N Scale Track Cleaning after Projects (yes, again...)

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

(I did use the search feature of this site and read about 100 articles)

I finally balasted the tracks and also put some gras on. I am still having issues with stalling engines; around switches I was able to clean the points and contact areas, which helped; I also adjusted DCC values of engine decoders to accelerate faster. But sometimes engines still seem to stall on straight segments (lights go off). DCC feeders are installed every 3 feet, at least my volt meter shows current on the tracks (not sure if there is some DCC noise I cannot measure).

Here is my regimen of actions for keeping the track clean – could anyone please look over it and tell me if I’m missing something?

  1. Bright Boy to get grime/glue/paint off
  2. vacuum
  3. Woodland Scenic track cleaner and Rail Pal for 2nd pass
  4. 91% Isopropyl Alcohol to clean off any residue from the rail pal / bright boy

The rails seem to oxidize within five days. The Woodland Scenic track cleaning and Rail Pal usually does the trick then, but at 37 switches and 115 feet of flextrack this becomes a bit time consuming, not mentioning the contortionist acts for reaching into the tunnels, or climbing behind the layout… Any good tips?

Cheers, Thorsten

PS: some current photos of my 12ft x 5 ft L-shaped freelance layout here (and here is the XtrkCad file, and the somewhat fictional layout description to justify my rolling stock and motive roster), one final mountain on Little Walkers Mountain still missing and backdrop removed:

2

This works for us on our club N scale layout, although others on this Forum don’t like it.

Clean rails with bright boy, then wipe rails with finger to get the grit off. We do this as we are cleaning.

Make sure the loco wheels are clean. If not, clean using a paper towel dampened with WD-40 and run the loco trucks back and forth on it. Put a small amount of WD-40 on the locos wheel wipers.

Put loco on the track, and put WD-40 on your finger and rub both rails in front of the loco for about a foot. Then run the loco with or without a train around the layout. Apply more WD-40 on the track about every 30 feet if you have a large layout.

I also have some cars with masonite wiper pads. I run one in every train on the rear like a caboose.

Our layout sits idle for a week at a time, so for the first run, if no scenery work has been done, we push two wiper cars in front of a loco and run them around the mainline twice. That gets the dust up and we are ready to run.

3

First off, I would stop using the Bright Boy, all you are doing is scratching the track which is attracting more dirt, that’s what abrasives do. Bright boy has it’s uses, but constant use is not one of them. Second, you mention that you clean your track often, BUT, you don’t mention cleaning your wheels on your engines or rolling stock, if you don’t all you are doing is putting the crud right back on the track you just cleaned.

There are a lot of ways to clean and keep your track clean, before you posted there is a thread that is only a couple days old, about track cleaning, many ways to do it. The thread title should be about, Track Cleaning Cars CMX and so forth. I personally use the CMX Track cleaning car with Lacquer thinner in the tank, Centerline Car and Masonite drag car. I too have a rather large layout, 12 1/2 X 40 X 12 1/2, that I am slowly, making smaller, I clean the track usually once a year.

Take Care!

Frank

4

Thorsten.

You probably used water soluble glue for your ballast. After the ballast app is dry I use a new kitchen sponge cut into track wide strips with water on them. Just damp. Wipe the top of the rails. Do this 3 or 4 times. More the better. Glue gone. Then a CMX car with clean loco wheels.

Ron

5

It stalls on straight sections? Check to make sure you do not have a slight depression (or dent) in the rails that is causing the wheels to lift off the rail thus breaking contact with the power.

I model in N-scale and when I actully need to clean the rails I use a small strip of 600 grit wet or dry sand paper. There are also lubricants that can be applied to the rail to promote conductivity. Labelle makes one. I forget the number though and it lives in the train room and not on the work bench.

6

I keep my train room windows closed this time of year. We have enough pollen around outside that it will otherwise get all over my track and cause stalling. My CMX takes care of it, but if I leave the windows open the problem will come back.

7

Thank you all for your kind remarks and tips – several things I learned:

  • On some straights there were indeed some dips that were responsible for stalls.
  • Most times it actually was bad pickup from the wheels of the engine; once I cleaned the back of the wheels they worked again.
  • Cleaning up after even seemingly small projects was a great tip: often some smaller dust and dirt particles stuck around, settled, and then the engines dragged them everywhere.
  • After polishing with a bright side of the Woodland Scenic track cleaner I really only have to wipe the rails clean before driving.
  • Cleaning the points of the turnouts is really cumbersome but seems totally necessary. I experimented with powering the points and frogs, and I think that is what I’m going to do going forward. soldering tiny wires to the wipers of the moving points will help, too. So far only one turnout has wiper problems.

The cleaning is still really a nuisance. I never remember when I was 6,7,8 years old cleaning the Merklin HO track with middle contact. But then again, maybe my dad did all the time :slight_smile:

Cheers, Thorsten