General Wheel Cleaning

[HOART]

Recently I posted a question related to cleaning wheels on the DCC Peter Witt street car .I would like to share what I discovered is the best way for me to clean all wheels .
1- Connect two straight sections to EZ track rerailer connected to small Bachmann DC power pack .
2-Cut 1 1/2" X 4" piece of coffee filter paper .
3-Place paper tightly over the rerailer next to power cord . Tuck paper under rerailer and spray with isopropyl alcohol ( first aid stuff ).I use small spray bottle ( old lens cleaning bottle ).
4-Run unit back and forth over paper.
   Paper towel can be used but the coffee filter paper works best with cars with low clearance . Hope this helps someone . Have Fun  ! Art

[Joe Baldwin]

Art,
Thanks for sharing.

Coffee filter paper is an interesting thought.  When I find a car or loco with dirty wheels, which is not very often, I use alcohol and a bounty paper towel.


I have found that replacing all plastic wheel sets with metal does more to keep the track clean than any other thing I can do.  The exception is when I have done some construction or scenery where I find I need to use something like a bright boy to get the track back in shape. 

[HOART]

Joe Daddy ,
  Like you I have been using Bounty paper towels but the coffee filter paper works better for me .I have a small layout due to space .This I guess creates a faster build up of dirt ,especially trolley cars and definitely the DCC trolly's .They are so close to the rails the stiffer coffee filter paper works better .I got a pack of #2 filters at Walmart for $1.64 , cut them from left to right in half only keeping the top half .The bottom part has all the seam marks. I trimmed off the ends  which gave a piece about 11/2' X 5" .When pulled apart I had two pieces that size . 200 pieces for $1.64 is really cheap for my wheel cleaning .
  Your right about replacing the plastic wheels .
  Thanks for your comments . Have fun !
   Art

[Joe Baldwin]

Art,
While we are on the subject of cleaning track, I have tried many of the finer track cleaning cars out there and find the CMX Clean Machine to be my favorite.     I use isopropyl alcohol, but have a friend who swears by acetone to keep his track clean.  I don't use it very often, maybe once every 6 months I'll take a few laps on the mainline but it does a great job.

Have a great day.

Joe

[jbrock27]

First I have heard of acetone being used to keep track clean.  Interesting.  I will have to try it.  I have tried just about everything else. 
Thank you J.D.

[HOART]

Like JD I have never used acetone .Regarding the use of car cleaners ,I do not have one .Will check into the CMX Clean Machine .Thanks ! Art

[rogertra]

Keeping track clean?

After cleaning track with something like the Peco track eraser I then lay a six inch strip of Rail Zip(Zap?) on the rail head of each exit track from my through staging, that takes care of clean rail and wheels for months on end.

[HOART]

Roger  ,Do the wheels just run over the Rail Zip coated rails one time ? Or,do you let the wheels go back and forth over it .I have a bottle of Rail Zip .Used it once but did not like the results .If you can share more information I would appreciate it . Thanks ! Art

[Bob_B]

I would be very careful with acetone around plastic. It's used as a nail polish remover not to mention cleaning and removing fibreglass resin. Potent stuff but at least it evaporates very quickly.

[rogertra]

Roger  ,Do the wheels just run over the Rail Zip coated rails one time ? Or,do you let the wheels go back and forth over it .I have a bottle of Rail Zip .Used it once but did not like the results .If you can share more information I would appreciate it . Thanks ! Art

Art.

My experience is mainly with my previous GER, not the one I'm currently building.

1) I have only metal wheels on all my rolling stock, no plastic ones.  This is a big help.

2) I cleaned all my track with a Peco or equivalent track cleaner.

3) I cleaned all the locomotive wheels using the paper towel soaked with 99% Isopropyl Alcohol (NOT "rubbing" alcohol as that contain oils, the last thing you want on your rail as that's what can cause the crud.)  I did this by laying the soaked towel on the rail and powering the loco over the towel so the wheels spin.

4) I lay a six inch or so bead of Rail Zap on the rail head of the single track main line leading to each end of my double ended staging yard.

5) I then just run trains and let the wheels transfer the Rail Zap around the railroad.

6)  I bought a bottle some ten years ago and it's still half full.  I use it sparingly.

I think it's important to clean everything first.

[HOART]

Thanks folks for the input . Regarding acetone, I think it might be safer not to use it .Again, THANKS ! Art

[jbrock27]

I hear your concern HOAT and Bob_B.
If I try the acetone, I would be putting a little on a cotton rag, like an old T-shirt and would wipe the tops of the rails only with it, being careful to get it on anything else.

Roger, for $5.96 a 1 oz bottle, I would be using Rail Zip sparingly as well.  Is it anything like Wahl clipper oil?

[rogertra]

I hear your concern HOAT and Bob_B.
If I try the acetone, I would be putting a little on a cotton rag, like an old T-shirt and would wipe the tops of the rails only with it, being careful to get it on anything else.

Roger, for $5.96 a 1 oz bottle, I would be using Rail Zip sparingly as well.  Is it anything like Wahl clipper oil?

I believe Rail Zip is transmission fluid.  It's the same colour and smells like tranny fluid.

Price doesn't bother me, it's the fact it works, at least for me, is what counts.

[keystone]

I used Carbon Tek for years to clean track. I've used Acetone for at least 5 years, no  problem. I put small amounts on a rag and wipe. The Acetone evaperates fast. I've never seen any damaged plastic.
Joe

[JNXT 7707]

I ran into a near disaster at a State Fair 3 years ago, displaying a layout that would run 12 hours a day (my first experience at this BTW).
The layout, while indoors, was situated very close to a large open roll-up door, which of course subjected it to the dust of thousands of Fair-goers.
Early on, I ran into running problems on various sections of track. Cleaning with brite-boys and alcohol helped a little, but not for long - I was constantly working trying to keep track clean.
I remembered I had some Labelle 105 track conditioner in my bag. I had never used it, but I thought what could it hurt at this point? I stopped operations, cleaned all track thoroughly with alcohol, then applied the 105, going over it once more to remove the excess.
I swear it was a miracle - the trains ran like new and kept running all day. Crazy thing was, at the end of the day...well, check that, not even halfway through the day...the track itself looked filthy. So the operating procedure from that point was to clean the track at the start of each day, apply some 105, and run all day. The stuff is touted as "improving conductivity". Don't know about that, only know it saved my rear and I'm sold on the stuff. On my home layout, I'll rub a cloth dampened with 105 around the track occasionally, then be sure to buff off the excess, because it is oily, like clipper oil, and it will affect traction if too much is left on the rail.