As a model railroader of only 2 real years I want to keep my track clean and running smooth. I spend a whole pile of cash on Bachmann Plasser EM80C’s, LIFE LIKE track cleaners, my own “inventions” and lots of elbow grease to keep the track clean and running good.
Then I watch this video on youtube saying put some ATF on your rails and everything will run fine. HA! said I - if it were only so simple. Then I go and spend a whole $3.50 on some ATF and applied it to my mainline - YIKES everything runs smooth as silk for the first time ever. I applied it to my other track and all the trains run like clockwork - what’s going on?
I guess everyone here (except newbies like me) knows about this - but what a difference. I am in a state of shock to see how some crummy ATF can transform your layout from a big headache to a big success. Now I can spend time running my railroad and not worrying about if anything is going to hit some dirty track. Life is good!
You just pulled the rip cord on one of the most talked about and controversial subjects in model railroading!
(Another sticky, Steven??)
Lots of modelers swear by ATF, or some like Flitz and others use Whal clipper oil and I’ll bet there are some that use a single malt Scotch.
Personally, I keep the railheads as clean as possible using 99% Isopropyl alcohol (not single malt, though) and a CMX cleaning car sometimes followed by a Centerline cleaner for wipe-up chores.
I’ve been meaning to make a Masonite block cleaner but never got around to it.
Do a search on gleaming and see what you come up with.
I have to believe that after a while, that ATF will accumulate some airborne dust, dead mites and spiders and lint from the dryer and turn into a sticky mess. But… this is just MY 2¢ on the matter. You are sure to get a few more opinions here very soon [:D]
Never done the ATF thing, but have heard good things about it. Use minimal quantities, because you don’t want slippery or slimy. It’s also the case with various contact enhancers/lubes that you want the track as clean as possible before application, because it will act as a solvent and mobilie whatever is stuck to the tracks.
I prefer CRC 2-26 myself. Applied very sparingly with a cork on clean track, it requires very little maintenance and is made specifically for enhancing and preserving electrical contact.
I don’t doubt for a second that it instantly made an improvement. However, that improvement is going to be short lived. As mentioned above, ANY liquid you apply to the rails will be a great magnet for air-borne particulates. These will continue to build up on your track and all your wheels, which will happily spread it all around your layout.
Eventually this gunk will build up to the point that electrical continuity will be hampered, and you’ll just spread on some more to soften the gunk and make it work again. This gunk will ultimately get to the point where no matter how much you spread on the rails now, it just won’t break through.
Now you have the huge task of cleaning ALL the wheels on all your engines and all your cars, not to mention the track itself.
I’ve seen this first hand. Engine starts hesitating a bit, spead some more liquid crap on the rails. In the end, I’ve seen rails literally black with residue that I could scrape off with my fingernail !
This topic comes up at least every couple weeks and people still insist on smearing SOMEthing on their rails to improve contact. It should be no secret by now - the rails need to be clean and above all DRY in order to maintain good contact for LONG periods of time. I burnished (gleamed) my rails over eight years ago and haven’t put anything on them or even cleaned them since. Had my first operating session a couple weeks ago in four years and did NO preparation. Powered up the layout and ran trains. Everyone thought I must have had spent days getting it ready to run again …
I have tried all the flavors of the month, ATF, CRC-26, metal polish even graphite in small quantities and have to agree with the above commenters that clean and dry are the best. I have a layout in a two car garage and there is dust all the time. I have gone back to the tried and true method of Isopropyl 91% with those Woodland Scenic appliers. Some people swear by the gleaming method and I have no reason to doubt them but when I tried it I either didn’t have enough patience to complete it properly or didn’t burnish the rails enough to get the desired results. When I notice a change in how one area is behaving I clean it and move on. Of course I also use the crutch of “Keep Alives”.
ATF is also an effective paint remover for most plastics, but it can create a crazed effect on some plastics. So it could possibly affect more than just the dirt.
48 wheel power pickup and the heck with the tracks.
This is NYC you know, people toss all sorts of slops into the trackways. Sometimes there are floods, but with 48 wheel pickup, I don’t even bother powering my slip switches and my double cross overs! Train glides right across them like they aren’t even there.
Somebody send for Moses, we gotta get this line opened.
I don’t necessarily disagree with this, having tried clean and dry for a long time. But after having intermittent contact issues with my light-footed Blackstone C-19s in the sometimes very humid Midwest, I gave the CRC 2-26 a try based on the recommendation of a online colleague who is a retired naval engineer of some sort.
If you do use something, the key to using anything applied to the tracks is use it very, very sparingly. In 8 years, I’ve only applied it layout wide twice. Then I use the end of a cork dampened – not dripping – in a small container with just enough to barely wet the bottom of the cork. My small spray can of 2-26 is a lifetime supply and then some.
