That is also true of whatever cleaning agent you choose to use if you try this method.   If your cleaning agent of choice does not come in a spray container, I would recommend the use of a small spray bottle to apply your cleaning agent on the paper towel.   The paper towel does not need to be completely wet...nowhere near so...you just want to lightly coat the surface.  Spray it on about 1/3 of the surface of the paper towel going to the edge of one side of the paper towel.  This is the part of the paper towel that you are going to be running the engine up on. 

To dry off the wheels (or to wipe off the cleaning agent), either use another paper towel or just turn the one you are using to a dry spot and repeat the procedure.  I let the engine run for about 1 minute on the damp spot and about 20-30 seconds on the dry spot...moving the engine slightly every 5-10 seconds as the wheels turn.  If necessary, move the paper towel a little and then repeat the procedure 2-3 times.  After you finish, you will see a couple (or a series) of blackened tracks on your paper towel.  That's all the dirt that came off the wheels.  One paper towel can be used to clean the wheels of at least half a dozen engines.

I would also use a double or triple ply paper towel (like Bounty).  It is soft, strong and has impressions pressed into a pattern on the paper towel and the edges of the impressions of the pattern act like a series of soft scrub brushes against the surface of the wheels as they turn.

You can clean the wheels of 20-plus engines in an hour.

I certainly can appreciate the caution of anyone who has a substantial investment in this hobby and for those who aren't comfortable with the idea of using WD-40, you can use alcohol or some other cleaning agent instead.  The only reason that I tried WD-40 was that it was specifically referenced in Model Railroading Magazine.  The paper towel wheel cleaning method (as opposed to making some kind of cradle or jig) was what I was really focusing on here.  The method appears to be simple, inexpensive and effective.  You are not spraying anything on your layout, nor are you saturating a paper towel.  All you are doing here is lightly spraying some on a paper towel which is laid across a track next to a rerailer, running your engine halfway up on it and using the transformer to power and clean the wheels.  The weight of the engine gives you the pressure against the paper towel to clean the wheels and the rail conforms the paper towel to the shape of the wheel which gives you the ability to effectively and completely clean that part of the wheel that comes in contact with both the top and inside of the rail. 

I just wanted to tell the readers about a place that I found surfing the net during my model shipbuilding years...and still patronize a lot...far more than any other online hobby-related merchant.  I mentioned them in my previous post...HOBBYLINC.COM.  The selection that these guys have is unreal...with one exception.  They don't sell Athearn items anymore.  Otherwise, when it comes to hobbies, you name it...they sell it.

I had said in my previous post that HOBBYLINC.COM outsourced, but I'm not so sure of that.  Usually, they ship 2-3 days after you place your order.

You can't beat HOBBYLINC.COM (or their prices) for things like RR accessories, train cars, buildings, figures, vehicles, paints (all types and related stuff like airbrushes and regular modeling paint brushes, thin masking tapes, etc.), scenery, track, track accessories, parts like couplers...in all scales, but especially HO.  They carry acrylic paints that match the RR colors and glues of all types (and the removers).  They are the place to go for modeling paints and paint-related items.  Blue Ridge Hobbies is the only place that I know of that is cheaper (for train-related items), but I think that Hobbylinc has the best and most varied selection.  HOBBYLINC.COM also has an enormous selection of modeling tools of all kinds and by many manufacturers.

Like I said, you can't get Athearn stuff from them anymore, but you can find products by any other train manufacturer.  Their prices usually run 15%-25% lower than the manufacturer's suggested retail price.  If they don't have an item in stock, the website says so in the listing and you can tell them to E:mail you when they get it...and they will.

HOBBYLINC.COM is a great place to know about...for more than just model railroading.  INTERNET HOBBIES is good, too...they also carry a lot of Athearn items.  I have made several orders from them as well.  When you place an order with both Hobbylinc and Internet Hobbies, they will give you anticipated shipping and arrival dates.  I live on the other side of the country from both of them and always get my stuff about 4-5 days before they say it will get to me.  Usually about 2 weeks...sometimes less.  I have never tried to return anything, but they do have return policies on thier site and I have never had any problem with either one of them when it came to ordering anything.

I really like HOBBYLINC.COM a lot.  Visit their site (and the INTERNETHOBBIES.COM site) and decide for yourselves.  I think that you'll like these two.

I am not endorsing anyone here, but I have had very good experiences with several of the merchants listed on Amazon.com (My Atomic, Hobby Warehouse, Horizon Hobby).  Their listings are accurate, their prices are fairly reasonable, and when MyAtomic had a question, they called me and asked.  I haven't had any problems like the kind that you have mentioned with any of these shops and have ordered from them several times.  With the Amazon.com listed merchants, they tell you how many of an item they have in stock in the listing itself and Amazon won't let you order more than the quantity listed from that merchant.  For example, if I wanted to order 10 wheelsets from My Atomic and they only listed 3 available, I could only order 3.  They will suggest that you try another one of their merchants and will often list several merchants that carry the same item.  Prices and shipping charges for all merchants that carry the item will also be listed.  The Amazon merchants ship fairly quickly.

