hornbyhall Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 can any help or suggest any ways to clean my track apart from a track rubber is there anything i can use that will not damage my track thanks hornbyhall Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Metr0Land Posted June 18, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 18, 2011 I use iso propyl alcohol (or rubbing alcohol which is slightly watered down (75pct?) version). Make sure the area's ventilated though - can be a bit fumey in very confined space. I use lincs biofuels (no connection other than as a customer) well packed, quick dispatch etc etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr magnolia Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 I use whatever form of lemon-scented push-bike drive chain degreaser I happen to have around at the time. Spray on kitchen towel or cotton bud end, depending upon the amount of track being addressed, and rub lightly upon the top of the rails. About £5 a can and I always have a few knocking about for bicycle purposes. Need to keep it off yur skin though as it dries it in a flash.. I have of late also taken to using the same spray to savage the wheels and drive trains of my N Gauge locos after I've 'defluffed' them. Followed by a drop of Peco powerlube in the upper gear cog, it seems to do a good job. (goes and looks outside) currently I am using Dirtwash CDI Citrus Degreasing spray. It should be noted that the tin warns me to keep it away from brake blocks and tyres; a warning that I happily ignore. In due course, I suppose my bike tyres will fail and I will fall under the wheels of a road monster at about the same time as the model loco body shells rot through. Then again, maybe not! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 I use whatever form of lemon-scented push-bike drive chain degreaser have you ever wondered what happens to the lemon oil and other additives to that product when applied to the track surface and the carrier solvent evaporates off. I wonder if it acts as the basis of the next sticky gunge build up .... Stick with IPA or surgical spirit and nothing addend. Of course if you have already used a track rubber to scratch and damage the rail surface it is too late - you might as well continue to use sand paper or emery cloth. Also always remember it is not just the surface of the rail that matters - most dirt and gunge is carried around on the wheels of your rolling stock especially the plastic ones and the traction tyres. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted June 19, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 19, 2011 Quite useful info so far. Anyone tried that cylinder gismo that fits in a Hornby LMS style Guard's Van? Looks a bit like the 'bouncing bomb' in 'The Dambusters' (not the Guard's Van, the cylinder ) If so and it's any good, what is the recommended fluid to use with it? Many thanks, P @ 36E Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeremyC Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Quite useful info so far. Anyone tried that cylinder gismo that fits in a Hornby LMS style Guard's Van? Looks a bit like the 'bouncing bomb' in 'The Dambusters' (not the Guard's Van, the cylinder ) If so and it's any good, what is the recommended fluid to use with it? Many thanks, P @ 36E I assume you mean this. I think there was a review in one of the magazines which suggested it was quite effective; I've considered getting one myself. Jeremy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 If so and it's any good, what is the recommended fluid to use with it? I think like all of the drag along cleaners they are quite effective in regular use on good cleanish track There are a number of them around from different suppliers all with the same principles. They use the recommended solvents as above, or sometimes small bottles of claimed "special" solvent - which generally turns out to be the same solvents packaged in small bottles. Cheaper/easier to buy in larger quantities. Of course, though effective - and very useful - at cleaning tract they do nothing about the other aspect of the problem - the wheels. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Moss Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Nothing wrong with a standard track rubber. We have a guy who sources some excellent ones. Cuts them up into squares and we sell them in our club sales cabinets. Best we've tried. Hardly abrasive. We clean our track before every running session and have no trouble at all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bike2steam Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Nothing wrong with a standard track rubber. We have a guy who sources some excellent ones. Cuts them up into squares and we sell them in our club sales cabinets. Best we've tried. Hardly abrasive. We clean our track before every running session and have no trouble at all. If it works, all well and good, but some may disagree, it's the word - rubber that's the key, anything oil, or oil based (rubber, plastics etc) should be kept away from rail tops, most commercially available 'track-rubbers' are excellent 'muck-spreaders', like plastic wheels. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady_Ava_Hay Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 I use the Dapol Track Cleaner. It has a DCC chip in it which operates a vacuum cleaner or cleaning pad. In the tank I put Goo Gone. At the moment i push it by hand and I have found that if the session is infrequent then i have to run it backwards and forwards until the motor runs continuously. Makes the track squeaky clean so that running stock is less likely to get dirty wheels. For locos i use a Trix wheel cleaner and for unpowered stock wheels a wire brush in a Dremel. Another track cleaner that seems to get rave reviews is a piece of hardboard. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 http://www.willegal....lroad/rr-tc.htm http://model-railroa...ck_cleaning_car http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/p/131909/1483147.aspx V&E track cleaning car near bottom of page Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Nothing wrong with a standard track rubber. Nothing at all - once you have started using them then you might as well continue - along the same lines as sand paper, emery loth, wet'n'dry, or even files. The important word here is abrasive once damaged the very smooth surface of the rail just acts as a source for more gunge to collect and build up. You then need to use the 'rubber' again and again to clean (or rather abrade) the rail surface of the same gunge. But if you start out with nice new rail why abrade it at all - just clean it. Soft lint free cloth and IPA - remember the gunge is nearly all organic material principally skin oils and skin cells 'dust'. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HLT 0109 Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 We have had this debate before and I was surprised to read that someone found GooGone to leave a residue. I have to say that, in my experience, this is not true. IPA may well be the ultimate cleaning fluid but if, like mine, your layout is in an enclosed space you will welcome the lack of toxic smell from using GooGone. Applied with a lint-free cloth it works well on the track and wheels. I also use it in my track-cleaning machine to good effect - particularly in the tunnel and other areas that are difficult to reach without removing scenery. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr magnolia Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 have you ever wondered what happens to the lemon oil and other additives to that product when applied to the track surface and the carrier solvent evaporates off. I wonder if it acts as the basis of the next sticky gunge build up .... hmm I hadn't done that particular wondering, but I am now! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classsix T Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 I was recently recommended to use IPA, which was quite handy as one of the printing presses at work uses it in the damping solution and we get it in 20lt kegs. I then saw the same liquid for sale at DEMU, a piddling amount for eight quid a pop, result! C6T. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
corax67 Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 I have used IPA for many years on my home layouts, club layouts and exhibition layouts all with great success. A small amount on a lint-free cloth (old t-shirts are great) and gloop comes off in no time at all and most importantly it does not mark the rail surface. If you have sections of track in tunnels or other hard to reach areas then wrap a piece of cloth over a t-shaped dowel and run this lightly over the track surface. Cottton buds (swabs) dipped in IPA are the perfect solution for wheel cleaning on rolling stock too and you can pop a spot onto a slip of paper which you can then slip this down the backs of wheels to clean pickups for significantly improved running performance. Your local pharmacy can order it in for you (mine does) and the last bottle I purchased was 500ml for £6.25 which lasts years. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alibuchan Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 best thing I found was recommended by Dapol Dave. The yellow foam that is packed around their models is perfect. we had a cleaning session with some meths on a piece of snooker table material, fixed to a wooden pole, and gave the fiddle yard a good clean. I then went over it with the yellow foam and it picked up 2 lines of dirt. Now we only ever use that for the fiddle yard. We still use meths on the senic boards as you cant get your hands under the OHLE. Alistair Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davefrk Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Quite useful info so far. Anyone tried that cylinder gismo that fits in a Hornby LMS style Guard's Van? Looks a bit like the 'bouncing bomb' in 'The Dambusters' (not the Guard's Van, the cylinder ) If so and it's any good, what is the recommended fluid to use with it? Many thanks, P @ 36E Hi, I've just spotted this thread and it answers a question for me.... In the past few days there's been a sudden upsurge in orders for the Track Cleaner Kit and I wondered why.... It's been getting mentioned on here.... I love the description above, a 'bouncing bomb' indeed! TFIC. I thought I might put some detail out regarding our product which was reviewed in Model Rail magazine (May 2011), it achieved a 9 out of 10 for effectiveness and was 'highly commended' behind the Dapol motorised unit so I was delighted. It was marked down for 'ease of use' due to having to build and fit the unit oneself.... A few years ago on the large layout I'm involved with we needed a track cleaner for use during exhibitions, we wanted something that could run continuously, causing no damage to ground signals or rodding, it needed to be unobtrusive, i.e. hidden, and above all not out of place on a British layout, I had a look at what was out there and decided on a roller type cleaner which is a passive cleaner - rolling along with a heavy weighted cloth covered roller, it