For those that have DCC, I was wondering just how well it runs on slightly dirty track. By slightly dirty I mean like, an Athearn dash-9 will go all the way around without stopping, although it will slow down sometimes and stutter a bit at low speeds, and like a SW1500 switcher or whatever will stop continually, both currently on DC.
I keep my track clean, so I can’t help you.
A clean track means cleaner wheels, less likely to get gunk in the axles/gearbox etc.
Ken.[2c]
Well mine is outside on a deck so I have to clean it like everyday. I have a Walthers trainline CSX track cleaning boxcar, but it doesn’t do much. Maybe I need to have like 5 of them in a row.
As a general rule, DCC with slightly dirty track works better than straight DC with slightly dirty track.
The reason is you are operating with a constant full 12-16 volts on the track with DCC, so those electrons tend to get pushed through any slight crud layer better.
For example, I ran my Siskiyou Line for several years before having to finally break down and really clean the track bigtime because it had finally gotten so dirty you would have to nudge things a lot.
But using a CMX Clean Machine car did the trick and things run like a champ again. Maybe it will be another several years before a track cleaning is required again, aye? [swg]
Wow.
How much is one of those CMX Clean Machines? Hang on I’ll just google it.
Edit: Wow. Actually thats not too bad I suppose. How does it work?
Hey! I will DITTO what Joe said. The CMX Clean Machine does a great job. I use it for routine track maintenance about once a month, if it needs it or not. As NZRmac said, keep your wheels clean particularly on your locos. I have also found out, that the more I run, the better condition the track stays.
[;)] REX
Our club layout (DCC) is in a restored CPR Sternwheeler right on the Lake.
We have to clean our track every week!![V] We tried the silver polish as recomended -no difference. We have 2 on demand display trains & we get calls to come & clean track in between meeting nights because the trains have quit. The doors to the ship are open all day. My theory is that dust is coming in & humidity from proximity to the lake is the problem. Any thoughts ?
Tom
I know I keep preaching the benefits of this, but using chrome polish on the tracks really makes a big difference, not only for DC, but in running N I have yet to run a track cleaning car on the layout. Just my 2¢
Tom:
I don’t think humidity is a problem. I live in the deep South where it is extremely humid all the time. But, there has to be a tie to the atmosphere around the layouts since there is so much variation from one person’s layout to another even with clean locos and rolling stock. It would be interesting to research this deeper.
REX
And it can’t be oxide buildup because Nickel-Silver ( not actually silver) oxide is conductive, although not as good a conductor as track with no oxice buildup. Are you sure the trouble isn’t track power feeds at certain locations where the loco slows? I leave all the track in abox for year for a large Christmas display at our home, never have cleaned the track in 5 years, but last year I had a slow spot, it turned out to be a rail connector. This was a DC only setup, 80 feet of track, a single power feed.
Someone suggested recently using metal polish on your rails, that would work great on your out-door-ish railroad banini_jeque.
Ken.
Okay, and you know I have a bottle of chrome polish right in front of me so I think I’ll give it a go. I’m contemplating going to DCC, but the most trains I think I’ll ever be running at once is maybe three, and most of the time just one, so I don’t really know that it would be worth the cost or not. Like sound is nice, but like, for example doesn’t the Athearn Genesis challenger’s sound work with that little remote even if you only run it on DC?
***;
No it’s not wiring etc. The whole RR is dirty. You run your finger along about 3-4 inches & its black. We clean the tracks with alcohal every teusday night & by Thursday or Friday the guys are getting a call. They clean the tracks & its good for 2or3 days more. I very rarely clean track on my home RR usually only after doing scenery . As I said we tried silver polish & it seemed to make it worse. I do notice it is not as bad from Sept. to end of May when ship is not as busy & the doors are closed. From June to end of August the doors are open. This is what made me wonder if it was a combination dust & humidity.
You fill it with solvent (I use laquer thinner) and push it around the layout. You can adjust the solvent flow rate to keep the pad damp the right amount so the rail grime is removed.
Works very good. Most of the better track cleaning cars are in the $80 - $100 range, so the CMX Clean Machine ($99 at Tony’s Train Exchange Online), as a deluxe (and one of the best) track cleaning car is worth the money, I think.
I see. Hmm. I was thinking of making my own out of PVC but the thinner would prolly melt it. Maybe I could fill it with chrome polish instead.
Here’s an idea for Tom. Take a sample of the grim from your track to a lab and see whats in it? I dunno.
I did own the Tony clean machine and the centerline at one time.
The Tony is effective if you want to spring for it. I sold both of mine off and
was converted to MAAS paste cleaner/polisher/retards oxidation.
The Chicago Museum of Science & Industry runs the Tony car with 99% rubbing alcohol.
i joined a club almost two years ago . the track on their layout hasn’t been cleaned in that time and there is no problem with dirty track. after i joined i made a couple of masonite slider cars from some of my old ho equipment and run them almost every meeting. the pads really get dirty after a dozen or so loops around the track but the locos do not have stalling problems or signal reception trouble with the dcc. for the price of a 5 pound box of roofing nails and a sheet of masonite you can make many of them. far less costly than those expensive track cleaner cars.
Every time this thread comes up, I swear that I’m going to try the chrome polish, and I always forget to do so. [V] Thanks for the reminder…I’ll have to get on that suggestion and give it a try.
Oh, yeah, John, we’ve all heard THAT before!! LOL[:D][:D][:D]
Reminds me, I want to try that, too! [:-^]
Darrell, polishingly quiet…for now
Don’t forget to clean your wheels! You may find that a quick wheel-wash will help dramatically. I take a paper towel, fold it a couple of times, and then wet it down with alcohol. Then I put it on the track and put one engine truck on the pad, and let the other sit on the track. I run the engine, and all this black crud ends up on the pad. Flip the engine around, do it again and the wheels are clean.