As I already noted, make sure your track is clean before application. With 2-26, you also want to wait overnight to 24 hours before running anything. This limits anything picked up by the wheels to no more than the barest pickup.
I figure if it works for the navy, it does OK for this purpose, too. Also keep in mind that, unlike, ATF, Wahl clipper oil, etc, 2-26 is specifically designed for this kind of use as a contact enhancer. It has a very thin viscosity, unlike most other products, so the slight film it does leave when properly applied limits whatever is picked up by the wheels.
Speaking of wheels, the only substantive examples of them picking it up are the few wheels on trucks that are not quite square. Yes, gunk will sometimes build up on them, but this is not necessarily bad, as it indicates adjustment of the truck is needed. This should be kept in mind even when using the more clingy products, if that is your desire. I believe that the riding high wheel tends to arc more than the ones in constant contact, which does attract whatever gunk there is, then allows for a space t
Tom, it is true of some ATF, but the kind recommended for lube use in the hobby is the Dextron III Mercon variety. It is safe for plastics and paints. It is the kind I have been using on my locomotives for years.
Bright boy is my choice. A couple years ago a found a block that was basically a large bright boy. It’s just big enough to span all four rails of my double track mainline so I can do two tracks at a time. I’ve tried metal polishes and gleam and a few other methods that I can’t even remember. I keep coming back to the bright boy method. I know purists who will tell you that these scratch the railheads but by the time I learned this that train had already left the station. My railheads are already scratched so I don’t think I’m doing them any greater harm by continuing.
I am happy using rubbing alcohol, a small wooden block about 1" x 1 1/4" x 3/4", which I wrap a few times with a piece of an old cotton t shirt. The cotton holds the alcohol and picks up the dirt fine. I rub it along the track and rotate the block as the shirt picks up the dirt. It is very easy and keeps the wheels clean as well. I have purchased used freight cars with a huge accumulation of gunk on the wheels from running dirty track. Airborne dust can be enough, so I run my block over my track every couple weeks as part of my maintenance program. Only takes a few minutes since I have done it so many times.
I think it is mostly a matter of whether you want to ask for permission first or beg for forgiveness later. If you have a clean environment for your model railroad, then, your track doesn’t get very dirty.
I am lucky to have such a situation and I only need to clean track on rare occasion with a cloth patch and a bit of lacquer thinner. Usually when I see headlights starting to flicker a bit.
Frequent operation may be a big help too. Since I retired, I can run trains every day if I choose and for hours at a time.
Haven’t used ATF. I’ve used Wahl clipper oil on my tracks after initially cleaning the rails and have been successful with it. For stubborn sections, I’ve used brake clean and or electrical cleaner with good results.
Now, for those who are going to say that brake clean isn’t good for the plastic ties, the brake clean I’ve been using hasn’t affected the 40 year old Shinohara switches or my 10 year old second hand Peco switches & I started using brake clean 3 years ago.
I’ve been lubricating locomotives with ATF ever since I first saw it in these forums (fora?) a long time ago. Maybe the steam loco valve gear and side rods have been slinging it on my once-gleamed rails. I’ve had issues - but dirty rail hasn’t been one of them.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with ATF)
Thanks for all the replies from everyone. There is a lot to process - don’t think gleaming will work as I cannot get to half the track on my layout. Bad planning in the early days when I never even thought you would have to keep track clean
I think I may try a hybrid of cleaning with isopropyl alcohol - to pull off the black stuff, polishing with super fine grade sandpaper to try and smooth it out and then re-applying a tiny amount of ATF. Of course, the unreachable track will have to be serviced by a track cleaner(s) - but I’m sure I can jerry rig a cleaner/sander/atf applier and then just run that round the track until things look “better”.
I was amazed at how my lighted cars responded to the ATF - they run flicker free and look like they are battery powered. So the electrical contact is enhanced - beyond question. I guess the gunk buildup is the price you pay for an easy gain.
Glad you found ATF. I found about it in Jackson, Tenn when I visited a railroad that was fantastic. He had been using it for years without any problems and I have done the same.
I wrote about it on the forum years ago, but there were nay sayers, but I still use it today on my latest layout. Even MR has had articles about it use. Youcan also use Labelle 101 to improve electrical pickup.
In all the years I have been getting/buying Model Railroader, Railroad Model Craftsman, Mainline Modeler, Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette, etc… I have never seen any information on all of these various methods of getting the best results from track maintenance! I’ve seen reviews on track cleaning cars; but, never anything on Gleaming; or, the application of various products to the railhead! Certainly all the theory’s on getting the best electrical continuity from your track warrants some interest from the publishers; yet, nary a word! I guess I certainly could have overlooked some articles; but, can’t say I recall any being written.
