Clean track

[Les]

I had not spent any time with my layout until today since  last spring (golf is about over in Iowa) and to my dismay the trains did not run well (or at all).  I tried different things and finally cleaned the tracks - all went well.  I was quite surprised that so much debris could accumulate over the summer - so keep your tracks clean.  Les

[ebtnut]

Yes, track can get dirty just sitting there.  While nickel silver rail does not oxidize as quickly as the old brass track, it will over do the same over a longer time.  Add to that the dirt and dust that just settles out of the air every day (imagine your coffee table without being dusted for 3 or 4 months).  And if there are smokers in the house, it gets even worse.  I would at this point also suggest that you clean your loco wheels.  They picked up some of that stuff when you tried running them, and will be better for it.  I use the Kadee wheel cleaner--the device with the brass brushes hooked to power leads, so that when you apply the brushes to the wheels, the loco runs and cleans the wheels for you.

[Les]

 Thanks ebtnut for your suggestion of the Kadee brush wheel cleaner - I have one on order; this will make the job much easier.  Les

[guslcp]

Hi....EB is correct.  The biggest culprit nowadays is dust and other particles suspended in the air.  Even under the cleanest conditions, dust'll find a way to get in you house and head straight for your layout (it seems...).  This is most noticeable if trains haven't been run regularly, as the trains help in getting some of the dust off.  To ALWAYS keep your track clean, use one (or several) of my TRACK GUARDS when you run the trains.  You'll forget there ever was such a thing as dirty track....

Take a look at it.  It's listed on eBay right now.  Search for TRACK GUARD HO TRAINS under the Toys and Hobbies category.  Current listing ends Saturday 11:00 PM CDT.  Thanks if you look.

BTW..Nickel Silver track oxidizes as much as most other metals.  The great thing about it, it's that the oxide is conductive, so it doesn't present a problem.

Gus (LC&P).

[Jim Banner]

Just running the trains helps keep the dust off the rails.  A group I model with has a layout in our local museum.  It runs 2 trains over the tracks, more than 10,000 times each year.  Yet we almost never clean tracks or wheels (maybe once every couple of years.)  Last year our success rate was 99.95% which means out of 20,000 train runs, 19,990 started immediately when power was applied to the track.  We did not consider that a particularly successful year.