Track Cleaning Train

[RosiesBoss]

Introduction

 

How does one keep railheads clean on large permanent model railway layouts? Over my more than 50 years of railway modelling, I’ve tried several systems, including:

• Tri-ang track cleaning wagon, with lighter fluid (eg “Shellite”)
• Cotton cloth rags soaked in white spirit or lighter fluid
• Peco and Fleischmann track cleaning rubbers

In my experience, some solvent based systems are aggressive to the plastics used in 00 scale models, dissolving some (such as polystyrene) or embrittling others by leaching out their plasticisers. Lighter fluid, which is gentler to most plastics, is a significant fire hazard, so I have shied away from it.

 

Track rubbers have been satisfactory for most uses, although not fully effective on rails covered in Hornby live steam oil. These still require some solvent based follow-up and are awkward to use in tunnels and under signals and footbridges. As I get older, I am also finding it harder to lean over my baseboards to reach some of my tracks to hand clean the rails.

 

A fellow club member recently showed me a track cleaning wagon of US origin, but modified to be a NSWGR model to fit in with the rest of his H0 collection. This relies upon an abrasive pad mounted below a heavily weighted bogie wagon. It functions in a similar way to that made by Roco: http://www.omnia.ie/index.php?navigation_function=2&navigation_item=%2F2024904%2Fphotography_ProvidedCHO_TopFoto_co_uk_EU048516&repid=1

 

As my friend’s experience with his wagon was very positive, I looked around for something compatible with my 1930s period GWR layouts Gennigael and Carmarthen Junction. I discovered nothing RTR that I found appealing, so decided to cobble together something suitable. So, what was in my collection of bits and pieces?

 

In 1973, I built a model of Tre Pol & Pen (see Ref.8). To improve traction, I utilised a second-hand K’s Dean tender that its previous owner had heavily weighted and adapted to lean on the coupling to the loco, thus increasing tractive effort. It wasn’t fully successful, so it was replaced in due course by the plastic tender now in use. The K’s tender was slowly stripped of anything that would enhance other models and sat, wheel-less in a cupboard for over 30 years! It was really too heavy to use in the usual way. Light-bulb moment!! Why not re-fit two axles and mount an abrasive pad between them, with foam rubber providing the resilience needed to keep it in contact with the rails?

 

The model could be adapted (in combination with other vehicles) to resemble a weedkilling train, as shown in the images in Refs.1 to 4. No particular problem, as I had at least one other Dean tender available. I could use an existing all-brown Ratio 4-wheeled compo (part of my breakdown train) to be the mess coach and include an existing GWR Toad brake van. It was never going to be a fine-scale model, but would look more in keeping with the rest of my collection than most RTR track cleaning wagons such as https://www.Dapol.co.uk/shop/model-accessories/track-cleaning/b800-ooho-gauge-Dapol-motorised-track-cleaner-1039.

 

Please note that nothing was bought in for this project. Everything came out of my scrapbox or parts bins. In some ways, it was inspired by the old British TV series “Scrapyard Challenge”.

 

Parts

• K’s Dean tender, with supplementary lead weights
• Foam rubber
• Fleischmann track rubber (trimmed to size)
• Airfix City of Truro tender (body only)
• Tri-ang Hall class tender frame
• Hornby buffers (X6206)
• Hornby X171 couplings – chosen for robustness
• Hornby Dean tender wheels (X9652)
• Ratio GWR 4-wheeled compo coach
• Bachmann Toad brake van
• 8BA & 10BA screws & nuts
• Miscellaneous brass rods for handrails, small piping and brackets
• #10 aluminium knitting needle for large piping
• Brass fishing line spinners for large valve bodies
• H0 wagon handbrake wheels – for valves
• Braided electrical insulation for hose
• Dapol figures

Construction/Modifications

 

Apart from fitting the abrasive pad to the K’s tender, modifications were minimal, including:

• Fitting/refitting buffers and tension-lock couplings to both front and rear of the tenders
• Removal of former coal loads and fairing over the coal space with card
• Installation of suitable “piping”, inspired by that shown in Refs. 1 to 4 and 11
• Installation of appropriate handrails, valves and control valve wheels
• Repainting the upperworks gray and frames black (see Ref.9)
• Lettering in a similar way to the tenders shown in Ref.10

Before painting and lettering, they tenders looked like this:

 

 

The frames were painted Humbrol 85 satin black and the bodies and fittings Humbrol 67 matt grey. Bodyside lettering (fictional!) was achieved by printing complete panels in a dark grey, with white lettering in Calibri font. After cutting them to size, the edges were coloured grey with a felt marker pen. The panels were then affixed with PVA glue. Each model was then completely varnished with Humbrol 49 matt clear. The “canvas” hose was coloured brown with a felt pen.

