I am reposting the survey; so far 20 modellers have voted; oodles to go.[:)]
Looks like HO is in the lead, but seems porportionate to it’s popularity.
I will keep this topic alive for a while to give others their opportunity to vote
Everything works as stated. However, you haven’t lived until you get Mother’s Mag wheel Cleaner on your wheels. It is like the oxide on video tape. (hard, shiny, and a real dog to remove) I have been omiktting the final polish step and find the results are comparable. The process definately improves performance and I haven’t “officially” cleaned my track for a month. To sum up, the process is definately worth the effort involved.
SEMAFORE
Why do you want to make the rails more dome shaped? Doesn’t that decrease the current carrying area the contact wheels touch? Although it does reduce friction.
Tom
Jeez, has it been 2 weeks already?
What a waste of space!
Another market survey?
Oh brother…
Guys!
Why are we pounding on Semafore?
We often complain that there are too many “non-modeling” or “unhelpful” topics posted on this forum. This seems to be a WORTH WHILE TOPIC…not a waste of space and with a bunch of newbie’s having come onboard, the timing seems pretty good.
Peace.
Let them pound! I love the debating among ourselves. I am not selling a product or service. This is a new (2006) rail treatment process I developed, FREE TO ALL, by applying physics rather than ‘old box’ methods. The poll merely gives us all feed-back as to how many modellers like to try new things.
The wheels are bevelled on prototypical stock so that gravity helps center the load between the rails. This reduces ‘wanderlust’ over the rails.
The rails are rounded so that the load is over the rail’s web, and evenly down to the rail shoe. The rounded head also evenly distributes the load and the heat/cold of climate changes to minimize warping of the rail. Also, real trains produce friction heat. Touch the rail after a medium or longer train passes.
For model railroads, this seems trivial in the load/temperature sense. Yet, we largely need this ideaology in the electrical conductivity sense. If you examine the model wheels, they are indeed bevelled. Mfrs have this right. If you examine the model rails, they are flat. Mfrs DON’T have this right. A bevelled wheel can only ride on the inside edges. So why clean the entire top? Plus, the contact area is like a knife edge, so how much traction can you have? A closer look will reveal a very bumpy surface, also.
Now for some physics. My ‘gleam’ process merely makes the railhead more prototypical, smoothens the bumps, increases wheel contact area, improves electrical contact, and is done once. I have not seen a loss of traction, either.
The ‘black crud’ is mainly due to the electric current trying to keep up with a rolling target, causing arcing, and thereby causing a layout-wide deposit of carbon arc flux residue. Irregularities increase the arcing gap, thus increasing resistance. The higher the current, the more the deposit. The wheels then pick up and deposit this crud. Plastic wheels are not the culprit.
There is oxidation, which varies with the rail’s metal composition and your region’s relative humidity. Your ski
I am quite sure people were brushing their teeth with Gleam way before 2006… And I do not believe it will get you into the model railroader’s hall of fame no matter how much you trumpet this AMAZING NEW PROCESS !!. Sounding way too much like an infomercial.
And finally, some people do not agree with the process you describe being either necessary or completely beneficial.
Gleem for my teeth and Radio Shack Channel Turner Cleaner for my track…The club I was a member of for 15 years used this method and it worked.We would clean track twice a year and spot clean if needed.
[:D]Have you tried this process? I tried it in an attempt to prove it didn’t work. It does work, very well, I might add. Don’t say something doesn’t work if you haven’t at least tried it. That would be like me saying DCC is no good, being that I haven’t tried it yet. I tried the GLEAM process and haven’t had to clean my tracks for 2 months now. I used to have to clean it every 3 days and I live in a very humid and extremely dusty area.[:D]
BTW; Just because you do not believe in the process does not mean others won’t. I am describing the process in full, and the thinking that brought it about, for the benefit of those who have not closed their minds. A 98 percent reduction in track maintenance is nothing to scoff at, because now I have 98 percent more time to model and operate.
I do lots of other things on the model layouts; trackwork, helix, wiring, couplers, lubrication, scenery, and the best of all, operation. Maybe my zeal on the subject is because I can spend so much more time on these things, and so little time on the mundane chore of keeping the rails clean.
If you’re bored with me, go bash cmrproducts’s method. he’s been at it way longer. I am glad he is freed up of the chore by his method. that’s the bottom line of it all, anyway.[^]
Sidflak; Thank for this tip! I will try it on the locos and post my findings.
GLEAMed rails and Mag cleaner may be the magic combo;That would be great![:)]
For those who have participated in the survey, please share your thoughts for all, good or bad. This process is only 7 months old. I really would like all modellers to get more data so they can decide whether to try.[:p]
[To Jeffery Wimberly; I appreciate your views. I also find your postings informative and intellectual; sometimes humorus, always honest. Thank you[^]]
I’m going to try this on my narrow shelf layout on a section of track.
As for the naysayers…what have you got to lose by trying?
3M Wet/Dry sandpaper is of very good quality and still cheap. You can find it at home stores, hardware stores, and even Wal-Mart. But it’s usually even cheaper at auto body supply stores, especially since they often sell it in individual sheets, which is all modelers would really need.
Three months since I gleamed my track and I haven’t had to clean it again yet. My loco wheels are shiny clean.
I am pretty much lost, but oh well. -beegle55
I gleamed 2 pieces of ancient HO lionel brass track three months ago and haven’t cleaned them since. I see no indication of the tarnish that brass track is so famous (or infamous) for.
I modified the process a little. I use 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper on a rubber sanding block. Everything else is the same as what semafore describes.
I just finished up about 20’ of track this week. I am running Atlas code 80 nickel - nscale.
I find my DCC engines run great, especially the cheaper models. Now I suppose this is the
case with newly cleaned track as well. The real test I believe will be the length of time between necessary cleanings.
I am hoping a long time, cause it is not my favorite task!
So the jury is out at this point.
Peter