Constanly Cleaning my layout track

[trainmainbrian]

Hi everyone... I have a bit of a issue hear I am Forever cleaning my HO Layout Track... My Layout is 16ft x 6ft wide & I am always cleaning the track rails on a constant basis... My Layout is in the Basement I keep it clean on a daily basis vacuuming the rug's dusting the wall's I even vacuum the floor joists from dust... & every time it seems to get dirt on the track A Fellow Friend & Neighbor that run's with me on my Layout suggested I put in a drop sealing over the entire layout... But that could be a costly upgrade for me since I am spending all my extra cash into completing my layout this summer.... I DO have an thought of getting Black Fabric from a Local Textile Shop in my Area & hanging & stapling up the Fabric across the hole layout until I can get the money to do a drop sealing... My main Goal is finishing up my Railroad this summer & enjoying my Railroad & Fruits of my Labor.... What do you guys think I should do...

[jonathan]

Brian,

I use "skirting" which is flipped over the layout when not running trains.  Inexpensive black fabric is "seamed" with stitch witchery (no sewing) then secured to the benchwork with 3/4-inch trim.  Cheap and effective.

My layout is in a garage so I know the dirt issue of which you write.

Regards,

Jonathan

[bapguy]

I bought a roll of 2 or 3 mil plastic and stapled it to the floor joists over my layout in the basement. Fabric in my opinion will still allow dirt through it.  Joe

[jbrock27]

B, I am sorry if I don't remember if you have already stated this, but what kind of metal are your rails made of?  It is tarnish or just dust/dirt falling from above, that you are having to clean up?

[Doneldon]

Brian-

Open floor joists above a layout are a terrible problem. They will make layouts dirtier than anything else I know.

I understand that anew ceiling, even a fairly economical dropped ceiling, isn't something you feel inclined to. It's the kind of improvement which is appropriately done as part of a whole room or whole basement project. Do it now and you may find that your time and money were wasted when you start making more comprehensive plans for the area. But that doesn't mean there's nothing you can do.

A skirt which can be folded over the table -- or just a large piece of cloth for that matter -- will work but it risks damaging the layout and especially delicate scenery, every time you put it on or take it off. As careful as you might try to be, it's only a matter of time before something gets wrecked. That's why I would favor something suspended above the layout.

Thin poly is inexpensive, easy to handle and a snap to install. Just staple it up. However, the open joists over the rest of the basement will continue to shed debris every time someone walks across the floor above. And dust, etc., from above will be stirred up whenever someone moves around in the layout's area. So ... I suggest a piece of light rope or wire, something like a clothesline, suspended above the layout low enough that a piece of poly thrown over it will protect the layout from the side as well as overhead. You just sort of roll and fold it up when you are running trains and put it back down between sessions. Lightweight (two- to three-mil) poly won't stand up the handling very long so you might want to get some five or six mil sheeting. Or, use some inexpensive poly tarps. Menard's has six- by eight-foot tarps for free this week. You can get two free and maybe buy one or two others and you'll be set for a good long time. Tarps have grommets, of course, so you can put some hooks, nails or screws into the joists beyond the train table edges and just use the grommets to get things up out of the way.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck! And please let us know how things go with this project.
                                                                                                                                                -- D

[K487]

My layout is in my house but it does get dust.  When I'm not using it for a few days or longer I cover it with painters' furniture drop "cloth" (from WalMart.)  It is very inexpensive, very thin, very light-weight clear plastic sheet and it does a great job of catching all of the dust.

Having said this, and given your situation in the basement, I would also recommend getting some thicker (1 or 2 mil) plastic sheets and staple them on the underside of the ceiling joists, and run that plastic far beyond the borders of the train layout.  If this works it would be relatively cheap, easy and quick.  Oh, and if you still get some dust on your layout see paragraph 1.

DougC

[Desertdweller]

The dirt on your layout is probably sifting down from the floorboards above it.  The best solution would be to install a suspended ceiling. That is the arrangement I use in my basement and I have very little problem.  Dust accumulation in the house itself is worse than in the basement.

