I just finished ballasting my tracks and I am in the process of cleaning up any excess ballast. What is the best way to clean the rails, what product works best. Also I was told I should replace the plastic wheels on my rolling stock with metal wheels to keep the rails clean. Is this true? If so which metal wheel sets should I get, most of my rolling stock is Athearn, all about 15-20 years old. Would this be an expensive undertaking? I don't intend to do all at one time as I have about 75 pcs of rolling stock
Usually a wet rag or paper towel will soften typical glues for ballast and allow them to be wiped up. Then clean the rail tops with a cloth/rag soaked with isopropyl alcohol and water mixed as it typically appears on drug store shelves.
You can replace the axles on your cars with Kadee or Reebox wheelsets, but there are others. You have to get the axles with the same length, end-shape, and wheels of the correct diameter and style for the car's current shop date. Well, you don't 'have', to, but why not?
Crandell
Do a search on the forum for the "gleaming" process. Many swear by this procedure and I have done a test track and I would agree with them. Gleaming reduces or eliminates need for cleaning other than with a dry rag.
I have switched to metal wheels as recommended by many forum members. I use Intermountain wheels that can be purchased in bulk fro $3 per car or less. The metal wheels attract less dirt and grime and are worth the switch in my estimation.
Good quality metal wheelsets will help your rolling stock run more smoothly. Machined wheels like Exactrail, Intermountain, newer Athearn, Atlas, etc. stay cleaner than cast metal types like Kadee.
Rob Spangler
To clean the rails just use a brite boy or similar.
As to the wheels I would upgrade your favorite rolling stock first and only use them. Over time you can pick up a few more wheelsets and upgrade more cars. It will be like treating yourself to new rolling stock each time and you can build over time. And yes it does make a difference, sounds better and cars roll better. Make sure you pick up a truck tuner while you're at it. Here's a link. They work.
http://www.micromark.com/HO-Truck-Tuner,8241.html
Springfield PA
Most Athearn trucks work well with Proto2000 wheelsets. MB Klein has them for $6 a pack, each pack does 3 cars. so you're looking at about $150 to do every car you have.
The Tool is very handy, not every truck needs it, but for those that do, it's really makes a difference. I snap in a wheelset and spin it with my finger - if it stops instead of spinning for a while, I take it out and use the Tool. Ones that spin fine without it, I leave alone.
Other brands of cars might need different length axles - Reboxx has metal wheels with very precise axle lengths so they aren;t too tight and aren't too loose. But you need to measure the stock ones - accurately. For that you need a micrometer. Reboxx does have a conversion chart but int he past I've found mistakes and ended up with a pack of wheels that didn't fit what the chart said it was supposed to. Measuring takes the guesswork out of it.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I had the same question about two years ago and decided then to r n' r all my rolling stock with metal wheels, and I am really glad I did.
Firstly, almost all my rolling stock was from EBay and, while the bodies are usually good, used wheel sets are often in poor to very poor condition (as are many couplers). I have to take that into account when bidding on sets of cars......how much extra will I need for wheel coupler upgrades.
As to cleanliness....just look at a typical plastic wheel that has been in use. You probably will be able to scrape up a ring of dirt residue from the tire. I can't find this residue on metal wheel sets at all.
I also find that derailments where the car has picked the point at a turnout almost always involve a car with a plastic wheelset. What is happening is that the older plastic wheelsets such as those on cars like yours do not necessarily have contours that promote smooth running through iffy areas....the flanges are too sharp and often too deep...(see NMRA RP25 contours instead). They will pick gaps and ride up on spike plates and ballast that is a little high.
Anyhoo....I use Proto 2000 wheel sets almost exclusively.
That is because they are the best ones supplied by my LHS and the ones I often find for a good price from my favourtie online HO stores. A pack costs me between $9 and $12 depending if I buy several packs a once or a single from my LHS, You can see that it works out to $3 to $4 per car conversion. But you can probably beat that. I live in an expensive area. If a person is willing to by axles by the 100s, he can find good bulk deals from online stores etc.
I found that the Proto 2000 also have an axle point that fits with most trucks, unlike some others. And they fit perfectly with a truck that has been reamed with truck tuner tool (see below).
Another benefit of switching wheel sets is that I used various heights (scale 30" 33" or 36" in combination with standard, underset or overset couplers to bring all my cars into line with coupler height even though they are from many many suppliers and many many years of production.
I second the opinion above that you convert your favourites first, and also that machined wheel sets are better than cast ones.....Proto 2000 are cast, unfortunately.
A must for old trucks is the truck tuner tool. This can be a nuisance to use at times....because it is difficult to get it into position unless the truck is off the car.....and I don't always do that, but it is needed to ensure the cars roll smoothly. Even if you think they are ok, this will make a difference.
But I'm just another old guy who thinks he knows worth of technique.
I just use a Bright Boy to clean glue off the rails after ballasting.
All of my rolling stock have Intermountain metal wheels.
Rich
Alton Junction
I use a pipette to dribble glue on my ballast, so I really don't get much if any glue on the rails. A simple swipe with a cloth moistened with denatured alcohol works just fine for me. If there is a stubborn spot, I hit it with the Bright Boy, then clean again with alcohol.
As far as converting goes -- I also recommend converting to metal as time and budget allow. I use the Proto 2K 33" wheels as well, and have a truck tuner, just in case. Metal wheels pick up less crud than plastic, and leave less crud behind as well. I would, however, convert your lousy performing cars first.
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
I can see little reason why metal wheels would roll better than plastic ones, unless the wheels' profiles were vastly different. Rolling qualities are more dependent on the interface between the axle ends and the sideframes.
I have a mildly abrasive block (made for polishing electrical contact points) which I use to clean the track after ballasting, but other than those occasions, I don't clean track. Oh, and probably 85-90% of my rolling stock has plastic wheels.
Wayne
Dr. W. , there is always one spoiled sport to confound the consensus
I will say that, if any of my tires are found to be needing of cleaning, it is exclusively the odd few plastic wheelsets left on my layout. Neither my locomotives, diesel or steam, nor my metal-tired rolling stock seem to require periodic cleaning on my layout. It is weird. I wish someone would solve this conundrum.
Metal wheels may be closer to round than plastic wheels. Plus metal wheels should be more robust and keep their surface longer. I imagine if plastic wheels were viewed under hi magnification you would see much more piting in the wheel than on metal ones.
wp8thsub Good quality metal wheelsets will help your rolling stock run more smoothly. Machined wheels like Exactrail, Intermountain, newer Athearn, Atlas, etc. stay cleaner than cast metal types like Kadee.
Another comment about Kadee wheelsetes. I new a guy in Indiana who put Kadee wheel sets on a long grain train he ran. It seemed that train had alot of "drag" on it. Later he replaced the entire train set's wheels with Jay Bee wheel sets and there was a dramatic lessening of drag. This was long before I ever heard of The Tool used for re-shaping the truck axle holes. The only visible difference we could notice was that the Kadee wheel sets had a plastic axle with dull pointed ends, and the JayBee had nice metal axles with sharp pointed ends. That may have been the cause, but it also may have been due to the Kadee's having longer axles?
I too noticed that plastic wheel sets built up a lot of crud, even with the minimal running I did. My long term goal has been to replace all those plastic wheel sets but I've found that selling off most of my older, unneeded or bogus rolling stock has resulted in my fleet of freight cars having a higher and higher percentage of metal wheel sets. I think all my P2K cars have metal, all my RTR Athearn and Genesis have metal, Walthers gold line, Atlas and ExactRail. I think only my old MDC, Athearn blue box and Walthers kit cars are the only ones left with plastic wheels, and those are now the in the minority.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
selector Dr. W. , there is always one spoiled sport to confound the consensus I will say that, if any of my tires are found to be needing of cleaning, it is exclusively the odd few plastic wheelsets left on my layout. Neither my locomotives, diesel or steam, nor my metal-tired rolling stock seem to require periodic cleaning on my layout. It is weird. I wish someone would solve this conundrum. Crandell
Well, I'm merely mentioning my own experiences, based on quite a few years in the hobby. Earlier metal wheels were often brass, (like the rail of the time) and were great for collecting dirt, especially if they were also used for current collection. Most ran in cast metal sideframes and were notoriously poor-rolling, although those from Central Valley were a notable exception.
When Athearn and MDC introduced their plastic wheels on steel axles, and running in metal sideframes, they didn't seem to roll that much differently, although the plastic wheels eliminated the electrical shorts which often occurred with metal wheels during some derailments.
When Delrin sideframes were introduced, many lamented the loss of sprung trucks, but the trade-off was that the combination of steel axles in plastic sideframes produced a very noticeable improvement in rolling qualities. Lindberg later came out with trucks which had plastic wheels on steel or brass axles and sprung Delrin sideframes.
If you have good results using metal wheels, by all means use 'em. Perhaps the reason they stay clean is due to those few plastic ones still in use, which, as you note, do pick up a lot of dirt. I haven't noticed a lot of dirt on either my plastic or metal wheels, with the exception of Kadee metal wheels, which seem to attract the stuff. I recently polished all such wheels with a wire brush in my Dremel, so I'll see if that cures that problem or not.
More recent metal wheel offerings in Delrin sideframes do seem to roll very well, regardless of the axle material (plastic, steel, or brass), but I suspect this is due more to the improved engineering of axle ends matched to mating openings in the sideframes than it is to the fact that the wheels are metal.
I do find the noise made by the metal wheels more annoying than that of plastic wheels, though.
Check out the Gleaming process. Get rid of all plastic wheels. Happy railroading!!