Although this topic has come up in various threads on track cleaning and maintenance. When doing a search, just now, I could not find where this specific topic was a thread. Not saying it hasn't been, just saying I could not locate one.
I've seen little tidbits on Gleaming track; but would like to know more. Like many folks I've used Bright Boys to polish my rail heads and promote good electrical continuity. I also have 5 track cleaning cars made in the same way that John Allen made his, with nails as guides and Masonite pads. I have some "Flitz" polish but have been leery of putting a coating of something on the rail heads, thinking it to be counter productive to electrical contact.
If you have links to discussions on the topic, I am interested.
So, I'd like to hear your "track gleaming" ideas and strategies, thanking you in advance!
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
NP2626
I used Metal Polish (Mothers Mag Wheel Polish and Blue Magic Polish) on my rails back in 2003.
I have NOT had to clean my track since and I have over 3600 ft or track down so far in a 2500 sq ft space!
I threw away my cleaning cars and drags as I never used them ever!
I have never seen any loss of traction because of the wax/polish.
The KEY is to apply it very thin (I use a piece of HO Cork - as I am in HO) and a thin coating of the polish on the cork and just rub the rail heads for 8 to 10 feet.
I then use a clean piece of cork and buff the rails and I am done!
While the Gleaming Process will do everything they say it does - I have had NO problems with dirty track and stalling engines so I never felt the need to GLEAM my rails!
Your layout conditions may dictate differently !
BOB H - Clarion, PA
As another poster suggested last week: Google "model railroader gleaming" and you get more pertinent results than using the forum's search function. Gleaming works great. I still use my track cleaning car if I haven't run trains for a few days but I don't know if that is necessary or not.
Fortunately I copied this to my forum long ago for just such eventualities.
When it comes to having clean track that stays clean, you might want to try this. It was posted by one of the members of the Model Railroader forum. It worked for me. It's called 'GLEAM'.QUOTE: (Originally posted by Semafore)I'm talking GLEAM!: ULTRA_SHINY and Smooth rails can now be had with my 'WHAT box?" approach to this conductivity problem. An HO modeller since 1970, I know the problem WELL!THIS IS A ONE-TIME PROCESS. DO ALL TRACK!!1] On an appropiate-sized block, use 400 wet/dry paper to remove the extrusion milling left on the railheads. The block must span both rails.2] Now use 600 or finer, repeat process.3] Using an appropiate-sized STAINLESS-STEEL piece, apply moderate pressure and BURNISH the rails! The more you slide back and forth, the smoother and shinier the rails become! [ the GLEAM part ]. This is because you have removed the ridges, bumps, and pits. Burnishing helps seal pores with metal, eliminating traps for dirt and tarnish; almost like a MIRROR!4] [For Bob H.] Use BLUE MAGIC or equivalent metal polish to deep-clean the remaining contaminates.5] Last, buff the rails to your eye's content!The shine is 5x more lusterous than just polish alone. The wax left behind is minimal, is not insulating, and virtually eliminates rail cleaning.This is a process HOT OFF THE PRESSES! [Of my brain] I've only been at it 6 weeks with amazing results! {I just added the wax step today.} prior to that, though, the NS HO rails I'm guinea-pigging (300') sans wax STILL gleams today, with slight tarnishing, so I'm gonna wax 'em next!I will also try some classic brass rail to see how that stands up.AND REMEMBER; NO MORE ABRASIVES...EVER!!!!!!Or you'll just ruin your mirror finish, and will have to gleam and wax AGAIN!Dry-wipe with paper towel or cotton. You can always polish anytime; wipe away excess.I've had DCC and DC locos/lash-ups creep at a scale 3-5MPH around the staging level loop 100' with NO STALL or FAULTER. gotta love it
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
NP2626 I have some "Flitz" polish but have been leery of putting a coating of something on the rail heads, thinking it to be counter productive to electrical contact.
I have some "Flitz" polish but have been leery of putting a coating of something on the rail heads, thinking it to be counter productive to electrical contact.
Flitz, Mothers, Simichrome, Etc are cleaners not waxes and do not contain any waxes in their formulas that would inhibit electrical contact
I use the GLEEM process described in Jeffery's post, with Mother's Mag Wheel Polish. I have lifted and re-laid flex track without re-Gleeming - and have had zero problems as a result. The most I have had to do is wipe dust off the railheads - frequently with my fingertips, sometimes with a soft cloth. If my railroad inhabited a NASA clean room I wouldn't even have to do that.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
If this process is such a good idea, I wonder why so little is said about it? Upon getting into the hobby, it doesn't take long for a model railroader to understand the necessity for cleaning track. If they start looking for commercial items for dealing with dirty track, they will quickly find the Bright Boy, then the $25.00-$50.00 track cleaning cars with an abrasive pad, then finally the $100.00 plus track cleaning cars with motors for polishing the rail head; or, a reservoir tank for dripping Goo Gone onto a track cleaning pad. For that matter, why isn't pre-gleamed track available? Wouldn't it be another method of increasing profit for the manufacturers and would certainly be the easiest time to do the process?
I have also heard stories about putting Wahl Hair Clipper Oil on the rail heads helps will help with continuity (electrical pick-up). I have not tried t this method, as I can't get by the fact that leaving oil on things always seems to attract dirt.
I have no problem thinking gleaming my track will work. I'm just wondering why so little is said about it?
NP2626If this process is such a good idea, I wonder why so little is said about it? Upon getting into the hobby, it doesn't take long for a model railroader to understand the necessity for cleaning track.
Three main reasons.
#1. Some don't believe it works. They've never tried it but they still don't believe it. Must be the thought of polish insulating the rails or something.
#2. There's a fair amount of work involved. If for some reason it doesn't work that's all that time wasted. Why take the chance.
#3. If it's so great why isn't it listed as one of the top three things to do?
All three sound like good reasons but at the end of the day they all add up to the same thing. An excuse not to do it. Nearly everybody I know of that's done it properly raves about how good it works. But that's the thing, you have to do it properly. Get in a hurry and you'll make a mess of it.
TA462 NP2626 Another is why isn't it discussed in Model Railroader; or, in other printed media? Because its not very popular and although some people swear by it most people don't believe it works as well as some people say it does.
NP2626 Another is why isn't it discussed in Model Railroader; or, in other printed media?
Another is why isn't it discussed in Model Railroader; or, in other printed media?
Because its not very popular and although some people swear by it most people don't believe it works as well as some people say it does.
From a scale stand point, gleamed rail heads would be right on, on the mainline, where the rail heads are polished to a high luster from use. With all the emphasis on scale fidelity today, this alone should be enough to make the scale folks get on with it.
However, it sounds like for the average layout, the process will take 15 to 25 hours to complete. This alone is probably the answer, as today people lack interest in using elbow grease!
NP2626However, it sounds like for the average layout, the process will take 15 to 25 hours to complete. This alone is probably the answer, as today people lack interest in using elbow grease!
Maybe it's time for Atlas to redesign their track cleaning car to follow the gleam process.
Dave
Just be glad you don't have to press "2" for English.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ_ALEdDUB8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hqFS1GZL4s
http://s73.photobucket.com/user/steemtrayn/media/MovingcoalontheDCM.mp4.html?sort=3&o=27
cmrproducts The only REASON I can think of for those that have not tried the Metal Polish is the Track Cleaning Cars are the ONLY Reason/EXCUSE they can find to RUN a TRAIN on their layout!
The only REASON I can think of for those that have not tried the Metal Polish is the Track Cleaning Cars are the ONLY Reason/EXCUSE they can find to RUN a TRAIN on their layout!
Well, then, you are not thinking very hard.
Another reason not to gleam, or not to use a track cleaning car, is that there may be no need to clean track. Except for those instances in which I have done track work modifications and needed to clean up the rails as a result, I just simply don't need to clean track on a regular basis. I have had my layout in place since 2005, and most areas of my layout have not required a track cleaning since the initial installation of the track.
Where do some of you guys have your layout? In a swamp? A dust bowl?
If gleaming were the end all answer, we would all have done it years ago.
Rich
Alton Junction
Obviously YOU don't read the forums much - as just about every week someone on this forum (as well as the many other forums I am on) asks about TRACK CLEANING!
And what is the FIRST thing the responders say to do to the OP?
Purchase a track cleaning car and use it !
WHY - no mention about Metal Polish or the GLEEM Process.
Because THEY don't believe in the methods as THEY have been told so many times that a CLEANING CAR is the answer.
And the METAL POLISH method WAS PUBLISHED in MODEL RAILROADER back in 2003 or so as THAT is WHEN read about it and tried it!
And as a NOTE - I was building my layout at the time so there was MORE dust than normal in my layout room.
so I had to clean the tracks before every OPs Session as I held them even though the layout was NOT done.
Once I Polished the track - I did not have to clean it every 2 weeks when my OPs Session came up. And I am STILL building my layout! When one has over 2500 sq ft of layout to build by himself - it takes a while.
Yet other layouts in the area were still having to run their $100.00 Tony Trains cleaning car or the Centerline car that states they do such a good job of cleaning their track
YET - they had to keep cleaning the track before each OPs Session. The layout is in a climate controlled room and yet the cleaning continues.
Others are not so lucky and their basements are high humidity and somewhat dusty and the cleaning cars needed to be run.
BUT when they saw that I no longer had to clean my layout after the Polish - they tried it and NOW they NO LONGER have to clean the track on a monthly basis !
Apparently NOT EVERYONE is as LUCKY as YOU! ;-)
Again YMMV! ;-)
I wasn't really interested in causing a big "Ruckus" here! Just interested in understanding the process of "Gleaming"!
NP2626 I wasn't really interested in causing a big "Ruckus" here! Just interested in understanding the process of "Gleaming"!
I agree. It is not your fault, but the thread has taken on a certain undertone that the track cleaning car is somewhat of a fraud and that advertisers are trying to withhold valuable information about the gleaming process.
First of all, in my experience, track cleaning is not a daily process, or at least shouldn't be, in order to keep a model railroad in good operating condition. Where the required track cleaning process is common, there is an underlying enviromental issue that needs to be addressed.