I have dealt with some of the other houses that "outsource" (Blue Ridge, Hobbylinc and Internet Hobbies) and had good experiences with them, too.  One time, Blue Ridge sent me the wrong turnout and I called them (it turned out that their pictures were reversed with the part numbers...I was sent a turnout that went left instead of right) and they gave a refund after I sent it back and sent me the right item.  These places take a little longer but both Hobbylinc and Internet Hobbies give you a projected shipping date and projected date of receipt when you order over the internet that I have found to be accurate (I usually get it sooner).  I have ordered from these merchants many times.

When Athearn didn't have an item I had ordered, they called me and told me.  I told them to send the rest and cancel that part of the order that they didn't have.  They will also give you the option of delaying filling your entire order if the part that they don't have is expected soon. 

I have also dealt with a number of E-bay merchants and only had 2 problems...one was a misdescribed item.  The second was an item that didn't work..I e-mailed the merchant and described the problem.  He told me to send it back, I sent it back (it was an Atlas engine) he fixed it and it works fine.  I got it back within 2 weeks.  Just check the customer satisfaction ratings re: the merchants and you should be OK.

No one of these sources ever substituted an item for one that I had ordered, billed me for something that was backordered (I don't deal with backorders) or tried to give me the runaround.  None of them were out of an item that they had listed on the internet as available.

Those are my experiences and that's who I deal with.

After considering your reply, and after what I read in Model Railroading Magazine, I found something much easier to do.  It was very simple and worked beautifully.

Just lightly spray some WD-40 onto a paper towel and lay it across a straight track near a rerailer.  Put your locomotive on the track and you can just run it half way right upon the paper towel (make sure the coupler clears the paper towel...hold own one side and just set something on the other side [like another engine] to hold it down) and clean the wheels by just holding the engine in place and powering the wheels by using the transformer.  The paper towel conforms to the shape of the track and cleans the part of the wheel that comes in contact with the inside of the rail as well.  WD-40 is great for dissolving dirt and grime.  I was really surprised at how much dirt and gum came off and how clean it got the wheels.  It's great for older engines whose wheels haven't been cleaned for a while.

You wipe off the WD-40 by just turning the paper towel and doing the same thing on a dry spot.  I found that when I wiped off the wheels like this, even more dirt that had been dissolved by the WD-40 came off. 

Turn the engine around and repeat the procedure for the other set of wheels. 

All of my engines perked up an ran better.

Simple and inexpensive.  You can do the same thing with alcohol or some other cleaner.

I am clear on the need to keep the wheels of a locomotive clean, but my question is what is the best, most efficient and easiest way to do it?

One of the ideas that I have in mind is to make a jig as follows:

1.  Take a 4" wide piece of wood (14"-16" long x 1" thick) and, using  my table saw, cut two grooves with the same width between them as the rails of an HO track about 1/4" deep (this would be for the wheels to fit om and the wood surface would be covered by a piece of cloth like an old white T-shirt).

2,  Using two wires with insulated alligator clips on either end, connect one end of each wire to the rails of the track and the other end to the posts of the power trucks.  I would then be able to adjust the speed at which the wheels turn by using the transformer.

3.  Fit the engine frame (with the motor and wheels into the grooves that I cut) that would have the cloth over them, with a little alcohol or some other clearing fluid that would remove any gum deposits on both the edges and the inside of the wheels.

4.  In theory, this would seem that it would work and should be able to clean the wheels really well.  I wouldn't be scratching the locomotive wheels and I got the idea of using a piece of an old T-shirt from a Model Railroading article.

It would probably take about one hour or less to make this jig. 

Another thought that I had would be to do the same as above, but, in addition, on one end, glue down  4" length of track that I would connect the wires with alligator clips to (the other ends being connected to the track rails).  The track section (not E-Z track, probably Atlas) would be aligned with the grooves cut into the wood so I could just press the power truck wheels on one end of the engine against that piece of track and get the electrical power to turn the wheels on the other end (that would be resting in the grooves).

The only reason that I am a little hesitant about the second approach is wouldn't the power truck wheels that are being pressed against the piece of track on the jig (which is connected by the alligator clips to the main track for power) be turning also and wouldn't there be a possible problem with  the gears if I pressed them against that piece of track in a way that restricted the ability of those power truck wheels to turn?

Am I on the right track here (if you'll pardon the pun) or does anyone have any better suggestions)?  If you have any comments, suggestions or alternative ideas, they would be welcome.

Thanks guys.  Was that the right Digitrax decoder?

I am considering buying 1 or 2 Athearn Genesis SD-45 DCC ready engines.

I have dealt with converting older Athearn non-DCC ready engines to DCC using Digitrax decoders.  I have that down and I am sure that this should be easier.  I just haven't done it before.

Before I make any purchases, can anyone explain to me the difference in the installation of a Digitrax decoder in a DCC ready Athearn engine (as well as the proper decoder to use..is it the DH 123D?).  If possible, can you walk me through the process?  I already scanned the Digitrax directions, but I still have a hard time envisioning this procedure due to the fact that I don't have a DCC ready Athearn engine in front of me yet.

Any comments would be very helpful.

