Track cleaner?

[Anonymous]

As you can tell Ive been ebaying tonight! My sales are all final and paid and it is shopping time! Ive never seen this before does it work well? It looks Bad A$$.
I have a MNP Boxcar track cleaner, but this would be pretty cool with a paint job and a decoder!

[Anonymous]

Very cool. Was it expensive? Ive been trolling Ebay for those as well!

[Anonymous]

I didnt buy it yet there is a few of them listed Amtrak decorated ones as well!

[Anonymous]

Its a nice model,buy doesn't do jack for cleaning the track ( had to use a liquid cleaner),till I got Brightboy[:D],and it is so noisy,that the sound it makes is very scratchy,and high pitched.I WOULD NOT consider buying it,unless you have some way to repower the unit.

[Anonymous]

How does it work, I mean is it self propelled & turn brushes to clean the track at the same time? I would have to put some other shell on it. That one looks to European.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cnwfan11

Its a nice model,buy doesn't do jack for cleaning the track ( had to use a liquid cleaner),till I got Brightboy[:D],

I traded up to Tony's clean machine from the centerline and then dicovered MAAS metal paste cleaner($4.00) thanks to MR Jan 03. Tony got axed, listed & resold so now I do it the old fashion way,hand power.

[eastcoast]

Most automated rail cleaners need a little push because they either
do not have adequate power or are too light to do a good job.
I prefer using primitive methods ( ME CAVEMAN MODELLER ) to
get the dust and dirt up. I will use a bright boy or rubber pad to clean
my rail. If I really feel the track needs it, GOO GONE and a soft cloth is
awesome. Alot of work but effective.
BE VERY AWARE--- Some commercial track cleaners are abrasive and
might scratch the rails and will complicate your problem, making having
to clean the track more often AND will gum up your wheels and motors.

[cmrproducts]

Now that I have been using the Metal Polish I do not have to clean the track and have removed all cleaning cars from the layout. Only clean the track once a year whether it needs it or not.

With 2600 feet of track I don't like to clean track! Never have and never will!

Appearently many do as they still keep on purchasing the cleaning cars and have not tried the metal polish method.

BOB H Clarion, PA

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cmrproducts



Appearently many do as they still keep on purchasing the cleaning cars and have not tried the metal polish method.

BOB H Clarion, PA

High income bracket and they want to go First Class, Pullman.

[Nieuweboer]

QUOTE: Originally posted by locomotive3

QUOTE: Originally posted by cnwfan11

Its a nice model,buy doesn't do jack for cleaning the track ( had to use a liquid cleaner),till I got Brightboy[:D],

I traded up to Tony's clean machine from the centerline and then dicovered MAAS metal paste cleaner($4.00) thanks to MR Jan 03. Tony got axed, listed & resold so now I do it the old fashion way,hand power.

I've been reading a lot about the miraculous properties of MAAS metal polishing as the optimal track cleaner. As far as I know this product is not available over here and since I don't know the ingredients of this product I can't go hunting for a similar polish. We have BRASSO and SILVO copper and silver polish respectively but I'm not convinced that these are suitable for track cleaning since you whould have to rub them on the track and then when they have dried poli***he track afterwards. Is there any help from either the US or from other european forumreaders to find a MAAS comparable polish.

[cmrproducts]

Nieuweboer

Just about any metal poli***hat is used to clean/polish silver will work.

And yes it has to be applied by hand, but then you only have to do it once a year. At least that is what I did but probably would not have had to as the engines were still operating very well.

One thing that happens after the use of the polish is that you do not have to clean the engine wheels as often. Maybe once every 3 months or so. I have over 700 cars on the layout and I am slowly replacing the car wheels with metal ones. I am not finding any real buildup of dirt on the plastic wheels now that I have used the metal polish.

As far as applying the polish, I just use an old piece of cork roadbed and put the polish on the cork and rub it on the rails. I do a spot about 5 to 10 feet long and then use a clean piece of cork to rub the rails to clean the dried polish off. It only takes a few seconds to put the polish on and then remove it. It does not have to be done with any precision. Just get it on and then get off.

BOB H Clarion, PA

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cmrproducts

Nieuweboer

Just about any metal poli***hat is used to clean/polish silver will work.

And yes it has to be applied by hand, but then you only have to do it once a year. At least that is what I did but probably would not have had to as the engines were still operating very well.

One thing that happens after the use of the polish is that you do not have to clean the engine wheels as often. Maybe once every 3 months or so. I have over 700 cars on the layout and I am slowly replacing the car wheels with metal ones. I am not finding any real buildup of dirt on the plastic wheels now that I have used the metal polish.

