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Cleaning those pesky caboose wheels

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  • Member since
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  • From: North Dakota
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Posted by BroadwayLion on Friday, April 1, 2022 9:00 PM

davidmurray
Caboose wheels are just the same as any rolling stock wheels.

No. actually, they are not. For whatever reason they seem to be lighter, and of course on caboose trucks, there are better springs  and snubbers to give the crew a smoother ride. While that should not affect your caboose, it does have a lighter weight than another car, and more frequently have plastic wheels that attract goop. My AHM passenger cars (alsoi with plastic wheels) also attracte such goop.

ROAR

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Posted by davidmurray on Friday, April 1, 2022 8:50 PM

Back to orginal topic.

Caboose wheels are just the same as any rolling stock wheels.

If they are extremely bad I find it good to scrape black gunk off with a fine screwdriver.  Then blue shop towel across the rails with alcohol.  I use a piece of track on a board, not layout track.

 

David Murray from Oshawa, Ontario Canada
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  • From: North Dakota
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Posted by BroadwayLion on Friday, April 1, 2022 2:18 PM

And I grew up on Long Island.

And THIS is what railroad cars are supposed to look like! Stick out tongue

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Posted by riogrande5761 on Friday, April 1, 2022 10:02 AM

I grew up watching trains throughout my teens and twenties and freight trains used cabooses.  They don't look "right" without a caboose.  So I chose to model late caboose era.

Rio Grande.  The Action Road  - Focus 1977-1983

  • Member since
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  • From: North Dakota
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Posted by BroadwayLion on Thursday, March 31, 2022 5:54 AM

You still run cabooses on your railroad. They went out of fashion 30 years ago. Now they just put locomotives on each end of the train.

Or they just run subway trains instesd...

 

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Posted by JDawg on Wednesday, March 30, 2022 1:44 PM

wrench567

  Sounds like a lot of work. All I've ever done was a lint free rag and some alcohol across the rails and a couple of back and forths. Done. But that is the beauty of the hobby. No right or wrong way as long as it works in the end.

    Pete.

 

 

I have tried that, but I just did not have enough success with that method. 

JJF


Prototypically modeling the Great Northern in Minnesota with just a hint of freelancing. Smile, Wink & Grin

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Posted by wrench567 on Wednesday, March 30, 2022 9:13 AM

  Sounds like a lot of work. All I've ever done was a lint free rag and some alcohol across the rails and a couple of back and forths. Done. But that is the beauty of the hobby. No right or wrong way as long as it works in the end.

    Pete.

  • Member since
    September 2020
  • 432 posts
Posted by JDawg on Wednesday, March 30, 2022 8:46 AM

I used isopropyl alcohol and a paper towel to facilitate the cleaning process. Lots of black gunk to be had!

JJF


Prototypically modeling the Great Northern in Minnesota with just a hint of freelancing. Smile, Wink & Grin

Yesterday is History.

Tomorrow is a Mystery.

But today is a Gift, that is why it is called the Present. 

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Cleaning those pesky caboose wheels
Posted by JDawg on Wednesday, March 30, 2022 8:44 AM

Greetings all. I bring cheerful tidings and the gift of knowledge. I recently had the idea of removing caboose and tender wheels, and cleaning them. To do so, I gently put them in a drill chuck, slowly spun it, and cleaned one wheel at a time. I also cleaned the axle. You will notice a signifigant improvement in electrical pickup. I sure did!

 

Perhaps others have thought of this before me, there may be an article somewher, but I assure you I thought of this on my own, and I am quite pleased with myself. Smile

JJF


Prototypically modeling the Great Northern in Minnesota with just a hint of freelancing. Smile, Wink & Grin

Yesterday is History.

Tomorrow is a Mystery.

But today is a Gift, that is why it is called the Present. 

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