit mikebonellisr Member sinceJune 2003 From: US 641 posts Posted by mikebonellisr on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 9:39 AM Will my DCC equipped engines run off a DC power pack?I just mounted a couple of peices of E-Z track along with a rerailer and wired power section.I also mounted 2 KD coupler guages isolated on each end.I suppose I could solder on aligator clips and connect it to my layout if I can't run with a regular power pack Reply aluesch Member sinceMay 2003 From: CA 108 posts Posted by aluesch on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 9:22 AM QUOTE: Originally posted by Trub I'm new at building HO layout. Could anyone tell me how to clean the wheels on the engines? Lux makes a wheel cleaner that is installed in the layout and cleans all wheels of locos, coaches, cars etc. while you run your trains. It was featured in the May 04 Model Railroader issue. You can also check it out on my web site. Regards, Art http://www.mrsonline.net/ Reply SPFan Member sinceOctober 2003 390 posts Posted by SPFan on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 8:47 AM I use a Dremel with a wire brush. Apply power to unpowered wheels or the motor directly if they are all powered. About 5 seconds per wheel and they shine. Pete Reply scole100 Member sinceJanuary 2001 From: US 131 posts Posted by scole100 on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 8:40 AM Micro Mark has a great locomotive wheel cleaner. It is a piece of powered track with small velcroed section of cloth across the rails. You set the loco on the rails and move the wheels slowly across the cleaning section. I have used it for several years and it works great. Reply dknelson Member sinceMarch 2002 From: Milwaukee WI (Fox Point) 11,439 posts Posted by dknelson on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 8:10 AM There are some commercial wheel cleaning fluids out there; some people use Goo Gone or Wahl hair clipper oil. Mount some cheap, perhaps slightly damaged track on a piece of wood. You want it reasonably sturdy. For this purpose adhesive calk or Woodland Scenics tack glue works well, if spread with an old credit card or other stiff flat surface I think about 18 to 24" long is a good length Find some way of powering the rails while still keeping the track cleaning thing portable; perhaps alligator clips or use an Atlas terminal track piece. Some guys get a cheap power pack at a swap meet and dedicate it to this purpose. Other guys with DCC run wires from the layout to this isolated piece of cleaning track, but you probably want wires that can be detached readily again to make this portable. If you have a test track you might use it for this same purpose BUT the underlying wood or homasote will get soaked with the cleaning flued over time. Get some of the strong cloth-like paper towels and soak a small area with the cleaner or goo gone or whatever, and run the engine one truck at a time over the cloth/towel. You will see dark streaks. You may need to hold the engine so the turning wheels rub against the towel. Using weights or thumb tacks to hold the towel in place might prevent it just sailing away. :) Then do the other truck. Sometimes it is necessary to do this a couple of times to get the wheels visually clean. Remember that the dirty streaks will transfer dirt to the wheels so keep moving that towel around so that the wheels are touching clean areas. Do not scrape at the wheels with a knife or other hard surface as this might create tiny scratches that will just gather more dirt. The other thing of course is to keep the track clean so you do not have to clean the wheels so often. This is difficult because all your dirty freight car wheels keep transferring dirt right back to the track. Sometimes running freight cars over the damp towel can remove some dirt but the wheels turn of course so there is no real rubbing action. Dave Nelson Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Wheel cleaning Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 6:37 AM I'm new at building HO layout. Could anyone tell me how to clean the wheels on the engines? Reply Edit Subscriber & Member Login Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more! Login Register Users Online There are no community member online Search the Community ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Model Railroader Newsletter See all Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox! Sign up
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
QUOTE: Originally posted by mikebonellisr Will my DCC equipped engines run off a DC power pack?I just mounted a couple of pieces of E-Z track along with a rerailer and wired power section.I also mounted 2 KD coupler guages isolated on each end.I suppose I could solder on alligator clips and connect it to my layout if I can't run with a regular power pack
QUOTE: Originally posted by Trub I'm new at building HO layout. Could anyone tell me how to clean the wheels on the engines?