Hello everybody,
I know this subject has come up before with the CMX version being touted as one of the better ones. I would like to know if anyone owns and uses the Atlas track cleaning machine which polishes, applies liquid and vacuums. What once required a number of different units is now done by one. Here is a list of different track cleaning cars that I have found:
Atlas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKMExevHZjc This one does everything
CMX http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/226-CMXHO The CMX version
LUX http://www.lux-modellbau.de/ Lux home page, they have some interesting equipment including the vacuum car: http://www.lux-modellbau.de/html_uk/gleis_vh.htm and their rail polishing car http://www.mrsonline.net/html/track_cleaner.html . This last links home page is http://www.mrsonline.net/html/lux.html .
rail4you.ch http://www.rail4you.ch/dokumente/TurboSauger.pdf it is a german only site but is another version of the vacuum cleaner.
Of course then there is the abrasive pads that get mounted under the vehicle. These are either commercially available or home made.
So my question is who has one of those vacuum cleaners and how do you like it and what are your experiences with it? I do believe that in the liquid applied track cleaners the CMX is the best available, but if you believe otherwise please comment.
Thank you in advance.
Frank
"If you need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm."
As far as I'm concerned, the CMX and a vaccum are too different things a Cleaner le CMX is gonna push bigger stuff around while cleaning the actual, and a vacuum will miss the small stuff in the rail but pull up loose scenery that can gum up gearing. If you've got the horspower, I'd run a vacuum first, then the CMX type cleaner.
As far as the Atlas car, I think it does everything, but not sll at once
-Morgan
This is my Lux vacuum car.
I use this car if there's dust from working at the track. It's useful if you don't want to use a real vacuum cleaners.
Wolfgang
Pueblo & Salt Lake RR
Come to us http://www.westportterminal.de my videos my blog
As a general rule of thumb, products that promise they can perform several tasks at the same time don't perform any of them very well.
I too am intrigued by the new Atlas track cleaner and will be following posts with interest. I am trying to decide whether to get one or go with the Centerline product. They both involve a sizable "investment." I have been using the home-made pads dragged under box cars [brightboy, iso-propanol, polish] but am wondering if these commercial things would be more efficient.
Alan
thank you for all of the replies. I too am very curious to see how the atlas rail cleaning car will work. The part that interests me the most is the vacuum aspect. The LUX model is according to some other forums a very good unit. The question I have for Mr Dudler is how effective is the vacuum from the car?
The Atlas unit does everything in different stages. Yes it is a very interesting design and I have ordered one from my favourite retailer. Being in the process of building a new multi-level layout will create an interesting set of challenges for the car.
Basically, the idea going through my mind is to create a track cleaning train. First comes a Well Car with a number of rare earth magnets to pick up any metal. This is followed by a couple (or more) of box cars with pads underneath to start the rail cleaning process. This is then followed by the Atlas vacuum to suck up any loose debris which is then followed by the CMX clean machine. The hope is that if one puts together a train such as mentioned above it will be easy to keep the tracks and wheels clean.
What are your thoughts?
I have one and have installed a DCC decoder. You can controls the cleaning motor. The more you turn up the throttle the faster it spins on the rails. In vacuum mode, then the throttle increases suction. The unit does work with the three step process but i think using the five finger cleaner system is just as good. Though i think it is made to be fun. It a real MOW car for your MRR layout. You can add alcohol to the tank on the top of the car to clean the track with a pad rubbing on the track. It works but I used pads quick and got to order more. Also when I vacuumed and the compartment had pick up more than you might think. I found loose ballast and foam. Looks good with a PCM UP SD7 pushing it.
GTX, if you had a do over would you still buy one?
I went Digitrax about a month ago and just cannot keep the track clean, or should I say engine wheels clean. I now run a Digitrax SEB with a DB 150 with 5 amps. I was running a Bachmann E-Z with a MRC Power Station 8 that had 8 amps.
With the old DCC system I clean the engine wheels about ever 20 hours of run time if that. Now it is about ever 2 hours with the Digitrax.
Your Y6 b friend, Cuda Ken
I hate Rust
cacole As a general rule of thumb, products that promise they can perform several tasks at the same time don't perform any of them very well.
That may well be a general rule of thumb, but..
I'm very interested in seeing third party reviews of this product. If it does as claimed well, what a boon it could be!
The Atlas car rather intrigues me because it is a multi-task cleaner. On my garage layout here in California, it's impossible to use 'wet' cleaning on the rails because of the fine pollen buildup here in the Central Valley during summer--solvent track cleaners simply turn the pollen on the rails into a mush. So cleaning the track generally consists of vacuuming up whatever pollen has settled in between operating sessions, then dry-polishing the rails. With the Atlas car, it seems that I could do both--dry polish then run the vacuum.
I'd be very interested in hearing from anyone who has purchased the car.
