Cleaning tracks

[Oz_Paul]

Has anyone tried cleaning tracks using this method?

 

It recommends using Automatic transmission fluid!!.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmOPOcxXPjE

[cteno4]

This is not new, been around for a long time. I believe it's like clipper oil, the oils help loosen the gunk so when the wheels press down the gunk is squeezed out and you get better contact instead of the wheel riding up on the gunk and getting some loss of contact. I would guess the gunk is squeezed out down off the rail head and onto the sides. Only issue can be slipping, especially on grades with clipper oil and it sounds like with ATF as well. There are lots of other references out there on it model railroader even did testing and an article.

 

At some point all the gunk needs to be removed though. And I do think that a film of oil will just attract more dust to stick to things.

 

Also I do worry that in n scale the density of the locos may be lower and perhaps more slippage. Many of folks reporting success out there with atf are in HO and o scales which can get more weight on the wheels.

 

Track cleaning is probably the most debated and argued thing I think in model railroading!

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

[kvp]

Some oils, especially brake oil is commonly used to strip paint from models, but it could melt some plastics. Using it as any form of cleaner, especially on tracks that have non sealed circuit boards under the turnouts is imho a bad idea.

[HantuBlauLOL]

Don't. Use an alcohol instead.

[Ochanomizu]

Hello,

 

The best solution is ... no solution.  I mean to say, no liquid.

 

Any liquid, oil, fluid, alcohol will cause dirt to attract to the sides of the rail.  This will be picked up by the flanges, work its way into joints and turn outs, and attract more moisture.  It is the moisture that causes the dirt to stick to the rail.  The way clipper oil and other applied fluids work is to form a barrier between the rail and water.

 

There are three things to do:

 

1. Dehumidify.  Please keep the humidity below 60%.  I keep humidity below 50%.  Rails stay clean and dry.  Dirt is easy to remove.

 

2. Stable temperature.  The cooling rails attract moisture overnight.  Minimise the diurnal temperature and minimise moisture on the rails.  Don't use the garden shed or tool shed as the train room.  Use a room in the middle of the house, a basement if it is dry, or a room with brick or concrete walls.

 

3. Minimise dust.  Keep the room clean.  Choose hard floor coverings, such as timber or vinyl.  Clean weekly.

Edited May 22, 2015 by Ochanomizu

[HantuBlauLOL]

Those are preventive solutions, sometimes you need repressive solutions too..

 

Alcohol based cleaner would be fine imho, as I evaporates in less than 2 minutes. Also do not use any kind of abrasive materials, you will only regret it later.

 

If you already used abrasive and find your rails attract dirt very fast, you should use the gleaming method. It's easy, just rub your rail head with any pure stainless steel material until it shines, you'll also need to use pressure from your hand when rubbing. After it shines, rub it with a wet (alcohol) towel until no dirt left on your rail head.

[kvp]

I found that careful abrasives, like lens cleaner cloths are very good for cleaning rails without damaging them. They usually work without any cleaning fluids.

[Oz_Paul]

Thanks all for the feedback which is much appreciated. Have used Mediswabs only so far on track and wheels and seems to work well. Not yet 'empty nesters' so do not have much choice for location though as of now!

[cteno4]

Medaswabs are great as they are just isopropanol on the swab. only issue on the tracks can be the fibers on the swab can get stuck in track joints (i use them in a pinch as well).

 

from the looks of the automatic transmission fluids they are much more plastic and paint friendly and used by many for model train lubing as well as a medium weight oil. ATF seems to be mainly mineral oil based and has a lot of detergents and antioxidants in it so that is probably why its helping break up the muck that ends up on the rail and letting the wheels squish it out of the way easily and make good contact with the rail then.

 

Folks do use brake fluid to strip paint off plastic a lot. brake fluid is glycol based and usually have glycol ethers in them that is probably what is solvating the paints.

 

i agree preventative measures are the best as Ochanomizu pointed out, but even then there can be issues and many just never get to doing the big preventative measures! a soft cloth with isopropyl alcohol has worked best for me for 40+ years now. while we see a little bit of what looks like paint on the cotton rags we use to wipe the JRM tracks all the time in the center (presumably from some of the unitrak tie paint coming off) we have never seen a warn look to the center of the ties in 10+ years of wiping them this way. of course we could get rid of this by using a block of wood under the rag instead of a finger, but the phalanges are so easy and adaptable as steve jobs discovered.

 

the thought came to mind to try the ATF and then follow that up with a cleaning train to try to clean up all the oil and lifted muck off the rails then afterwards to get clean track.

 

we have one member who has used orange oil cleaner for a long time in his huge basement kato unitrak layout. its not humidity controlled and really dirty as its got exposed rafters above that rain smutz down on the layout. he sometimes can be a year w/o running. he just uses the roller type cleaner car and soaks it in orange oil cleaner and runs it round and round and it really does do a great job of cleaning the rails. the orange oil appears to completely volatilize with in an hour and no residue appears to be left, but if i ever do it i would probably follow up with an isopropanol run to just clean off anything residual stuff.

 

AFAIK he has never had issues with traction tires with the orange oil (other issue to think about with anything going on the tracks that could get picked up by them).

 

jeff

[Kb4iuj]

Do what real railroads use...grinding emery wheels or "to you sandpaper".  

 

However do use brake fluid on your bicycle chain if it sits out in the rain a lot.

Get that acid brush out and douche it down.   Think of all those japanese bikes sitting out in the rain day after day after day.

[Ochanomizu]

Hello,

 

No.  It is not good idea to use anything abrasive on the track.  It only makes grooves for the dirt to lay in.