Fleischmann track rubber 6595.

[P.C.M]

Hi All,

 I have been using the Fleischmann track rubber 6595 for a few years now and sent of for a new one the other day.

 

Slight problem is the one that has arrived is a light grey colour and is far more coarse than the old darker one. The reason I stopped using the Peco one was that they were too coarse.

 

The new rubber cost me 20 dollars too. Not happy.

 

Can anyone give me any info on a better track rubber please.

 

Cheers Peter.

[ROSSPOP]

I have been using  the very fine Garryflex/ Garryson 240 grit (brown) abrasive blocks...available on ebay............

 

 

John

Edited August 31, 2017 by ROSSPOP

[The Johnster]

Don't like rubbers (well you've got to wear one, Johnster, or we're not doing it, and that's final...), I mean gritty track rubbers.  They are very effective, but leave scratches on the rail head that attract more dirt and will of course eventually wear the rail head down, but I'll be long dead and mouldered in my grave by then.  I haven't found my ideal solution yet, and am at present cleaning track with a microfibre cloth soaked in my answer to everything that needs cleaning on a layout, Maplin's Switch Cleaner Spray, wrapped around the end of a screwdriver.  Any tough carbon lumps are chiselled off with the screwdriver, gently.

 

Luckily, due I think to a combination of frequent use and careful laying which avoids arcing, my track stays pretty clean mostly, and a brief rub on a trouble spot (we're definitely not doing that, rubber or no!) is usually enough to keep things running smoothly. 

Edited August 31, 2017 by The Johnster

[Roger Sunderland]

Try DCC Concepts track cleaner. Not a coarse rubber it cleans by polishing the surface of the rails. Very little debris and made from rubber impregnated with - I think - aluminium oxide. I just push it around, no heavy rubbing, and it does the job without scratching the rail surface. Not cheap at around £10 but big enough to do dual tracks at the same time. It can also be cleaned by washing.

[timbowilts]

davefrk of this parish, also known as Lanarkshire Model Supplies, does a very nice track cleaning device that is designed to go in a brake van but can go in any long wheelbase van type vehicle

[The Johnster]

This is a not dissimilar principle to the Triang 'Track Cleaning Car' I had in my yoof; a pad soaked in a cleaning liquid, CTC in those days, pushed around by hand if you wanted to get any pressure behind it and not much use otherwise as the vehicle wasn't heavy enough and wouldn't have run well if it was.  It was a good idea but not brilliant in practice, and cleaned your track a bit half heartedly.  And bits of cloth found their way into point blades, flangeways, and mechs.  Posh ones are driven and revolve to 'buff' the railhead, but I don't think it's about the speed of contact, it's about the pressure. 

 

And I've been in some dodgy brake vans in my time, including one that I set on fire with enthusiastic braking, but never one with a pad rubbing on the track!

[P.C.M]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I do use IPA on a rag but find a rubber does get some of the grime off. I will look into the other rubbers mentioned and see how I go.

 

Cheers Peter.

[RJD]

I use a small square of hardboard and run it gently along the track.