Have been cleaning engine and rolling stock wheels with cotton swabs and alcohol, which is too time consuming. Not owning a Dremel tool and having no other need for one, that’s off the table.
Just discovered that Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry’s train layout folks use the Kadee “Speedi” wheel driver/cleaner. Model #236 is advertised for HOn3 to O gauge, and #843 is listed for O to G gauge. Both are inexpensive items listing for $11.95 and $16.95, respectively.
Since either one can be utilized with O gauge, in your experience, which unit performs better?
I have a speedy driver that I bought for my N scale engines. I found it to be about as practical as an electric shaver and stopped using it. What I don’t like about it is it leaves minute scratches on the driver surfaces and the scratches accumalate crud. This is something many people can live with but it isn’t the best hygene. I can imagine what it does to O scale engines with their much higher amperage draw.
Using it with three rail engines would be difficult because it is designed for two rail engines (O scale) whose outside drivers draw opposed polarity. With three rail engines, all outside drivers use the same polarity. You would have to to feed opposed polarity to the center roller from another source while turning one driver or both drivers on the brushes. When turning both drivers at once, you risk a nasty short if the cleaner slips and contacts the center roller. If you want to streamline things, you could always feed power to the engine with aligator clips and spin the drivers on your alcohol soaked Q tip. That would be more practical than the speedi driver I think.
I agree with 3railguy here. Will add though, that even getting power to the drive wheels may make this work. But what about rolling stock??? Why not invest in a rotory tool such as Dremel? I’ve had one for ever. You can purchase one for about the same price as the speedi driver and the plus is you can use it for other chores too. To me, it’s one of the required tools of model railroading. I understand you have no other need for a Dremel tool, but then you have no other need for the speedi driver also. Thats just my opinion though. Ken
I agree with you, Ken. The number of time and money saver things you can do grinding, polishing, cutting, cleaning, and trimming. My wife uses my dremel to grind the dogs nails rather than using the dog nail clippers…particularly effective on dogs with black nails (Brutus, would that be Chewy?). Avoiding nipping the quick on 20 nails per dog with the nail clippers was a major and time consuming pain. And with clippers the dogs’ nails came out jagged anyway, doing a number on every surface they touched.
I too have used the tip of a sharp fine screwdriver with some isopropyl alcohol to remove caked on crud on loco and train car wheels. You can do twice the work in half the time with a dremel. And do no damage if you use the right attachment at low speed.
Some guys choose to r&r old rusted track rather than buy new, and the tool pays for itself quickly. That will be one of my projects before I launch a layout. I’ve got a lot of track that didn’t do so well in 34 years of storage. Then I can spend the savings on something I need.
I failed to mention the Speedi Driver is designed to clean the drive wheels of two rail engines. Using alligator clips, connected to a transformer, it applies electric current to the wheels through the wire brushes, thus spinning the drivers on the brushes. It won’t work with rolling stock because the wheels aren’t powered. As I said in my earlier post, things get tricky with three rail because the outside drivers draw the same polarity.
I’ve cleaned rolling stock wheels on postwar cars with a bench grinder. It seems to work but I don’t recomend it. You have to be real careful. It also scratches the surface of the wheels which can lead to corrosion and crud accumalation.
I agree with both of you, but would like to add that I have found, at the local train show, 3M Scotch Gard rotary pads that work with the Dremel. At the show I attended, the vendor had two types of Scotch Gard, a medium a
I wasn’t aware of the scotch gard rotary pads. I’ve used Scotch Gard (or Scotch Brite?) pads to clean rails and they work really well. They don’t scratch. I agree on the moto tool. It’s one handy all around tool for hobby work as well as other stuff such as automotive work.
Jack, that is a great idea about the dog’s nails. Can’t imagine I’d get Rudy to sit still with the motor noise. I was just looking at the wheels of a few items - I never think to clean them - they look ok to me. How do they get cruddy, I wonder?
You sure loved them and took them. But I guess it was free so why not. BTW: some were spanking brand new. So you lied again. But we all now know that is you. Exit laughing [a whole gang of us]. OH, where are your shadows. OH, you ran them all off with ugly emails. [(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D]
You can get a Dremel knock off at Home Centers fairly cheap. They are great if you don’t intend to get serious. Ryobi makes a kit with a zillion different bits.