I tried masonite but wasn't impressed with the results so I started using Scotch Guard which works a whole lot better. I also use a large rubber eraser on hard to clean spots.
Maybe ScotchBrite? The green pads?
GNMT76Good to know about its lack of effectiveness on frogs , etc.
I suspect none of the "hands off" track cleaners are going to effectively detail all such probem areas if that's the goal. On the other hand, doing these by hand is generally not too big a deal once you start paying attention to track conditions. They're predicatble in location and in how fast they build up once the become familiar to you, generally low spots that whatever is swiping past doesn't catch. There's really nothing that does inside or below the railhead, other than somewhat incidentally, just on top.
Also, a News Note: The Trainfest report here on MR turned up a new to me supplier of cleaning pads, kits, and RTR cleaning cars using them. Check out these folks:
http://jamcreations.net/Cleaners_Maintainers.htm
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Kerry
David,
Bite the bullet and invest in a CMX track cleaning car......the only one You will ever need. I personally have two...bought them back when they were 119.00...no regrets. I use it maybe once a yr. on a 12'x40ft double mainline layout. They have gone up in price, but what hasn't? You can find cheaper some places....A review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98Zea0dFewk
I use what they recommend in it...lacquer thinner......when drip rate is correct, You hardly smell the lacquer thinner and the pad Will get the inside web of the rail head, because of how the pad is shaped.
Take Care!
Frank
Frank,
A very interesting - and seemingly common sense - though pricey solution to dirty tracks. Thanks for sharing it. Worth investigating.
A few comments on the video site suggest potential harmful side effects to plastic from the lacquer thinner and offer opposing opinions as to the point of weight transference, which could affect the quality of the cleaning. I guess that the car is made of brass for all this weight, correct? And what other cleaning solvents have you used in this car? Comments from your experience on both counts: weight and solvents?
Any chemists out there who can chime in on the various cleaning agents and their application for cleaning tracks without harming anything or being magnets for dust bunnies?
M.B. Klein sells this car for $160 today, as well as replacement pads for $6.00. Does CMX have its own website? A Google search showed only places to buy the car.
GNMT76 Frank, A very interesting - and seemingly common sense - though pricey solution to dirty tracks. Thanks for sharing it. Worth investigating. A few comments on the video site suggest potential harmful side effects to plastic from the lacquer thinner and offer opposing opinions as to the point of weight transference, which could affect the quality of the cleaning. I guess that the car is made of brass for all this weight, correct? And what other cleaning solvents have you used in this car? Comments from your experience on both counts: weight and solvents? Any chemists out there who can chime in on the various cleaning agents and their application for cleaning tracks without harming anything or being magnets for dust bunnies? M.B. Klein sells this car for $160 today, as well as replacement pads for $6.00. Does CMX have its own website? A Google search showed only places to buy the car.
Many like the CMX as a key, but pricey, part of their approach. I am one. The pad is sprung so some force is exerted beyond the weight of the pad. The brass car is quite heavy, but a limited amount of force goes to the pad vs. the weight on the trucks. But it's enough for the car to have quite significant drag (I usually run it with 2 locos), so I would not worry about light contact. And note that it has an easy job of removing dirt (unlike a bright boy which demands more force) as the solvent is loosening the dirt and the pad picking it up.
The pad is basically corderoy (cotton, I'd guess). I keep clean strips in one baggie and another baggie is for the dirty ones, until they get washed (in a sock so they don't get lost). You probably don't even need a replacement pack.
I use denatured alcohol because that's what I started using when I got the car. I understand that lacquer thinner may work better but I have not bothered. I don't think either will bother, for instance, my painted rail sides. That's because the drip is set by adjusting the air inlet such that a few (6-8??, I forget) drips per minute fall on the pad to just keep it solvent damp.
It's a luxury and works well, as it always cures the few spots on my track that can eventually cause a sound loco to "hiccup" with a brief contact interruption.
I like the CMX as just an occasional part of the process, not the only tool in the box. That is, starting with gleamed track, plus routine inclusion of the (80/20) masonite cars plus the CMX gives a nice balance to things IMHO. You will find various opinions. It might make a difference if you are running sound or not, DCC or not.
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
Not too much to add aside from what Paul posted.....but I will add...when they were going for 120.00 apiece, I thought that was too much money too, until I bought one and experienced it's performance. I have some other's I have bought over the yr's...a centerline drag car..pain in the butt to put the cloth on the brass part, even invested in a dual vertical motorized disc' one, a disc for each motor set in a box car.....waste of money. I forget who made it. I also made My own masonite drag car which I used on one of My older code 100 handlaid brass track layout, but always resorted to just cleaning it by hand with Brasso and a cloth wrapped around a block of wood.......the Brasso would leave a coating on the track to slow down oxidation.....but was a pain also. I was also skeptical about the CMX car...until I bought and used one. I only messed up one time using it....I left it on a siding and forgot to close the valve...the lacquer thinner soaked into the track where it was sitting and to My amazement....It Did not do any damage to the plastic ties....It loosened up the ballast, but when dried completely, there was no damage. The lacquer thinner dries/evaporates too fast to do any harm.....so I continue to use it. Works the best out of everything people use IMHO.
I also don't pull it around......I push it...theory being.. it hits the dirt/dust before any wheels do.
My track is spiked into Homasote roadbed, minumally then weathered with an airbrush and I use Woodland scenic's ballast cement mixed with alcohol, nothing else....works for Me......parts of present layout have been up and running since 1980. Started in HO scale 1950 from S-scale...I was 8 yrs. old.
I still have some left of the original cloth that came with the CMX car, since the early 90's.
You can see how shiney the tops of the rail head are and no damge to the painted rails:
Take Care, Good Luck on Your decision!
Paul,
I appreciate your assessment of the CMX and its track cleaning qualities. If the 1-2-3 punch of clean tracks, the CMX and Masonite pads (or a similar approach) in your tool box can't keep the rails clean nothing can.
Thanks for the photos and your detailed testimony. Experience speaks!
Well, in fact he did. A direct answer to a quite simple question, "How effective...?" Nothing vague about that at all.
The "bullet" has been bitten! There were just too many positive testimonials about the CMX car not to go through life without one. I got it for $145 from Steve's Depot, which beat M.B. Klein's price of $160. I'll get back on this thread with a report once I've used it a few times.
All the best,
Our club has a pair of CMX cars and they can be very effective -- BUT -- some of our volunteer cleaners can't seem to understand 1. setting the drip rate correctly, 2. changing the cleaning pad, 3. refilling the tank when it runs dry.
When not used correctly, the CMX car will soften crud and spread it around the railroad. If an inattentive operator gets drawn into a bull session and lets the car sit without shutting off the drip, mineral spirits can make a mess of flex track and ballast.
The cleaning pads are upholstery corduroy with a vinyl mesh backing and we haven't found a really decent substitute. The pads can be cleaned and reused if you can train the cleaners not to thrown them away. We're still working on that.
Mostly we use the paint sticks with the chair leg pads attached now. A motivated layout owner doing his own cleaning will be able to use a CMX, with hand cleaning in the tough spots.