Are they any good? What should you use with them, alcohol, etc.
thanks,
dave
There is no best. Only what you like best. Some use cars. Some do it manually with different cleaning products, including 2B graphite sticks.
Our club uses a couple John Allen cars for track cleaning.
Rich
Hard to define “best” here…
My track cleaning consist contains 3 different kinds: CMX car, (run with 90% isopropyl [aka “rubbing”] alcohol), a centerline car, (ran dry), and a slider car, (also dry, mine is cratex based, but Masonite would also work here.).
When I really need to clean track, where it gets really bad, I use a WS Tidy-track track cleaner set, run with cloth pads wet with the same 90% isopropyl. (I have never used the tidy-track “rescue” pads, but they are also cratex pads.)
There are cleaners and solvents that work better/quicker than isopropyl, but due too health issues I avoid them. (Asthma.) They would include things such as acetone, laquer thinner, etc… (If you use them do not get them on plastic ties… They will melt the plastic. They also have stronger fumes, thereby the reason I avoid them… However, if the CMX is used, and adjusted correctly, you should have very little smell.)
I certainly wouldn’t necessarily say they’re the best, but the John Allen cars work well for my associates.
Cheers, the Bear.
Clean Tracks?
Have you ever looked at subway tracks. Sure trains run by every three minutes, but clean, muck is clsoer to the mark.
But LION really spends little time cleaning the tracks. The oxides that form on Nickle-Silver rails are conductive, so why bust your budget over them.
Besides, trains of LION have 48 wheel power pickup, him bothers not to even wire some of the crossovers at all. Just like the prototype.
ROAR
I agree with Rich!
I have tried many cleaning cars over my 50 + years of model railroading and all have worked to some level. For the last 8 years I’ve been using and very happy with a CMX tank car with ACT-6006 Track & Rail Cleaner behind my locomotive then a dozen or so freight cars followed by an Athearn bay-window caboose with a weighted mop up pad mounted between the trucks.
A couple of laps with the above configuration around my layout once a month works fine for me. Bakersfield CA has a terrible crud falling out of the sky on everything in sight 24/7 and that takes care of my track.
Mel,
The ACT-6006, does it have a strong smell? I have heard good things about them, but was curious as to fumes/smell… As per my above post.
If anyone can detect an odor from ACT-6006 they have a better nose than I do. If ACT-6006 has an odor I’ve never noticed it.
I opened a bottle and asked my wife to take a whiff and she said with her nose almost toughing the bottle “a little odor, not very much”. It sure works on my track, it gets rid of all the dried Bay Area SMOG that ruins the paint jobs on cars here.
Mel
Modeling the SP in HO scale since 1951
My Model Railroad
I recently bought a CMX cleaner car (the $100+ brass one) and tried several fluids. I found lacquer thinner to be the best for my HO NY cellar DCC layout. It only takes one pass.
I pull it with a BLI SW7 switcher which is relatively heavy but only 4-axle. Big problem is the CMX stalls on Atlas rerailers which, of course, I put inside all my tunnels! Tried less fluid, no effect. I’m now looking for a stronger pulling loco.
Do not park on top of plastic with lacquer thinner (will partially melt it).
That’s another reason why I use ACT-6006, it cleans very good and doesn’t hurt the track or ballast. The ACT-6006 liquid evaporates quickly from roads crossing the tracks and doesn’t disturb any glue or scenery.
I tow my CMX and mop up caboose with a pair of Athearn SD40-2/Cary Body E7s (2.2 pounds each), anything hanging up has a real problem with their power. They have done in Kadee couplers several times over the years.
I like the idea of rerailers in your tunnels!
[quote user=“RR_Mel”]
ricktrains4824
Mel,
The ACT-6006, does it have a strong smell? I have heard good things about them, but was curious as to fumes/smell… As per my above post.
If anyone can detect an odor from ACT-6006 they have a better nose than I do. If ACT-6006 has an odor I’ve never noticed it.
I opened a bottle and asked my wife to take a whiff and she said with her nose almost toughing the bottle “a little odor, not very much”. It sure works on my track, it gets rid of all the dried Bay Area SMOG that ruins the paint jobs on cars here.
Mel
Modeling the SP in HO scale since 1951
On our club layout we were initially quite meticulous about track cleaning to the point of making sure the track passed the white glove test. However we haven’t cleaned the track for several months now and the layout is running better than ever. The other night night I did note that a loco which would normally haul a train up a grade was spinning the wheels. The track appeared clean but thick lines of black came off on the dry wiping cloth. The black however did not seem to affect power pickup.