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
da_kraut Basically, the idea going through my mind is to create a track cleaning train. First comes a Well Car with a number of rare earth magnets to pick up any metal. This is followed by a couple (or more) of box cars with pads underneath to start the rail cleaning process. This is then followed by the Atlas vacuum to suck up any loose debris which is then followed by the CMX clean machine. The hope is that if one puts together a train such as mentioned above it will be easy to keep the tracks and wheels clean. What are your thoughts?
You will need a heckuva lotta horseypower. But sounds good in theory
My club has a CMX "Clean Machine" brass tank car. It is, IMHO, the best liquid applicator car on the market. The fluid tank is quite large and lasts a long, long time when set at the proper drip rate. The control valve gives one very fine control, and the use of upholstery cloth is a good choice as it resists wear and tear while also wicking the liquid. The cleaning pad area is nice and heavy without being rigid, and the snaps for the cloth strip make it easy to swap it out.
We use mineral spirits, which work well without damaging the plastic track or paint. We tried alcohol but it didn't clean the track well enough, and we tried laquer thinner but it was a little too aggresive and would strip paint off the rails and/or ties...and not to mention the smell.
The club has also recently tried out the new Atlas track cleaning car with a Digitrax DZ125 decoder. The vacuum is rather suprising in what it picks up. I was expecting a rather weak vacuum that made a lot of noise and accomplished little, but I was delightfully surprised at how well it worked. We've only run it a short distance on our test track, but it picked up a lot of dust as well as wire insulation from decoder installations. I am a little concerned at what kind of scenery we'll pick up (ballast, ground foam, etc.) but better in the vacuum than in the gears of a loco.
We tried the abrasive pad on the Atlas, and it did score the rail in a interesting pattern (think the nose of the Spirit of St. Louis) so it must be working. However, wear seems to be a problem as we saw quite a bit on the abrasive pad in only a short time on the rail. Now, I don't know how much was wear and how much was gunk clogging the grit, but in either case it negative effects the use of the pad. I don't think these are made to be used very long, and the fact they include 3 of them in the package tells you something, I think. The other problem with the abrasive pad is that you are scratching the heck out of your rail surface, which means that one's track will get dirty at a faster rate because of these scratches.
Next, we ran the polishing wheel (which is a piece of cloth). It did pick up quite a bit of dirt from the previous step, but I do wonder just how long it will last and if it's cleanable. They also included three of these wheels, so that should tell you something there, too.
We tried out the liquid applicator on the Atlas, and I was not happy with it. There is no way to shut it off as it will drip whenever there's liquid in it. The brass weight inside the "tank" is a pain...I've dropped it already...and the foam applicator has problems. The foam sees to swell with the liquid or something, and really comes out of it's holder a bit more than it should. I found ours was dragging on the ties, and that's bad. It also is right next to the spinning wheel mount, and if pushed in one direction, the foam pad would drag on the spinning wheel and actually stall it. This is very bad. I would recommend that you don't use the foam pad when running the spinning wheel...do one or the other but not both.
Finally, we attached the option track brush and found it all but worthless...so far.
The other cleaning item I've tired recently was the replace the "brightboy" track pad on one of those Walthers/Roco boxcars with folded up paper towels wrapped around the pad. They are cheap and easy to replace, and since they are paper towels, they are very absorbant. I run this car behind the CMX brass tank car, and it picks up a lot of dirt on the rail that the CMX misses...not to mention wipes off the liquid residue. My only problem is that I need to change the paper towel often as once it picks up the dirt, it starts to spread it around, too. At some point, it will cease being a track cleaner and become a track dirtier. I think I may get a couple more of these for the club and see if that helps.
Paul A. Cutler III*******************Weather Or No Go New Haven*******************
Paul, has your club tried the track cleaner on the layout it self? It is hard to vacuum my bench, there is around 25 feet of tunnels. Keeping the engines wheels clean was not a problem till I switched to a Digitrax SEB?
Is the track cleaner DCC ready?
By the way, thanks for the answer as well.
Cuda Ken
bump
Ken,No, we haven't tried out the vacuum yet on the club layout proper. I only get to the club on Mondays and Thursdays, and this past Thursday we had a kit-building clinic that occupied all our time. Sorry, I'll try to test out the Atlas car next week.
The Atlas track cleaner car is DCC ready, and has an 8-pin socket. I removed the dummy plug, and inserted a Digitrax DZ125 decoder with the 8-pin plug on the wire harness. I was able to tuck the decoder under the PCB, so it was out of the way.
To get at the plug, you have to remove the inside axle on the truck below it to remove the truck (be careful of the little contact springs on top of the truck). Then there's two outer screws under where the truck was that need removed. Once that's done, the top hood comes off, exposing the wet "tank", the motor, the switch, and the PCB with the 8-pin plug.
This car comes with Kadees, BTW, mounted in NEM-type coupler boxes (it is a UK car, after all).