heyy guys for some reason my layout is horrible lately. ever sense i started ballasting tracks dont work trains derail engine wheels grind and it just doesnt work. heres some pics i think i need too clean my track any ideas too clean track with? any solutions too my problem? thnx keith.
You probably got glue on the track. I’d use a Brite Boy. You can get them at your local Hobby Shop. After you get it cleaned off, you can polish it with a metal polish and it should stay clean for a while.
Keith, we need a bit more info here. This is going on the assumption that everything worked well before the ballasting.
What did you use to hold down your ballast (what type glue)?
How do you have the electrical feeds connected to the tracks (wire soldered, terminal track)?
Did you clean the railheads at all after ballasting? It’s quite common to get some glue residue on the rails and it doesn’t take much to insulate 12 VDC.
Is there any ballast against the insides of the rails (above the ties)? This could be your derailment and grinding noise problem.
Chip and Tom have you on the right track. Checking for errant ballast is a time consuming and detailed task. One wrong stone is enough, especially near switches. For track cleaning, you need to also get the inside and outside top of the rails, especially on curves. Sometimes it is the flange and not the tire itself that picks up the signal.
Space Mouse, whats a brite boy?
TomDiehl I used Scenic Cement
ARTHILL i used i stiff brush and then a soft bru***oo clean up and it still is horrible i dk what too do?
A brightboy looks like a pencil eraser and cleans the track the same way. I have seen them in all train shops. You need one. Just brushing out the ballast is not enough. You need to visually inspect the inside of all the rails and get ALL of the stones out. Run a spare set of trucks over the rail and listen for a click. Any little sound is a warning signal.
This part of layout building is very tedius. Many recomend running a vacumn cleaner hose over the rail, but that only deals with loose stones. Inspection is still the only way I know.
Keith, one tool that is good to help in getting the tiny ballast removed are dental picks. Some a curved which helps in tight spots and some straight. You can normally pick(sic) them up at swap meets, crafts shows and RR shows. They are excellent around the layout.
Yes, definately buff off the top of the rails with the Bright Boy and check the inside of the rails as Bob said above. You can also use a small screwdriver to dislodge the ballast pieces that may be causing the problems agains the railhead.
A Bright Boy
It looks like you glued ballast to the tops of the crossties and insides of the rail. Ballast should not cover the crossties. Take a small flat blade screwdriver and run it along the insides of the rail to dislodge any ballast that is on the rail. It sounds like your wheel flanges are hitting chunks of ballast as your train runs around the layout.
I would go to Kato Unitrack for any layout in N scale or HO. You’ll eliminate track problems with that stuff.[tup]
Unitrack is expnesive at $$$18 a switch. Keith. Dont give up on your layout!! Do some work to it to get it running good. You no all the imperfections in my layout!![:(!] I keep working at it and with the help off you with track work it is going to come out eventually. You have pretty cool track plan. Trains ya school NO[[:)] Loco Man
If the Bright Boy doesn’t seem to be working after scrubbing a length of track several strokes, try wiping the rails with a damp cloth. Do about six swipes of an given section of track. You could improve the efficiency with TSP (tri-sodium phosphate) in solution.
Whenever my locos don’t perform after gluing ballast, I have found warm water, soap, and sometimes TSP does the trick very nicely.
I’ll agree that you need to scrape along the wheel flang pathways, inside each rail and above the ties. You could use a flat-tipped screwdriver for that. That, and wet clean your rails.
Could it be that during the ballasting your track joiners came loose, or got wet and corroded between them and the rails with which they were to make contact?