I am wondering if some cleaning could be counter productive? Perhaps the black is conductive? (but reducing friction hence the spinning). Perhaps using solvent binds the black into a non-conducting layer? Perhaps ultra clean track is not necessary?
Anyway, it will be interesting to see what is need in the coming months.
Bill
Over the yrs. I’ve tried just about every track cleaning car on the Market… It is in My opinion…the fastest, is the CMX filled with Lacquer thinner and when getting the drip rate correct, You will not smell it and will not damage plastic track parts. I also push it around the tracks, instead of pulling it, with two P2K GP9’s or BB SD40-2’s, so the machine picks up anything on the tracks before the engines run on it and it goes on the engines wheels and just spreads it around. I will run a dry centerline at times along with it, behind the tank car…once a year.
Take Care! [:D]
Frank
I’m not directing the Bakersfield SMOG problem at you Joel!
As you know Bakersfield is located at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley. We get a constant 5 to 10 MPH breeze from the North North West bringing the Bay Area SMOG here 24/7. Bakersfield is only a slight bit up hill from the Bay Area, San Francisco/Berkeley is at sea level and 200 miles to the south Bakersfield is at 400 feet.
Yikes! Those are unfortunate facts…
Joel
Nobody yet has mentioned Wahl Clipper Oil, which I have been using since 2001–and I haven’t cleaned my track (or locomotive wheels) since that time.
I posted an article about it on my blog: http://cprailmmsub.blogspot.ca/2009/09/to-oil-or-not-oil-tracksthat-is.html
John Longhurst, Winnipeg
If you have a chance, observe well used real rails. The tops are quite shiny and clean. Model rail track is somewhat similar…only a bit smaller. Point: Run trains often! I have found this the best way to keep rails clean.
Also go for the highest amperage available for your system. This will cut through much crud if it exists. Years back just prior to video taping I had redone a small yard with new paint for rails and new ballast. In my haste to finish, I had forgot to clean rail tops…no problem as I was using quite high amperage with my then Dynatrol analog system. The trains just ran smoothly over the painted rail to everyone’s amazement.
I have heard tales that abrassive cleaners cause some pitting in rails causing exsessive dirt to build up. I have not found this to be true.
I’ve tried several commercial cleaning cars over the years…all did some good, but not as effective as just running trains. The best cleaning car was one that I had built from John Allen’s design. I used a 10 oz.box car, drilled two holes in bottom front to back. I placed a heavily weighted masonite block on two dowels which rode up and down freely. When pushed by a locomotive, this seemed to help. It is better to push the cleaning car. No cleaning fluid was used…only the masonite block rubbing the rails.
My two bucks worth in addition to over 60 years of playing with electric trains.
HZ
HZ,
I agree with You…on the pushing…rather than pulling.
65yr. addiction.
Take Care! [:D]
Frank
On my indoor climate controlled HO layout, where I “gleamed” the rails, I routinely include a John Allen type masonite pad car in my freight train. Every 2-3 months I may start to hear a sound hiccup somewhere and then run a CMX car with denatured alcohol, and clean the loco wheels with same (spinning over a piece of wet paper towel). I should probably switch to lacquer thinner.
Hello All,
Where I live relative humidity rarely gets above 20%. The temperature has never gotten above 80ºƒ; if it does it will break existing records. That’s not to say that in the winter day time temps of 0ºƒ to -25ºƒ in January are not uncommon.
The only street that is paved is the main highway that passes through town.
With these conditions dust is the main problem. I tried several suggestions presented in these forums for track cleaning.
Solvents that left any residue would act like a magnet for the dust and exacerbate the problem.
On the advice of RR_Mel I tried ACT-6006. The test sections I did remained clean (not white glove clean). I treated the entire pike and have had great success!
My method of application was a piece of lint-free cotton fabric (taken from one of my wife’s worn out scrub tops). I soaked it and wiped down the rails. For particularly heavy deposits of rail grime I used a second application.
It’s been several weeks and the rails remain clean. The dust on the rolling stock is another story.
I would seriously suggest wearing a solvent resistant disposable glove (Nitrile). The cleaning solution dried out my skin. Nothing serious but proper protection definitely helps.
As far as cleaning cars I have not used one. The hand application of ACT-6006 has sufficed on my pike.
Hope this helps.