I would like to have a track cleaning car but can't afford a good one like the CMX car. Would it be possible to build one like the CMX car? If not is there any other ideas? And how well does the Masonite slider cars work?
Justin
I use a slider and it works fine.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
I've used a slider for years and it works fine. Mine is designed to attach a clean cloth to the underside and I just pour on some iso-propyl alcohol to the cloth and let er run. May not be fancy, but it does work.
Wayne
Modeling HO Freelance Logging Railroad.
LION hasn't cleaned tracks in years. They all work just fine. A few drops of electric contact cleaner on each of the mane lions, and let the train drag the stuff around.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
I use a Bachmann track cleaning tank car to clear dust off of track I have trouble reaching. Other than that no need for cleaning.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
576 scheduled trains daily. Dust not stand chance.
Well actually, I have never run a full schedule, and don't even have that much equipment on the tracks at the moment, but that is the idea anyway.
roar
I've built one too.
Track Cleaning Transfer Caboose
Wolfgang
Pueblo & Salt Lake RR
Come to us http://www.westportterminal.de my videos my blog
Here's mine on a special edition box car:
I quit using track cleaning cars back in 2003 - they couldn't get all the way back in every siding and industrial spur without a lot of work.
SO!
I Metal Polished the track in July of 2003 and have not had to clean any track since!
I never set out to not think about how long it has been since I last cleaned the track - I just kept ruinning the layout and not having any problems with my engines with sound!
I do clean the engine wheels occasionally ( maybe every 2 months or so) but other than that - that is all I do.
I have Operations twice a month and there are 15 to 20 operators at most sessions.
We have NO Problems!
So it might be something to try!
Only cleaning track once in 8 years isn't too bad! ;-)
BOB H - Clarion, PA
I made one from an old dicast hifi diesel frame and a brass roller. Had to mill the frame a bit to fit the roller, and I can put the body shell over it if I want it to look better.
Alan Jones in Sunny Queensland (Oz)
What do you guys put on the roller?
I cut some kitchen cleaning cloth into strips and wrap a couple of turns around the brass roller. A couple of drops of isopropyl alcohol dropped on the cloth is all I use. it gradually turns black then I replace it with more.
I have them all except the Atlas track cleaning car.
I truly love my CMX. I would buy it again anytime.
No deals on them, but still well worth the MSRP.
Johnboy out....................................
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
i used the masonite sliding track cleaners until recently.
I picked up a couple of the new Bachmann track cleaners and have been using them since. The material is great, it picks up the dirt very efficiently. When dirty you put the pads in the dishwasher and they are like new again.
I had just tried tuning spray for electronics and ignitions. It is great stuff, a quick spray on a rag of the fluid and a wipe-down of the track and I then run the track cleaning cars (2) for a couple of loops around the layout.
It seems to last a long time, its been a couple of months now since the last cleaning and I am having no problems with my track.
Stripes from a kitchen cloth