didn't catch on point blades or leave residue behind. I asked around for what people needed and what problems they had encountered with this type of roller cleaner, they all said they were effective at keeping the track clean but the one thing that did come up was the fact that if/when the cloth wore through or came adrift the brass roller caused a dead short, obvious really (bad for DCC?). So, I built a prototype track cleaner with a plastic coated roller which prevented short circuits. This prototype was used for a three day exhibition and being fitted into an Hornby/Airfix LMS guards van fitted in perfectly with the railway, you could even run a light engine and van occasionally. At the end of the show we realised we had not needed to clean any areas of the main lines during the whole three day show, I had changed the cloths each day, Friday the cloth was 'black'. Saturday not so 'black'. Sunday was just two dark lines on the cloth so this must prove something. The point of this diatribe is that we didn't use any cleaning fluid what so ever, the dirt was lifted off the rails dry! That's not to say you can't use fluids and it's use is described in the instructions. Tests were done on the plastic coating with various cleaners and to date the strips of plastic soaking in fluid are still unaffected (18months) but I do offer to recoat any damaged plastic coating but so far, none. I will try IPA as it has been mentioned. If any more proof were needed then some people who bought a track cleaner when they first came out have now bought a second for the 'down line' All the best, and thanks for mentioning it. Dave Franks. www.lanarksiremodels.com Andy Y, I'll send one to you for the raffle along with my donation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karhedron Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Your local pharmacy can order it in for you (mine does) and the last bottle I purchased was 500ml for £6.25 which lasts years. IPA can be purchased quite economically at Maplin too. One thing to be aware of it that it can soften some types of paint so apply carefully if you have weathered your track. This is not going to be a problem in most cases, just remember to apply sparingly and not slosh it about all over the place. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted June 21, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 21, 2011 Just need to blow the trumpet for LMS (Lanarkshire Model Supplies) as regards superb service. I have my 'bouncing bomb gismo' on the work bench already; (now where did I store that Guard's Van?) The previous owner of my 'new' layout had one and he was pleased, so I carry on the tradition. I'll be trying IPA first off. I can just see one of my 08s or my newly ordered 03 + match wagon pootling about with this Thanks LMS (and very neat little three link shunter's hooks too). Phil R @ 36E Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campaman Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I have not had to clean the track on my small test layout for 8 months, and it sits in a un-heated shed. I read on one of the american forums about graphiting the track, so as it was a test build I was doing I thought I would give it a try. I gave the rails a good clean using a piece of hardboard followed by a rub over with meths, I then used an artists graphite stick to put a thin coat on the top and just inside the railhead. I had to give it another quick rub with the graphite after a couple of weeks in a couple of places where the loco slowed slightly but since then I have not touched it and it just works. This may not be for everyone, but so far it has worked for me. I have excellent slow running, although I am not sure what it would be like with gradients and traction. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted June 22, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 22, 2011 The track rubber cleaners remove the oxidised surface of the rail and the material of the rubber plus the oxide tends to form small lumps of gunge which gets left around the track. I know it produces nice shinny rails but for Nickel silver the oxidised surface is conductive and does no harm. I wipe with Ipa or similar will remove the dirt and leave a good surface. As for cleaning it dry if it works fine I know Ken Payne used the underside of hardboard to clean rails. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davefrk Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Quite useful info so far. Anyone tried that cylinder gismo that fits in a Hornby LMS style Guard's Van? Looks a bit like the 'bouncing bomb' in 'The Dambusters' (not the Guard's Van, the cylinder ) If so and it's any good, what is the recommended fluid to use with it? Many thanks, P @ 36E Hi all, just to say that a track cleaning kit to fit modern wagons will be available shortly:- Similar to the LMS guards van version but designed to be discrete under a modern wagon. Wagon supplied, loaded and weathered by Craig Porteous, 57 Study Group. Dave Franks www.lanarkshiremodels.com Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Bayford Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Weicon contact spray ive sprayed it on and left it and havent cleaned the track 4 months later Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornbyhall Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 thanks everyone for your advice on track cleaning i think i will opt for the ipa hornbyhall Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.jpg.6972d72147371820ff4bc650edce44ab.jpg)
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.