Track cleaning methods

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I’ve noticed a few postings regarding track cleaning lately and although this topic has been covered a lot over the years, it may be worth a few comments, especially for anyone getting started.

There seem to be three main methods for clening track.

The first is a form of abrasive pad, and there have been many of those over the years.

Then, there are various chemical cleaners, which I admit I haven’t tried.

The other is metal polish, which I’ll discuss further down.

I’ll say now that I’m no fan of any abrasive pad, disk or other method to clean track unless you have something on the railhead that won’t come off any other way.

Yes, I’ve had to use them myself over the years, but I always follow that up with metal polish.

The problem is simple.

Abrasives scratch the rails, leaving lines that collect dirt, grease and oxidation faster than would otherwise be the case.

The rails may look great when you’re done, but if you don’t take steps to polish those scratches out, you’ll be back to the same problem faster than you got there in the first place.

For normal maintenance, or after I’ve had to use an abrasive, I put a small amout of metal polish on a cloth, wrap that around a block of some sort and use that to polish the rails.

This does two things.

It reduces the scratches left by the abrasive, and it seems to leave a coating on the rails that helps inhibit oxidation.

Obviously, the conditions any layout is located in will vary and that will play a large part in determinig how often it’ll be necessary to clean the rails.

But all rails are subject to oxidation, and if it gets to be heavy enough it will interrupt the flow of current to the wheels of your locomotives.

I’ve found that the occassional cleaning with polish, even in areas seldom used, helps to inhibit that oxidation.

I know from rea

2

Other method seemingly overlooked by OP:

Use electrically conductive lubricant on the rails, sold now by at least both Bachmann and Atlas. It is a non-abrasive very light (clear like water) oil, helps to remove grime buildup from your rolling stock and locomotive wheels while they run, and the excess evaporates relatively quickly such that one will only ever have very minimal grime buildup on the rails. It also improves electrical conductivity.

I run trains several days per week, if not every day, and maybe I have to quickly wipe off the mainline with an ordinary paper towel once a month or every other month, to remove minimal black deposits that will form in some spots of the mainline. One pass with a paper towel is sufficient.

I apply a little electrically conductive lubricant to the rails maybe once every other operating session, for a length of 1’ or so, maybe in two places.

Also note: Kato recommends not ever using any abrasive on their rails, as they are already smooth upon purchase. They say the use of any abrasives at all will leave micro scratches in the surface and lead to increased oxidation. Kato’s rails are already polished, and I would not “gleam” them, ever. I have had very good success with the Kato track, in general, though some turnouts didn’t like the scenic cement leaking in under them when I was over-zealous with scenery.

John

3

The track I used on my layout was a gift from a friend, who had not been using it for years. When it arrived at my place, it was so heavily oxydized, that there was no conductivity at all. I used a Roco track cleaner pad to give the track a real good"scrup" - boy, what a mistake! That track attracted dirt and grime just like Pigpen from the Peanuts.

A couple of weeks ago, I tried gleaming for the first time and I am a convert now. No more abrasive tools used for track cleaning by this gentleman, yes Sir!

I can only recommend to go through the hard labor of gleaming all your track! And while you are at it, don´t forget to clean all the wheelsets and get rid of all the plastic ones!

4

Not to steal the post, but a question I have been pondering on the subject of Gleaming.

Has anyone tried gleaming the track before installing it? Or does the handling and scenicing negate the pre cleaning? Sure sounds like it would be a lot easier.

Thanks,

Richard

5

One of the key issues in gleaming the track is burnishing the rail with a stainless steel washer (orsomething similar, covering both rails at the same time). With this step, you eliminate any burs, especially at the joints. For this reason, gleming the trck before installing it is a waste of effort (well, not completely).

6

For what it’s worth.

The OP is correct; a lot depends on your location. Every area has it’s own problems when it comes down to your model railroad track.

I live in the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Central California and 24/7 we have a 5 to 8 MPH breeze coming from the Bay Area carrying the Bay Area SMOG to settle in Bakersfield. The SMOG is the dirtiest brown crap you can imagine leaving Bakersfield to lead the US for the worst SMOG for at least 355 days of every year. We get about ten days every year with a strong enough wind to push the SMOG up over the 4000’ mountain into LA then Bakersfield drops to #2.

The SMOG dries and leaves a layer of brown crud on everything inside and out. If you don’t keep your car washed the SMOG will eat the paint down to metal.

Operating a HO model railroad in Bakersfield wasn’t an easy task having to spend more time cleaning the rails than running trains.&n

7

Mel,

I use the ACT-6006 when I do get my Centerline cars out, which is not all that often (annually, maybe not even that often). I used to use it more and still like it for general cleaning purposes. Then came my introduction to CRC 2-26, which I use to treat the rails. It takes very little and the performance and reliability enhancement was marked. What I also like about the combination is the limited labor involved and low cost, basically about $30 for a lifetime supply of 2-26 (5 oz spray can) and maybe a 10-year supply of -6006 (8 oz). The Centerlines are a bit more, but you can do that with a rag and block of wood (if you don’t have hidden track like I do) and were a leftover investment from earlier track cleaning solutions, so already paid for. I run a wet one and a dry one together.

