I ran my CMX Cleaning Car for the first time today. I used denatured alcohol as the cleaning fluid.
I started out at 40 MPH, 14 speed steps (halfway up the 28 speed step table) and that proved too fast, so I slowed it down to 11 speed steps which is 31.5 MPH. That is 20 feet of track in 38 seconds or 5 3/4 minutes around my 180 foot layout.
I started out with an Atlas RS1 but it started slipping on zero grade, so I switched to a pair of Walthers GP30s.
I set the drip rate at 15 drops per minute, as recommended in the operating instructions. To accomplish that drip rate, I opened the control valve 1/2 turn. That worked fine, and the odor was minimal.
The work train went completely aroound the layout with the loco consist pulling the cleaning car. Then, I reversed the direction and pushed the cleaning car around the layout a second time.
I had high expectations, so take this for what it was worth, but I was not blown away by the cleaning performance. After twice around the layout, a white cloth soaked in denatured alcohol still produced a mark on the white cloth. True, it was gray, not black. And at the end of the two runs, the corduroy cleaning pad was pretty dirty.
In fairness, the operating instructions do say, "Initially, your layout may require several passes with the CMX+ to clean properly. Once clean, you will only need to use CMX+ once or twice a year. So, I will wait till the odor completely clears, and then I will run the cleaning car again twice around the layout. I will update this thread at that time.
Never used the CMX, but people generally report good results. I’d advise going even slower, as you get better scrub that way based on my experience with Centerline cars. The track looks smooth, but it’s actually bumpy and letting things follow the track’s ups and downs is when things really get down to taking off the grunge.
Depending on how much you slow down, you may also find that reducing the drip rate will still get you plenty of cleaning power. So long as it doesn’t leave things really wet, you’re probably good.
Those oxides probably run fairly deep in some places. I would guess that you’ll never get a streak-free pass on a typical layout because the fluid and scrubbing cloth will always be able to lift a bit of oxide. It’s not as if you’re making a swipe of a whole foot and looking, but doing that very thing may surprise you on N/S rails. Dragging or shoving a small swatch of pad over 20+ feet of rails is not going to leave you with a laundered bedsheet look.
If the cleaning pad is only gray you may have rather clean track or you may not be putting enough pressure on the pad holder. The amount of weight on the holder can be adjusted by the two screws on the bottom side of the holder. I use ATC 6006 track cleaning fluid and have tried denim (old jeans) for a scrubbing pad. My drip rate is set at about 1/4 turn of rate valve and I do about a 15’ section of track, stop, reverse direction to re-do that section and then go forward so each section gets 3 treatments. Speed set at about 8 out of 28. This routine also does a nice job of cleaning the wheels of the engine pulling the car. Noticed a marked improvement of engine performance. I also tried going over the “clean” sections of track just with a piece of cloth wetted with the 6006 and could still see some residue on the cloth. I think using the cloth in hand also gets the inside top edge of the rail clean where I believe the electrical contact is made. This edge is generally missed due to the nature of most commercial track cleaners cleaning only the top of the rails. So my opinion is that the CMX car does a nice job but if you want it even cleaner the hand scrubbing will get you closer to your goal.
I realize that track cleaning discussions can be a can of worms but this is merely my own opinion and others’ results may vary.
Now that is interesting. It may have been in the instructions but, if so, I missed it. I will adjust the pressure on the pad holder before I re-run the cleaning car. Thanks for that info, Mark.
I have been using an HO CMX track cleaning car for at least ten, maybe more, years (I bought it when they were $75. retail!)
I find it to be effective and reliable. I use 99% Isopropyl alcohol in it. I would prefer not to use any lacquer thinner or acetone in it since I occasionally forget to turn off the drip and, so far, I have not had any ill effects from alcohol (on the layout, that is) but I fear a puddle of paint thinner or acetone would not be so forgiving.
I will caution that you should change the cleaning cloth frequently. It took me a while but I finally found an imitation suede cloth that seems to work best for me. I cut my own pads and keep quite a few on-hand so I can change them frequently.
