Cleaning engine wheels

[cnw4001]

Inital cleaning can be a pain but continuing the cleaning once you've got them running can be accomplished with a paper towel and rubbing alcohol.

Wet the towel, put it over the track, turn on the power and let the dirt spin off the wheels while holding the engine. On the steamers, it can be more of a chore if the drivers are not the pickup point. On many the pickup is the tender and obviously you'd have to clean those by hand.

[ICRR1964]

Are you using your old track that has been put away, because if you are you need to clean it to.

As far as getting the wheels clean, q-tips and solvents work good, and I use a dremel tool to poli***he wheels but use a brass wire wheel, don't get to carried away with the oil either. Did you take the loco's apart to clean the motors and oil them, sometimes this helps get them running better.

[Anonymous]

Kadee makes a brush just for this . It's a brass brush with 2 wires that u can hook up to tracks with power, You put this bush on your electrical pickup wheels and the wheels should start turning. I like to use alittle googone and q tips as well.
You can also use a dremal tool with a small wire wheel and q tips. This has worked well for me. Also clean and reclean your tracks. I like to use the track cleaning pad , it looks like an erasor, a track cleaner like googone or an electrical contact cleaner, wipe 2 or 3 times with an white cotton cloth that wont catch in track connections and switch points,etc.double check electrical connections.

[selector]

Use Goof-Off, paint thinner, acetone, even WD-40, just don't let them come in contact with any paint or plastic. Use a Q-tip and a small amount of the solvent, and then wipe dry.

An alternative, if you pefer some elan, is to place a lightly soaked paper towel or clean cloth over a small section of powered track, and let the engine drivers spin on the cloth by powering at least one set of wheels. Move the train around to get all wheels clean.
Yet another method, is to invert the loco safely, use power leads to someplace where the wires won't get wrapped up in the drive, and clean using Q-tips.

[LarrySmith]

After not being active for 15+ years, I am currently building a layout with buildings and trying to get 20+ steam and diesel engines from the 1970's back into operation. After cleaning and lub internal parts some stall when starting and need a nudge to get going. I am trying to clean the drive wheels but can anly do a small arc at a time because the gearing locks them in position.

What is the best and/or easyest way to clean wheels? Any methods or tools would be greatly appreciated.