Yeah, there’s definitely more than 3 track cleaning methods…[;)]

8

You got that right Mike!

For me it’s “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. Mine ain’t broke. [:)]

Mel

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

Bakersfield<

9

I gleamed all my track(350 ft.), and turnouts(38), before installation and had no negative results. I did not spray adhesive on the rails when I ballasted the track. If an area was impacted by other scenery I wiped the area with alcohol and polished it with metal polish. Cuts made during installation were burnished and polished at the time of installation. Had to do very little of that. Been 8 years now and results remain good. I do run a masonite pad on almost every train and file the black oxidation streaks off the pads now and then. Little used sidings do require a alcohol wipe now and then, but other than that am very pleased with the results. My layout is in a garage that does have some a/c, but no heat in our “winter” here in central Florida.

10

Or there may be no real problems. My former ISL was in my man cave (a small bedroom)along with my work desk and gaming table for my three consoles and game storage racks.

I clean track as needed-maybe every 2-3 months-with 91% Alcohol,a old pill bottle lid for the shotgun cleaning patch and a Walthers Bright Boy if needed.

My ISL was operated on a daily bases usually for 2-3 hours.

11

My “work train” consists of: 1 CMX car, followed by 1 Centerline car (run dry as a “mop up car”), then 1 Drag car, then the mandatory caboose (my case 2.)

I have always used it to do normal cleaning, but have a WAs “Tidy Track” cleaner for when it gets really bad, but only use the felt pads, never the abrasive ones.

Have used regular old track cleaner from both Walthers, WS, and Atlas, good old Isopropyl (91%) Rubbing Alcohol, and had good results from both. I have (finally) ordered a bottle of the ACH-6006 to try.

And, my biggest issue is not the infamous “black crud”, but, dust…

12

Like many, I tried a few methods to clean track. I first strated with Bright Boy and then moved to rubbing alcohol on a paper towel. Recently, I see many swear by using the multi-purpose electrical lubricant CRC 2-26 which I purchased from HD. Websites suggest that you use a SMALL amount applied to sections of a layout and allow the loco to spread it around on the wheels.

The OP and others might want to read about the gleaning process (notice that is apparently spelled with an ‘n’ and not ‘m’) from an earlier discussion.

http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/212742.aspx

13

Blue Point turnout manufacture gave me a tip that works great. Cut a small piece of homosote. Use it like a bright boy. I also use crc 2-26. I run Hon3 and my track does not need cleaning that often. I did buy the cleaning kit from Woodland scenics as it can reach areas without breaking the scenery. It also contains non-embrasive polishing pads.

14

I clean track after ballasting or doing scenery work near the track, using a fine abrasive block meant for polishing electrical contacts. After that, an occasional vacuuming using the brush attachment on my shop vac seems to be sufficient. Since not all areas are sceniced or ballasted, those areas require the initial cleaning as they are completed, but the previously-done areas get attention only with the vacuum. This has worked well for the 20-or-so years the layout has been in operation. I should point out that I operate DC, which I understand is less finicky than DCC . The layout environment is fairly well-controlled, with no heating or a/c, no pets, and no incidental household traffic.

Wayne

15

Many years ago (late 80s) we used a contact cleaner that was referred to as Magic Water that cost about $20 per ¼ oz. It really was magic, it always worked. The Motorola Police Motorcycle radio was notorious for intermittent problems in the many connectors inside the radio and the magic water was a good 90 day fix. Back then any radio installed on a Harley was guaranteed problems, in for repairs at least twice a week. The magic water was Cramolin or Deoxit D100. I’m not sure but I think that CRC came out with their version and did in the Cramolin because it became unavailable. Later on we switched to the CRC product and never looked back. I don’t think it was called 2-26 in the early 90s.

I guess when I retired my brain also took some time off because I never connected the CRC products we used in the Communications Shop to my track problems. I’m going to give it a shot mainly because it’s readily available at HD for $2.98 for 5 oz vs. 8 oz of ACT-6006 for $6.79 + S&H from a hobby dealer. I even have a micro funnel that I can use to load my CMX cleaner from the CRC spray can.

16

I’m pleased to see my post start up a discussion about various methods for keeping track clean.

I hadn’t thought of the electrically conductive lubricant and I thank you for drawing it to our attention.

I realize now that I should have thought of it the other day.

When I was young, my dad repaired TVs. In those days the tuners were manual and consisted one set of contacts that made an electrical connection with another set. Each strip was designed to tune in one channel.

Over time, they got oxidized and dirty and you’d have to fiddle with the knob to get the channel to lock in.

The fix was a can of tuner cleaner. You’d spray it on the contacts as you turned the dial and it would clean everything up for quite a while.

Sounds like the same sort of thing as that conductive lubricant.

It was also interesting to read Kato’s comments on not using any abrasives.

17

For stubborn stains on track; paint, scenery glue, etc., I have a 1 1/2 x 3" piece of masonite that I run across the tops of the rails. Works like a charm. I recently discovered these little fuzzy pads that clip onto axles from Woodland Scenics. Dust Monkeys

I use one at each end of a car. Put a few drops of alcohol on one and leave the other one dry.