track cleaning

[Anonymous]

has aanyone used a track cleaning car? If so, what make and a coment on its performance would be appreciated. Do they clean the tough stull , like residue matt medium (from ballast application)? Or is a bright boy still the only solution?

[Don Gibson]

REALLY NEED A PAIR - Wet and dry.
The 'wet' loosen's the crud, and the dry 'towel's it up.

Ideal for layout's with tunnels and other hard to get at places, and well-heeled owners.

'Brite-Boy's and elbow grease are still indespensible.

[soumodeler]

In my experience with track cleaning cars, they will not get the tough stuff off. Get a bright boy and clean the rails very well, then put the track cleaner on. The pair is a good idea. Run them on the most active trains on your layout all the time. A caboose and a boxcar work well. Walthers Trainline series has a Union Pacific boxcar and Life-Like has cabooses in several roadnames. There are others out there, but these are the two most common ones in my area.

soumodeler
-----------------
The Southern Serves the South!
http://www.trainweb.org/mgr

[soumodeler]

The Walthers Trainline boxcar is a dry cleaner and the Life-Like caboose is a wet cleaner, if you can get it to work.

soumodeler

[jrbernier]

I use the Tony's Train Exchange CMX - about $100, but it really works(laquer thinner). I also follow up with a masonite 'sled' car(easy to make=low cost). As Don mentioned, a 2 step approach is best. All of this will fail if you keep running plastic wheels on your cars - I use only metal wheels and really have no big problems. I use the CMX every fall: eng/cmx/sled/eng - run it through all sidings and yard tracks. Then just use a pair of engines dragging the 'sled' around every month or so....

Jim Bernier

[Anonymous]

I believe in elbow grease. So to reach the tunnel on the layout I am currently building, i'll have facia that can be easily removed and I should be able to get to the hard-to-reach areas.

[Anonymous]

Isopropanol works for me - plus elbow grease and sometimes a bright boy.

For getting the oil/dirt off your locos wheels, you can't beat isopropanol on a thin cloth (put wheels to be cleaned on the damp cloth laying on the track, other wheels on the bare track and let 'em spin!).

You will be shocked at the black "skid marks" left on the cloth !!!

[Anonymous]

I owned both the www.centerlineproducts.com for $66.00 and http://www.tonystrainexchange.com/gallery/cmx/cmx-01.htm $99.00
but sold them and traded up to MAAS metal cleaner/polisher for
$3.50 for a two ounce tube.
THANKS! MR January 2003 for the heads up.

[AggroJones]

This is an old novelty noise maker type car, I believe was made by Tyco. I picked it up at the Sacramento GATS 2003 for just $3. T'was a BabyRuth 40' Hicube boxcar with a circular roller filled with tiny metal balls that made a rattle sound when the car moved. It works on the same principle as those $100 rail cleaner things. I figure I could drill holes and pour the balls out, wrap the roller with paper towel, douse on rubbing alcohol, and run that muther at the head end of a MOW train. It works pretty well.
Collects lots of grime itself, but works best in conjunction with my masonite "skidder" car. The rough surface of the masonite is perfect for gathering dirt.

[Anonymous]

I find it hard to believe that none of you use Rail Zip, at least you don't mention it. I like it for two reasons; 1) It works great, 2) and when I would go run Wit Towers Alturas and Lonepine he used a cleaner that smelled exacly like it.

It also leaves a nice film on the rails and wheels.

Is this film ok to leave when running DCC?

[Anonymous]

The Mighty Rock has returned.
Welcome back George.

[Anonymous]

Hi there.
I have found that drugging a track clearing rubber over the track to be the best way,
As for a clearning car, I made my own.
got a Russell Snowplow from WALTHERS, Cut a section in the middel and mounted a Spring loaded arm, with a section of rubber on it. Overloaded it with lead, put a light in it and push it around in front of a P2K GP-18 or E-8/9 something with lost of power. lol.
Looks *** good, If I do say so. You would not even know it was a trackclearner.

Have fun.....Matt

[Anonymous]

Besides the track you also want to clean your locomotive electrical pick-up wheels.
There's a few methods 7& variety of cleaning solutions.