"The Law of Conservation of Mass means that it goes somewhere or it stays there someplace which raises the further question that if it stays there, then will there be a catastrophe some time in the future?"
Mass can take many forms, as the periodic table will show. Just because black guck forms in Condition 1 doesn't mean it must be present, or created and distributed, in Condition 2.
Well, yesterday I bought a qt of ATF and applied it to a few places on my mainline. I have been running a train over the main and two sidings that did not receive an application of the ATF and so far there is no stalling or flickering headlights on the main or on the sidings. I thinkthis might work.
But I am a little troubled about one possible issue which has been raised in this thread, and that is where does the black gunk go? The Law of Conservation of Mass means that it goes somewhere or it stays there someplace which raises the further question that if it stays there, then will there be a catastrophe some time in the future?
Bear "It's all about having fun."
I have a four-foot level. Its four sides are as straight as they come. I pick one, force the tie ends against it and then sight down the rails to see if they are indeed straight. I will have placed a thin coating of latex caulk down first and let it set up for about 15 minutes. Once the tracks are straight, they tend to stay that way with the tacky caulking under them.
NO-OX-ID A-Special
No oxidation- electrical continuity..................Done
A little bit little bit. A little bit goes a long way.
I cut an old aluminum yardstick down because I needed a piece of flat aluminum. I guess it's now about 22" long. I also have a 12" adjustable square, so that piece of aluminum is removable and a 6" steel rule.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Phoebe Vet I have a metal yardstick which I lay the flex track against when putting it down. You can't get any straighter than that.
I have a metal yardstick which I lay the flex track against when putting it down. You can't get any straighter than that.
Rich
Alton Junction
richhotrain bearman Yeah, Rich, only two. I can live with all the other aggravations because usually the fix is one time and can be accomplished fairly quickly. Although, admitedly, trying to figure out the fix may take some time. When it comes to cleaning track "Ive Been Working On The Railroad" takes on a whole new meaning. PS: A balky ground throw is also up there. I'll add trying to lay flex track straight and true to my hate list. Rich
bearman Yeah, Rich, only two. I can live with all the other aggravations because usually the fix is one time and can be accomplished fairly quickly. Although, admitedly, trying to figure out the fix may take some time. When it comes to cleaning track "Ive Been Working On The Railroad" takes on a whole new meaning. PS: A balky ground throw is also up there.
Yeah, Rich, only two. I can live with all the other aggravations because usually the fix is one time and can be accomplished fairly quickly. Although, admitedly, trying to figure out the fix may take some time. When it comes to cleaning track "Ive Been Working On The Railroad" takes on a whole new meaning.
PS: A balky ground throw is also up there.
I'll add trying to lay flex track straight and true to my hate list.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
bearman Maybe this is the beginning of a new discussion thread. What are the three tasks in order of priority do you hate to do?
Maybe this is the beginning of a new discussion thread. What are the three tasks in order of priority do you hate to do?
bearman There are two things I absolutely hate about the hobby, cleaning track and ballasting track.
There are two things I absolutely hate about the hobby, cleaning track and ballasting track.
I have reveiwed the MRR May 2011 article and the two threads on this forum. It appears that results are mixed. There are some who swear by ATF and some who pull out the strands of garlic and silver crucifixes if you mention the term. Why am I not surprised?
There are two things I absolutely hate about the hobby, cleaning track and ballasting track. With ballasting track the end is in sight. Once you finish you are done, so I have managed to aproach ballasting as an excercise in Zen. Cleaning track is a whole different story. I probably will go out and get a quart of ATF, apply it in a couple of judicious locations on part of my layout and run a train over the course of a few days and monitor the results.
bearman,
cudaken and I both have tried this over a month ago. In two months of running he has not had to clean the wheels on his layout. I have also tried Marvel Mystery Oil on a second set of tracks, and have had the same results as the set I used the ATF on. I do not run the sets as often as Ken, but I was having some challanges with ash from my wood stove creating surge spots on the layout. To date, no surges, and no dirty wheels, don't ask where everything goes---don't know, don't care--everything works----all I need!
herrinchoker
That's why I asked if anyone had tried ATF, since I am also not a big fan of smearing liquid on the tracks. I'll check out the threads.
bearmanAnyone ever try this?
There are 2 current threads on this:
ATF on the Rail's Cleaning Car's For Sale
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/263149.aspx
No Silver Bullet
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/263407.aspx
I've not tried it but I am of Randy's opinion that liquids on rails cannot be a good thing.
I did not know that. I have the issue and will track down the article.
This was the subject of an article in the May 2011 issue, on page 58.
But to answer your question, I've not tried it. Im partial to the gleaming and polishing method.
Modeling whatever I can make out of that stash of kits that takes up half my apartment's spare bedroom.
Automatic transmission fluid...ran into an on-line video where a Q-tip is dipped into the fluid and then rubbed along 1 -2 inches of rail in several location around the layout. And then when you run trains, the wheels pick up the fluid at the different locations and spread it around the track. The claim is it lasts up to 6 months.
Anyone ever try this?
Hre is the link to the yuotube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmOPOcxXPjE