Cleaning steel rail

[Seamonster]

Does anyone know the best way to clean steel rail?  It has a great tendancy to rust, and iron oxide doesn't conduct too well.

I'm asking on behalf of someone else.  My daughter took me to see the layout of a friend of hers who brought a Marklin 3-rail A.C. layout with steel rails and centre studs over with him from Germany when he emigrated 10 years ago.  He's got quite a layout, kind of looks like the Lionel stuff with lots of lighted buildings and lighted switch stands and European style buildings.  Very interesting to see.  He had to put in a 1:2 transformer to boost the voltage for the controller up to 220, but it doesn't like the 60 Hz very much.  He scrubs the rails and oils them but that presents its own problems.  I'm hoping someone has some ideas I can pass on to him.

 

[cacole]

Naval Jelly might be worth trying, but I would put just a small amount on a spare piece of track and wait a week and see what happens before doing the entire layout with it.  It should leave a protective film on the metal.

What the person needs is a corrosion inhibitor.  WD-40 is another possibility for removing rust, followed with something to protect the metal, such as an automotive polish for mag wheels.  Read the directions carefully to determine the manufacturer's claims and usage precautions.

[GMTRacing]

I would think this an excellent application for the metal polish or gleam method. I would get some of the very fine scotchbrite pads (6" x 9") from an autobody supplier cut as needed and clean the track then follow up with Blue magic or Autosol which we use to polish parts. One tube will last a lifetime on a layout. This seems to work well on the Lionel track.  Hope that helps,  J.R.

[AltoonaRailroader]

Does anyone know the best way to clean steel rail?  It has a great tendancy to rust, and iron oxide doesn't conduct too well.

I'm asking on behalf of someone else.  My daughter took me to see the layout of a friend of hers who brought a Marklin 3-rail A.C. layout with steel rails and centre studs over with him from Germany when he emigrated 10 years ago.  He's got quite a layout, kind of looks like the Lionel stuff with lots of lighted buildings and lighted switch stands and European style buildings.  Very interesting to see.  He had to put in a 1:2 transformer to boost the voltage for the controller up to 220, but it doesn't like the 60 Hz very much.  He scrubs the rails and oils them but that presents its own problems.  I'm hoping someone has some ideas I can pass on to him.

 

Hi Bob,

I had bought some really old steel track for my HO layout and I thought I would never get it to work dependably but after hitting it with some 1500 grit and a giant stainless steel washer and some alcohol (GLEAM methond) I was in business and haven't had a problem since. Let us know how you make out with that.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Naval jelly will clean up the rust alright but he'll also need a corrosion inhibitor to keep it from coming back. WD-40 will work ok but may cause traction issues. On the subject of the power. Is there a way that he can wire in a US made power pack? That would certainly clear up the 60hz issue.

[Seamonster]

Thanks for all the ideas.  I'll pass them on to my daughter's friend.  As for the power pack, it never occurred to me to ask if it was AC or DC.  I just assumed because it was Marklin 3-rail that it would be AC.  I'll have to check into that.  If it's DC, his problem is solved.