Some fabrics tend to get snagged on switch points and guard rails more than others. Just last night while doing some track “tune-up” work I happened to find a clump of fabric fibers that had collected on a switch point. This was a switch that was in a remote area of the layout and had been giving me derailment issues. That clump of fibers was probably the culprit!
That oxide residue will never completely go away, I believe. My layout room is “fairly” clean but I like to run the CMX probably once-a-month, sometimes in tandem with a Centerline and a Walthers abrasive pad car.
Still, the CMX is my favorite, but not the only tool in my track cleaning arsenal.
From reading other threads on track cleaning, it seems the CMX works best with a dry cloth following behind it. I have a CMX cleaning car and I use my finger in a cloth right after the CMX is done and the track is still wet. I have used rubbing alcohol, 2-26, and some commercial rail road cleaning fluids. All seem to work equally well.
If You would have used lacquer thinner…You would have had a different cleaning experience…there is no doubt in My mind that it is the best to use, as long as the smell does not offend you or have health problems. I have a centerline car from way back…pain in the butt to wrap the cloth around the brass knurled cylinder…but in My opinion there is no comparison to the CMX. If You want, You can put a Mazonite drag car behind the CMX, home-made or other type, I found on My layout I don’t need it.
That is one reason why the CMX comes with the corduroy fabric for the pad. The corduroy seams on the fabric overlap the rails heads slightly. In My post in the beginning I had mentioned that fact as to the possibility of using it contributed to the outcome of the CMX’s performance. If You have the correct pressure on the machine, you should see two grooves in the corduroy fabric along with the black oxidation/dirt lines.
Anyone know where to find good quality cleaning cars in HO scale? I had one from either bachmann or walthers, but the car had plastic wheels, the pads didn’t work very well and the car’s shell somehow broke after just one month.
The CMX car, available in HO and N scale, is made of brass and is quite heavy and solid. The wheels are metal and the HO one comes with Kadee couplers. And yes, it costs just like it sounds, but it’s an investment.
You’re right about that. I finished cleaning my layout, and put my CMX car down on an unfinished section of pink foam. When I picked it up, there was a neat depression in the foam just a bit larger than the cleaning pad, which itself appeared undamaged.
I painted the depression, poured in some Envirotex and gave the nearby house a little pond in its back yard.
I don’t use it quite as often as the CMX. The roller cover—strips of Handi-Wipes® —wrap in only one direction, therefore, you can only run the car in one direction. The cover unrolls and the brass wheel shorts if you back up.
They have elastic bands to hold the cover on but these cut through quickly and when you lose one, and are lucky enough to find it, causes derailments. Ask me how I know…
I bought it when it was the “state-of-the-art” cleaner. I think the CMX came out a short while later so that’s why I have both.
Atlas has (or had?) one made by Tomix? Then there was the Aztec system, too and don’t forget the “electronic” cleaners (I forget the name on those**) but they used high-frequency, Superheterodyne ozone generators to clean the rail.
Lacquer thinner was my second choice behind denatured alcohol. I chose denatured alcohol because the odor is far less, and the warnings about the explosiveness of lacquer thinner vapors scared me off.
I have used denatured alcohol with a cloth rubbed manually on the rails in the past with great success, so I had every reason to expect good results with the CMX Cleaning Car.
That said, I want to be fair to the CMX Cleaning Car. The rails are now cleaner after two passes, and the instructions do indicated that repeated cleanings may be needed when used for the first time. So, I am going to run the car again tomorrow. I think that the jury is still out. I will also adjust the pressure on the cleaning pad which may well make a difference.
Frank, the corduroy strip of cloth included with the CMX Cleaning Car is cut to fit the brass cleaning pad. As installed, the corduroy ribbing sits perpendicular to the rails, not parallel. So, Mark’s observation appears valid that the corduroy cloth cleans the top of the rails, but not necessarily the inside of the rail.
$150! Seems like you could make your own. “Solvent traps” are used (legally) for reasons that would get this post censored. The trick would be to control the dispensing rate. How does the CMX car do it?
The car has a control valve that is tightened or loosened to control the rate of flow onto the cleaning pad. The liquid is dispensed in the form of drops.