Seems like when I run a loco with traction tires the running rails only, not the center rail, get a grey film on them pretty quick. Locos without traction tires do not do this. Anybody else notice this?
Texas Pete
Especially in curves. Nickle Silver is not as bad as other types. Good old denatured alcohol on a rag will take care of it. Not too happy with track cleaning cars.
First of all I have no proof for this statement; I heard that Goo-Gone might deteriorate the traction tires. Has anyone else heard about this situation with Goo-Gone? I have been using Goo-Gone to clean my track and have not had a big problem with the traction tires. [%-)]
Don’t use Goo-Gone, so I can’t comment from personal experience, but I notice that other forumites tend to follow up the Goo-Gone with denatured alcohol.
I’ve been using something called “Professional Strength” Goof-Off, it works very well and leaves no residue whatsoever, just clean, dry rails. So far, all’s I have is a very small “test track” setup with a couple O22’s, so I can easily go around it with a rag. Mucho ventilation is essential when using this product!! Why is it that the stuff that works really well always seems to be so nasty?
Texas Pete
I think the issue of traction tires leaving residue on the rails has been around for decades now. Many folks (including me) basically won’t buy engines with traction tires because of it. I do think it can be made worse by cleaning products causing the tires to leave stuff on the rails.
I too have noticed this one for a long time now. When traction tires first started being used by Lionel MPC, I noticed there was either just one single one, or if more, they were positioned on the same side of the locomotive trucks.
Now they are commonly put on opposite sides of the same locomotive truck. When a locomotive like this goes around a tight curve, there is inevitably going to be some binding and slippage of the traction tires. On locomotives with dual DC can motors located in the trucks, this is what causes the “growling” sound when a loco is navigating the curves. I’ve also noticed that curved track is unquestionably get the most build up.
Of course, modelers today tend to run longer trains than was done during the postwar era, where one typically sees old photos of trains that are typically a few cars in length. And with the many track systems being uses, it is hard for the manufacturers (well, importers is more accurate) to know exactly where to place traction tires and how many.
So it is up to the consumer to make modifications to suit their own needs. I’ve partially solved the problem by removing some traction tires from my locos, trying to get them on the same side of the loco, and also adding some weight to the inside of the loco. The problem with doing this, is if you have any uneven track on your layout. I also re-adhere the traction tires I leave on the loco using 3M carpet tape, to help minimalize slipping of the traction tires, which I would imagine can also leave build-up on the track.
Some of my locos operate without traction tires, having removed them all, like my Lionel Industrial Switchers and small steamers. I add a lot of weight to them to compensate for the traction loss due to no traction tire and they all run better than originally… especially for the smaller locos which are more prone to stalling on switches due to the shorter wheelbase. And it’s not just the roll