 

Results

 

 

 

I’ve made up a train with only two tenders, as that’s all I had in my scrapbox. Should I find another, it will be simple to convert it to the middle one shown in Ref.4.

 

The modified K’s tender is too heavy for most individual locos. It can be propelled by my Wills 1854 class double-heading with my kitbashed 1076 class. My Centre Models Victory class (No.2161), fitted with Portescap motor/gearbox is up to the task. The completed train will happily go around the 3 ft radius curves on my home layout, but was unhappy with the 3^rd- and 4^th-radius curves on my club’s layout.

 

 

Time will tell whether it will be as effective for me as my friend’s wagon is for him.

 

Even if it isn’t, the track cleaning tender can easily be restored to be a 6-wheeled vehicle and I will still have an unusual (and different!) train formation to operate from time to time.

 

References and Further Reading

1. http://www.omnia.ie/index.php?navigation_function=2&navigation_item=%2F2024904%2Fphotography_ProvidedCHO_TopFoto_co_uk_EU048526&repid=1
2. http://www.omnia.ie/index.php?navigation_function=2&navigation_item=%2F2024904%2Fphotography_ProvidedCHO_TopFoto_co_uk_EU048518&repid=1
3. http://www.omnia.ie/index.php?navigation_function=2&navigation_item=%2F2024904%2Fphotography_ProvidedCHO_TopFoto_co_uk_EU048540&repid=1
4. http://www.omnia.ie/index.php?navigation_function=2&navigation_item=%2F2024904%2Fphotography_ProvidedCHO_TopFoto_co_uk_EU048516&repid=1
5. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/67522-carmarthen-junction-engine-shed/
6. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/70550-carmarthen-junction-miscellena/
7. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/83929-gennigael-a-fictional-mid-wales-branch-terminus/
8. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/70438-gwr-4-4-0s-on-carmarthen-junction/
9. John Lewis et al: Great Western Way (2^nd ed., HMRS, 2009)
10. https://www.mediastorehouse.com/steam/planes-trains-automobiles/rolling-stock-weedkilling-trains/weedkilling-train-tenders-12100242.html
11. D.A.Sackett: “Here comes the weedkiller” (Railway Modeller, Sep 1990)

[M.I.B]

Thanks for the reference to weed killing trains - I have the constituent parts to make one but it's on the backburner for now.   

 

The lettering is a difficult one because the text is too much to make from individual letters - your approach is novel and works. 

[AJCT]

Here's an alternative to the weed-killing train: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/139373-snow-plough-track-cleaner/

 

If the BR-type independent plough is too late-period, the NER had a similar design: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/80134-ner-snowplough-operation/

 

It's possible other companies may have had them too, but I've no information.

 

HTH.

 

Alasdair

[DCB]

That looks great.  I have used something similar with a Wrenn long wheelbase GWR Fruit van chassis and a pair of cut up Toad bodies.  The floor is cut out and a Peco track cleaning rubber secured with screws to a brass strip which engages in slots in front and behind the rubber arranged so the rubber is pulled in both directions.  A Farish 00 94XX or a Wrenn 8F drags this around as it pulls as hard as 30 wagons but it works. We have mainly steel track with N/S points.

We had a Dapol which works great in vacuum mode but is medium useless in abrasive mode, and a thing with a brass roller round which cloth soaked in solvent was fixed. This was medium useless as the layout needed about three hours to dry out before you could run  it again.  The interim cure  was to ban traction tyres which has helped a lot, use the abrasive wagon and to clean local dirty spots with a hand held rubber.   

It is noticeable how much dirtied our track gets when exposed to daylight as ours is by the doorway on the lifting section compared to that in the hidden sidings next to it.

We also have a Brake van chassis with a big magnet under it which is handy fro retrieving odd screws and valve gear bits which Bachmann locos seem to make a habit of losing....

Run slowly it can also pull out track pins which isn't too clever....

Edited February 2, 2019 by DavidCBroad
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[GeraldH]

I have managed to rejig the fairly poor Hornby 4 wheel cleaning coach with a hardboard sled.  The hardboard is fixed to the bottom with bluetac so that it can be easily replaced.  I have now painted the edge of the sled black so it hardly shows.  It seems to work OK and doesn't require a massively powerful loco, so it can be attached to a normal trains and run regularly.

 

I have also used the sled from the 4 wheel coach to improve the effectiveness of the old Triang track cleaning car.  I sometimes run the two wagons together if I want a really deep clean.  At some point I'm thinking of putting a more appropriate body on the Triang vehicle, but it would need a removable roof for maintenance.

Edited February 4, 2019 by GeraldH
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