Suspended ceilings are very difficult to install above a model railroad.  You should try to move it out of the way so you can do the installation work.

Les

[James in FL]

Hi trainmainbrian,

Ideally, environment should be top 1 or 2 considerations of layout pre- planning.
Unfortunately most of us skip that because getting something up and running is our focus.
Stop working on the layout and fix the ceiling first.
It's not really going to be very effective if you put something up over just the layout if the rest of the ceiling will remain exposed to where the dust can migrate to it.
Whatever you choose to use, do the entire ceiling and take the extra time to make the seal best you can, overlaps, corners, edges, etc.
Where I in your situation, and did not have the resources to put in a complete drop ceiling at this time, I would probably go with poly film, a staple gun, and some duct tape.
Cheap and effective.
As an afterthought, the rug(s) is not helping the cause either.
An Air purifier might also be something to consider.

Some idea of what I'm talking about here;

http://www.lowes.com/Search=roll+of+plastic?storeId=10151&langId=-1&catalogId=10051&N=0&newSearch=true&Ntt=roll+of+plastic#!

http://www.lowes.com/Search=air+purifiers?storeId=10151&langId=-1&catalogId=10051&N=0&newSearch=true&Ntt=air+purifiers#!

Check Amazon for best pricing.

Good luck

[NarrowMinded]

If you want to keep dust out of your layout room keep the room at positive pressure do the either  with the ac or install a fan with a dust filter to blow into the room from an outside source.

I used to maintain the space simulation chamber doors at Jpl in Pasadena ca. I always had be  sure to maintain positive pressure in the assy room when I opened the hatches to maintain the chamber doors it only takes couple psi to keep the dust blowing out instead of sucking in.

Also make sure you are  using hepa filters in your vacuums so your not just blowing dust out of the exhaust side of your vacuum.

Just my .02

NM-Jeff

[ChrisS]

i have a house filter unit in my train room with a hepa filter, i leave it on all the time on low speed,  never have any dust in my room, however mine is a finished room which will make a huge difference...

[M1FredQ]

If you have a COSTCO near you they sell a nice filter very inexpensive that will filter out the particles in the air leave a nice scent and is cheap to run. If you want let me know as I don't recall the name right now

[Ken G Price]

My N-Scale layout is in a garage with no environmental controls. Dust,pollen etc, is a constant.
After many years I have come up with a simple solution that works very well.
After doing a good track cleaning, clean all of the engines electrical pickup wheels until they shine.
Then the next time any engine starts to sputter, I clean its wheels again. I do this on all engines as needed. Which may be at least two or three when ever I operate.
Cleaning the track more then once a month, other then a few spots where the lights may flicker, has no effect on how good a engine runs. 
So if an engine runs bad over most of the layout it is the wheels that must be cleaned.
I tried the. clean the track all the time method as well as wheels for years and realized it was a waste of time as it is the wheels that get the gunk build up that prevents good electrical contact.
So if you have a climate controlled room then the track should only be a problem two or three times a year.

[CNE Runner]

Ah, the age old problem of dirty model railroad track and the uncounted ways of combating this menace. I guess it is time for this old runner to weigh in on the subject. I, too, had a layout in a garage (unheated, not air conditioned and full of dust) for a number of years. Strangely, I found that seemingly hostile environment to not have much of an effect on the operation of my railroad. In those days, I quickly ran a Bright Boy over the rails (every other week) and following a quick wipe down with isopropanol, everything ran just fine...well, generally speaking. That was then, but what about now?

The Monks Island Railway is now housed in our ex-guest room - and is complete with a Sharper Image static precipitater. Our home uses forced air heating/cooling; and we had a whole-house static precipitator installed with a new HVAC some years ago. Now I rarely have to clean the rails.

More to the point of this discussion is why locomotives become 'balky' in the first place. Nickle silver (III) produces an oxidation layer that is conductive by itself. Unfortunately the deposit of oils, human epithelial cells (makes up most of the dust in your home) and moisture all combine to produce an uneven layer of nickle silver oxide. It is this uneven layer that causes us much agitation.