Thank you Jim.  You have given me something to chew on.  I was definitely going to break the runs down into either 4 or 6 different sections.  One thought that I had was to use a 3/8" to 1/2" thick plywood square or rectangle (maybe 12"-18" wide) to mount everything for one section on (tape or wires and connection points thereto) which I could then secure with screws under the layout to the benchwork ribs and then just run all of the connecting wires to it (to the power source and the lights)...and do this for each section of lights.  Your ideas on using the eyelets makes a lot of sense, as does your suggestion on how to connect to the tape without breaking it.

I have to think about the bare wire route.  I am definitely going to sketch this one out and have it clear in my head before I do it.  I am just gathering information now and am not going to get to this until probably May. 

I have several DC transformers (Atlas, I think) which all have an input  connection for DC accessories.  Do you think that this would be a sufficient source for my power supply (even if I have to use more than one?).  If so, would I still have to install fuses?  I am not at all well versed in electrical jargon.  I am going a check out the Model Railroading booklet on wiring before I attempt this.

I read some very interesting comments from a 2008 thread on this site about how copper adhesive tape was being used to secure to the underside of a plywood layout and then street and building lights were connected to it.  If anyone has any experience doing this, I would like to hear from you.

My layout is L-shaped.  One side is 9'x5' and the other side is 9'x6'.  This makes one side of the L-shape 14' long and the other side 9' long.  There is an access hatch where they intersect.

One of my major questions is how do you connect the wires from the street lights to the tape?  Would you use metal screws?  Somehow, I don't think that soldering would be a practical, effective or secure way to do this. I am assuming that you make two runs of tape (for the positive and negative) and connect corresponding wires from the lights to the tape.  Assume that the on/off control would be one or more Atlas switches, so the wires from the buildings and lights would have to run to the tape from the switch and the switch is connected to the transformer.  I use a separate transformer for the lights and switches, as well as the railroad crossing signals (which I also intend to wire this way).

Any thoughts on this subject would be appreciated.  If this can work, it would certainly solve a problem for me re: wiring up the street and building lights on my layout.  I have about 75 total lights on my layout that need to be wired.

Once last thought...and this is important.  I have had excellent results with rehabilitating freight cars (particularly Athearn) and eliminating the derailment problem when I replaced the trucks and I also replaced the undercarriage!!!  Sometimes, the lip on the undercarriage that the truck is supposed to slip over (and then be secured by the screw that mounts the truck to the body) is all beat up, flattened or warped.  If you have a bad undercarriage, even if you put on brand new trucks, they won't swivel and sway correctly and the derailment problem will continue.  I have successfully rehabilitated several freight car this way and eliminated derailment problems on both curves and switches.

If you can't get the undercarriages for Athearn freight cars from your local hobby shop, you can get them (3 for $2.25 I think) from Athearn.  Athearn parts also fit Roundhouse freight cars (floors, undercarriages, weights and trucks).  Just go to Athearn.com and check their parts list for the stock number and you can order them over the internet.  I have discovered that it's more than worth it to keep a few spares on hand and recommend that you do so.

Now that I have relaid that section of track, adjusted some wheelsets and replaced some undercarriages and wheelsets, the derailment problem has been substantially reduced and almost completely eliminated.   It is limited now to only 2 or 3 cars that I am going to replace some parts on (it's always the same 2 or 3 cars)...not the switches.  The engines are staying on the track now, too.  It appears that the problem is pretty much solved.

OK, I think we have covered this topic.  The discussion was excellent...as usual.  Thanks everybody!

Don 1884:

Sorry to delay getting back to you...I was out of town.

I also went back and took a good hard look at how the track was mounted leading to the derailments...which led to me taking up and re-laying about 3' of track between the 2 problem switches.  That 3' length of track had a few small peaks and valleys in it...in areas, the track was secured too tightly.  That immediately solved the problem with the first of the two switches.  I could see the cars tilt and sway as they went through the sections just before and after the section with the second switch.  I am still working on that one and am going to make sure that the track is absolutely level before doing anything else.

I am also going to try your suggestion re: that black tab.  Good call!

I tried loosening the screws that hold the trucks on the cars in question and that seems to have solve many of the problems.  For one group of about 12 cars (mainly 50' boxcars), I simply replaced the trucks with Athearn trucks instead of the ones supplied and had only 1 car derail in 2 hours of running my trains...so that seems to have taken care of most of the problem.

Once again, Yampa Bob, you made an excellent suggestion.  Thank you.

Yampa Bob, you have always been a great help to me.  You have saved me a lot of time and trouble.  You know how to suggest something simple as an answer without making me feel like a dummy or making yourself seem like you are a know-it-all...and your answers have always been right on the money.  That's a special talent.

You have always been there for me and I thank you for it.  Keep up the good work.

Grumpy:

You left the following reply:  "I run all EZ track and the only problem I experienced was derailing through a turnout . The turnout was slightly warped making one track higher than the other at the frog resulting in derailment . The solution was to fasten the turnout firmly to the base. Problem solved , no more derailments.
Don"

Question: What did you find to be the best way to fasten a turnout to the base?

Yampa Bob:  That is an excellent article.  Thanks.