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8 Responses to How to Clean Rail Heads
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I switched from goo to just 70% alcohol. very little residue and it evaporates. Chemicals seem to do less damage (pitting).
Bright Boy works awesome! I use that and really works well. I also like to clean my wheels with 70% rubbing alcohol
Hi Ted I use an ink rubber it works perfect for me not much mess after to clean up–cheep to buy too.
Hi Brian You don’t state what gauge you run I have large N Scale layout and I have had trouble with track cleaning, I took box car removed the body drilled two holes in the floor then cut of Masonite the width and long enough that didn’t foul the wheels I drilled holes to meet with holes
in the frame inserted two light weight pins then put very small springs on each pin refitted the body
to the base I have three wagons and I place them two boxcars behind the loco and I have little trouble with track cleaning
This sounds like bad electrical contact.
Personally, I totally disagree with track rubbers, they leave grit and rubber on the track, just causing further problems.
Modern nickel-silver track does not suffer corrosion indoors, so does not need abrasive cleaning.
1) To clean the rail tops: paper towel is good. If there is grease or oil, wet it with meths or lighter fluid (warning: no smoking !)
2) Clean the wheel rims: cotton buds wetted as above. For hard dirt, a very small wire brush, or a rotary wire brush on a dremel type tool is brilliant. Croc clip leads from controller to the motor to turn the wheels makes this process very easy.
3) Clean the inner faces of wheels (or the axles) where the pickup contacts touch them.
4) Very old motors can benefit from cleaning of the brushes and commutator.
5) Some cheap controllers are very feeble in their output, and will repeatedly cut-out if running a loco that takes a high current. Check this by fitting a small 12V bulb across your controller output to see if it is still supplying power when the loco unexpectedly stops. Old locos often take more current.
6) Rail joiners are not that brilliant at electrically connecting rails. It may help to connect the controller wires to the track at more than one place (depending on layout size). Observe consistent polarity !
I use a block eraser dry. Does a good job, I have also gone to a caboose with a cleaning wheel to run on all the tracks. This can be done while running your train. from Newman Atkinson
If you track rubber is of the Bright Boy type it should not leave residue to be vacuumed up. You are maybe rubbing too hard, or cleaning your track too often.
We hear a lot about keeping the track clean, but as I heard recently Clean and Sterile are not the same things. A layout used regularly in a normal, habitable room with steel wheeled rolling stock should not have a dirty track problem short of a wipe down with a rag dampened with “rubbing alcohol” or “clipper oil”. I have used both with success.
Some of the members in our modular railroad group burnish the tops of the rails with a stainless steel washer, no residue, keeps the railheads flat, just be certain that power is disconnected so you don’t cause a short in your system. Bright boy used properly should not leave debris but is abrasive and will leave minute scratches, hence the stainless burnish. Additionally, electrical contact can be improved by using a graphite stick on the rails, think artists graphite available in craft stores, again with power off or you will cause a short.
Brad