A very close examination, a model railroad locomotive in operation, will show some very faint arcing between the wheels and the rail. This 'arcing' causes the mix of nickle-silver oxides/dust/moisture/etc. to form into 'dots' instead of a smooth layer. These 'dots' cause the locomotive's wheels to break contact with the rail...hence an interruption of electrical energy.

So what do we do to cure/combat this condition? The easiest way is to not rely on power from the tracks. Effective battery power for HO models is definitely on the horizon; but unlike the larger scales (I'm thinking O and G here) such small, efficient battery power is not here yet. [Darn.] Nickle-silver oxide must be removed mechanically from both surfaces: the railhead/inner lip and the locomotive's wheels (not to mention all the wheels in your collection). [I should note that metal wheels deposit less 'grunge' than plastic ones.] Any mechanical cleaning must be followed up with some sort of chemical cleanser - if only to remove the (now loosened) oxide.

Someone mentioned above that all wheels, ON ALL CARS AND LOCOMOTIVES, must be cleaned (sic. both mechanically and chemically). Assuming you have done that, the same thing must be done to the track. What would I recommend using? I like to use a clean Bright Boy on the rail heads (when the Bright Boy pad gets dirty simply run ALL surfaces over some medium-grade sandpaper to clean it like new). To remove the residue from this process - and to seal/improve the conductivity I like to follow the Bright Boy cleaning with an application of Aero-Car ACT-6006 Track & Rail Cleaner. [To apply the ACT-6006, I use the IHC Track Cleaning Caboose and forego the tank - only wetting the undercarriage pad with the cleaner.] Incidentally, after cleaning the locomotive's wheels with an artist's eraser, I go over the wheels with ACT-6006 using some medical cotton swabs...the ones with a wooden handle (Walmart, or you local drug store, handles these).

VERY IMPORTANT: Allow the locomotive (or rails) to completely dry overnight. The combination of mechanical cleaning and 'rinsing' with ACT-6006 (or isopropanol) works wonders. The Monks Island Railway only requires track cleaning every 3 or 4 months (locomotives a bit more frequently...helps keep the track clean). Pretty easy huh?

I haven't mentioned turnouts so I will now. The point rails on most turnouts get their electrical power through direct contact between the point rail and its adjacent stock rail. This connection must be firm and free of contaminants (a very prone area whilst ballasting). After cleaning the rail heads in the manner described above, I use a very fine wet/dry sandpaper between the point rail and its adjacent stock rail to keep this area corrosion free. GENTLY hold the point rail against its adjacent stock rail - such that the sandpaper is 'sandwiched' between each. GENTLY move the sandpaper from side to side. Remove and follow the same procedure with the other point/stock rail.

While this sounds complicated and time-consuming...it isn't. Overall the best thing you can do is: keep those locomotive wheels sparkling clean, run all metal wheelsets and twice a year clean all the wheels on your other rolling stock. Oh, you might just want to pray to the 'model railroad gods' for that battery power I mentioned above.

Regards,
Ray

[jward]

one thing that greatly affects track cleaning is whether or not you run dcc. a dc railroad will still run in a less than perfect environment, such as a damp cellar in a household of smokers. with dcc you have to eliminate as much of this as you can in order for things to work right. i used to joke about dcc being a way to get an ho layout to run like an n scale one, and have people pay for the privilige.

[mabloodhound]

I know you were talking about dust control on the tracks and a lot of good answers for that.   But now that the proverbial "track cleaning" subject has come up I have to remind you to never, Never, NEVER use an abrasive on your track or wheels.   The abrasive will create miniscule gouges which in turn will ADD to the arcing and crud deposits on the track.

Instead, do a good wipe down with a good cleaner or chemical and then simply rub the top of the rail with graphite.   A wide carpenters pencil works well for applying the graphite to the rail heads.   And it doesn't have to be everywhere.   The wheels will carry it around the layout to the hidden areas.

The graphite fills in any grooves and cuts and it conducts electricity, eliminating the arcing.   Once done, it should last a year before having to re-apply the graphite.   Because there will not be any arcing, cleaning the track again will not be necessary.