Second of all, why condemn the track cleaning car? Many forum members swear by it.
Third of all, there are many effective track cleaning methods when track cleaning needs to be done, ranging from the Bright Boy, to various forms of alcohol, and many other equally effective methods. Apparently, gleaming is one of them.
TA462:
What you say is true but how do you get by with cleaning dust only twice per year? An awful lot of dust builds up in that amount of time.
I have a homemade cleaning car with the masonite pad that floats along the track. I run that in front of a locomotive every few days if I have not run trains. I also have rigged it to carry a cloth pad soaked in alcohol to get any dust particles that are left. Call it junk, but it seems to work as well as anything to keep the track squeaky clean.
Unless your layout is in a clean room, it will still collect dust and other stuff. Use of an ionizing air cleaner can help, along with more familiar ways to limit dust. I can't see how "gleaming" will prevent the need for all cleaning, just make it less frequent.
One thing that turns me off to the idea is that it does leave the rail head completely shiny. If you look at real rail, it's not, just the inside of the rail head. I use CRC 2-26, in part because it does NOT leave the rail shiny. Instead, CRC 2-26 leaves a dull metallic look that better resembles prototype rail. Application is simpler, just wet the cork with it and rub it on the rails, but there's no need to polish. Your track should be clean first and you'll usually need to wait overnight for it fully dry for best performance.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
It is kind of hard to search these posts but there has been detailed information here somewhere. I didn't comment so I can't find the link. Sorry. I haven't tried it yet but I believe the basic theory is that the top of the rail is so finely sanded that there are no nooks and crannies for dirt to get a hold in so the track stays cleaner.
Jersey Jimbo:
This will link to a detailed explanation written by the late Jeffery Wimberly. Scroll down to his post:
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/212742.aspx
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
A Google search for "track gleaming" also returns results ....
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
OK, I'm going to cause a huge uproar here!
The proper term for polishing track so that it 'gleams' is 'gleening', with an 'n'. 'Gleening' is a verb, i.e. the process by which a track (or whatever) is made to 'gleam', or 'reflect brightly'.
I can just imagine the responses this will incur.
Check the dictionary before you shoot me.
XOXO
I read a post or an article a while back on track gleaming. Does anyone have imformation and/or opinion on it.
I've appended your post to an earlier thread answering your question. We only really need one thread on this issue, I think.
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
sounds like I want to try it. Can you do some track - run trains - do some more and so on until you're done? Or do you have to complete the job once you start ?
Gary
You can gleam as you go. Worst case is that you may want to wipe down the track when you're finally done.
Jim
auroHi there. My experience is of a materials-scientist, theoretical metallurgist, teaching materials in a research university. I have given some thought about gleaming... In my personal opinion, gleaming is more than burnishing. Burnishing is the plastic deformation of a surface due to sliding contact with another object (see wikipedia), and for the purpose of increasing surface hardness (by creating surface stress) and reducing corrosion it is usually performed with a tool which is stronger than the material to be burnished. So, technically, the process of making the rail shine and smooth could be performed with a piece of hard (yet brittle) cast iron. However the best reports have always stressed the need of a "stainless steel" tool (washer). This made me think that there is something else going on. The Vickers hardness of nicker-silver (nickel-copper) is roughly half the one of stainless steel (Vickers hardness measures the resistance of a material to be indented, e.g. made a dent/scratch, see Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers_hardness_test) and therefore it seems plausible to me that some of the chromium of the stainless steel washer might migrate on the surface of the rail. The rail and the washer are burnishing each other. Chromium is quite hard, per se, but it can alloy with copper giving softer solutions. Chromium also forms a very thin layer of chromium oxide on the surface, very stable against corrosion and pitting, and therefore good for electrical arching between rail/wheel and normal wear. If this is the case than: 1) we have chromium on the surface of the rail. This can be checked if one raises the temperature of a test rail and there is some blueish-oxide-compound forming on the surface (remember the stainless steel exhaust manifolds of engines turning blue. 2) we could increase the strength of gleaming by increasing chromium cladding. This could be performed if one choose a high-chromium stainless steel washer to start with. Normal 304 Stainless Steel contains ~18-20% of Chromium. If somebody wants to do some tests, I can look into higher chromium content tools. Opinion ? thanks Stefano C.
If chromium deposition is the key, why not just drag an el cheapo K-Mart chrome plated socket behind the caboose? About 1" for N scale; 1-1/2" for HO.
LINK to SNSR Blog
Would a chrome based polish work then?
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
Stephano,
Thanks for adding this insight. Indeed it would be interesting if someone could determine it the chromium transfer is actually happening, along with how much that aspect created additional performace improvement (vs. the smoothing). And if a certain SS type tool or washer (vs. whatever Home Depot stainless type I used) is much more effective per amount of effort expended.
When I did my track, I noted that with the initial rubbing (after the sandpaper steps) with the SS washer I could feel the reduction of the initial roughness. That gave me a guide on when I had achieved pretty good rail smothness improvement and when additional effort likely was reaching the point of diminishing return. It would be interesting to know, for example, whether additional rubbing had significant performance impact (due to more chromium transfer).
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent