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Train Set Comes Out Of Box
Thad asks readers for help:
“My train set has been packed for 2yrs. I just started it as my hobby but I move around a lot. Will my tracks need cleaning? If so how do I do that and with what. I put track up and sparks come from underneath the locomotive while it is running. Thanks for any help.”
Thad, the Model Train Help Ebook has lots of useful ideas on track cleaning.
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Thad,
You can use a rubber ink eraser to clean your track (that’s what I use). Some people use Goo Be Gone (a cleaner) by dampening a lint free cloth and wiping the top of the rails. Be careful to wipe the rails dry once they are clean because any residue of Goo could make the wheels on your locos slip.
You should also clean the electrical ‘pick-up’ wheels on your locos by using either of the above methods. If you can possibly mount your locos upside down in some sort of cradle (I line a small box with cloth or foam to protect and hold the engine) and then attach power so the wheels turn. Gently apply the cleaner or eraser and let the turning wheels scrub themselves. Note that your steam locos probably have some or all the pick-up wheels on the tender, so you’ll have to turn them by hand.
Finally, you can purchase a track cleaning car which, depending on the manufacturer, will do the above while you run your train. The downside to this method is that your trains have to be running in order to use the track cleaning car so it is best suited as a regular ‘weekly’ maintenance tool.
On a interesting side note, if your track is nickel silver (and it probably is if you are running N or HO gauge), the oxide of this metal compound is a BETTER electrical conductor than the metal rail itself!
Yes, your tracks need cleaning and the locomotive wheels probably do as well.
For the wheels take a paper towel soaked in alcohol (get the good stuff, 91%) and lay it over the tracks, put half the loco wheels on the paper towel and the other half on the track, with the power on the wheels should all spin. The wheels spinning on the paper towel will take the dirt off of them. After about 30 seconds, turn the loco around and clean the other wheels.
I also use alcohol on a paper towel to clean my tracks, but there are other ways.