Stealth Track Cleaners

I was wondering if anybody has used the Stealth Track Cleaners that can be found here: Best HO Scale Track Cleaner Car for HO Gauge Trains
If so what has been folk’s experience with these. I was looking at the GP chassis ones as I have an old Athearn GP38-2 this could be a use for.

Track cleaning…

I’m thinking that with HO you would have enough weight to make a track cleaning car practical. I model in N scale, and there is insufficient mass available for such a car. (IMHO)

I use the GLEAM method of track cleaning. I invite you to Google that. It is work up front, but once the track is gleaming, no need to clean further for years, especially if rolling stock have metal wheels and trains are run frequently.

I also have a cloth pad on a stick with which to apply rubbing alcohol to deal with sticky spots…

Oh, where are my manners!
Welcome BN Green😃

I have an HO boxcar that has motorized rotating cleaning pads and works on a similar principle. I do not know who made it and I believe it is an older product, but it works quite well. The downside is having to change the pads as they become clogged with debris.

I would be a bit skeptical of the product you have linked, because I think the powered rotating action is what makes the car I just described better than say, the inexpensive track cleaning boxcars from Walthers or Bachmann, which seem similar to what you have there (albeit in less-nice models and perhaps with different abrasives). I have a couple of those cheaper cars as well, and they may help a bit, but they don’t provide a deep clean.

When I first saw the header for this string I said to myself, “There is no such thing! All the guys I know who’ve ever done it made a big stink about the job!” :wink:

1 Like

I have and use a CMX Clean Machine Tank Car for track cleaning. It works great (once you get the cleaner drip rate dialed in). I use odorless mineral spirits with it.

I recently purchased an MNP LLC (DCC) track cleaning car. I have used it a couple of times but I need to adjust the downward pressure as the motors that turn the cleaning pads tend to stall occasionally. https://www.mnpinc.com/cgi-bin/shopping/store.cgi?action=link&sku=ACCHO00

I run both cleaner cars (separately) at least once per week as I try to stay ahead of the track cleaning task.