As far as applying the polish, I just use an old piece of cork roadbed and put the polish on the cork and rub it on the rails. I do a spot about 5 to 10 feet long and then use a clean piece of cork to rub the rails to clean the dried polish off. It only takes a few seconds to put the polish on and then remove it. It does not have to be done with any precision. Just get it on and then get off.

BOB H Clarion, PA

Bob, I like your method and am going to give it a try. What brand polish have you been using?

[cmrproducts]

jamison1

I picked up some Blue Magic (I think that is the name) from Wal-mart (the stuff is a blue liquid). It was just on a wim that I tried this.

We have also used Mothers Mag Wheel polish at the Club.

Just about any metal polish should work. I do not think that Brasso would work as it is too abrasive.

BOB H Clarion, PA

[Anonymous]

Automotive Polishing Compound may be a good subsitute.
Application is the same. I use a brite boy with a six inch piece of old T-shirt(100 % cotton)
wraped around the brite boy.
Apply the cleaner to the narrow part of the BB and drag across the rail head. Let slightly dry
and wipe off with an untreated material around the BB. This way, there's hardly any over laping.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Tweet469

How does it work, I mean is it self propelled & turn brushes to clean the track at the same time? I would have to put some other shell on it. That one looks to European.

It has a small cotton block, that is placed in a holder, near the right side of the middle wheel set, in the picture of the unit.Once fluid is put in through the top small "air conditioner" parts in the middle of the roof. Then the cotton block soaks it up,though once it gets full of fluid,it immediately starts to seep through the cotton and onto the track,before you even start to run the unit ! Once it does start to run, you've got a prettty well soaked area from the unit. Thats why I have never used the unit I have,and its been sitting there, on one of my storage tracks for 20 years. I'm thinking of "scrapping" it, since it doesn't do a thing for me, but take up space, & I cant stand the Union Pacific either.

[cmrproducts]

Locomotive3

Rubbing compound has no wax to it where the Silver/Metal polish has. The metal polish cleans AND also puts a wax coating on the rails which keeps the dirt and crud build from forming.

This is what we are after not just the cleaning ability of the Metal Polish!

BOB H Clarion, PA

[Anonymous]

I just bought a tube of Flitz with the intent of using it as a track cleaner. Any reason why I should not? Some member of the club that I belong to are very apprehensive about using it and caused me to have some second thoughts about it.

Stumperr1939

[cwclark]

the track cleaning car doesn't work...I had one exactly like that one many moons ago and ended up tossing it in the trash..your best bet is a bright boy (it looks like an emory cloth eraser) and after you're done cleaning the track with the bright boy, put a very light coat of wahl's clipper oil on the rail...(I mean VERY light..you don't want the train wheels to slip on grades)..the wahl's clipper oil keeps the rails from ozidizing and also helps keep the wheels on the loco's and the rolling stock clean ...chuck[:D]

[Anonymous]

That along with MAAS was featured in MR Jan 03. It cost more than MAAS but I think they are almost identical products.
It's a metal cleaner on metal track

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cmrproducts

Locomotive3

Rubbing compound has no wax to it where the Silver/Metal polish has.

This is what we are after not just the cleaning ability of the Metal Polish!

BOB H Clarion, PA

Polishing compound is not the same as Rubbing compound.

[Bikerdad]

Another option, available in many bicycle shops, is Simichrome polish. Its milder than Brasso, preferred by cyclists because its great for aluminum. If I knew were mine was, I'd give it a try and report back.

[cmrproducts]

locomotive 3

My mistake (rubbing - polishing compound)

The main thing to remember is that having a protective coating on the track after the polishing compound cleans the track.

I am not absolutely sure, How and Why it works, but it does. I went from having to clean engine wheels 2 or 3 times each operating session to not cleaning them for months. I am running DCC and it was very frustrating trying to do switching with a jerky stalling engine.

Now all of the operators just come in and run the trains without ever cleaning their wheels. A number of the operators bring their own equipment and they have no trouble.

Try it out and see if it makes a difference. If you don't like it then go back to the old way.

Most of our NMRA Div 11 members have changed over to using the metal polish and have had similar results as I did. But the dampness and dust control where the layout is located may have an effect on the way the metal polish works.

BOB H Clarion, PA

[robengland]

then there is the question of cleaning hidden trackage..... How about combining both approaches? Metal polish applied with a track cleaning car (eg the monster from Tony's)

[Anonymous]

I only recommended polishing compound as a substitute.
I usually leave mine in the garage because MAAS is readily available at Walmart for $3.50.

I did own the centerline & Tonys' clean machine and IMO Tonys is a great machine
and I would hire him again.