What did you order or the post deliver? (Japanese N Gauge)

[Sheffie]

3 hours ago, VentureForth said:

Better than getting something in the Post!  I found my lost box

Wow, great find! Very happy for you!

[nah00]

4 hours ago, VentureForth said:

Question: Since Atlas sold the track cleaning car, is there an equivalent to the 6402 cleaning solution in the US?  

 

I just use rubbing alcohol in mine. Just be careful to not get it on the paint on the car, it will make it attack it. 

[cteno4]

4 hours ago, VentureForth said:

Question: Since Atlas sold the track cleaning car, is there an equivalent to the 6402 cleaning solution in the US?  

 

I never saw atlas sell the Tomix cleaner. The Tomix cleaner never seemed to do better than isopropanol. I don’t like the Tomix cleaner as I know it has some xylene in it (know that smell from lab) and it also has the whiff of urinal cakes...

 

jeff

[railsquid]

Oooh, another Chuo-Sobu line train 😄

 

Tomix 103 series (Chuo-Sobu line colour) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

For the observant, the seller was in the Kansai region, so I need to change the destination blinds ;).

 

I ended up paying slightly more for this than I intended, but upon unpacking it, it turns out all cars are fitted with LED lighting, which wasn't in the product description, so I'll count it as a win :D

[MichiK]

Yeah - the only thing better than a yellow 103 is more yellow 103s!

[VentureForth]

4 hours ago, cteno4 said:

 

I never saw atlas sell the Tomix cleaner. The Tomix cleaner never seemed to do better than isopropanol. I don’t like the Tomix cleaner as I know it has some xylene in it (know that smell from lab) and it also has the whiff of urinal cakes...

 

jeff

I thought about that. I think the advantage of the Tomix cleaner is that the viscosity is higher so when you fill the tiny tank it doesn't all just spill out. I'll try to see if IPA can stay in there long enough...

[VentureForth]

1 hour ago, railsquid said:

Oooh, another Chuo-Sobu line train 😄

 

I ended up paying slightly more for this than I intended, but upon unpacking it, it turns out all cars are fitted with LED lighting, which wasn't in the product description, so I'll count it as a win 😄

 

The lights look GREAT in the tunnel!

 

4 minutes ago, MichiK said:

Yeah - the only thing better than a yellow 103 is more yellow 103s!

 

Well, I'm partial to the orange 103s, personally. Heh heh!

Edited February 18, 2019 by VentureForth

[Pauljag900]

11 hours ago, cteno4 said:

 

I never saw atlas sell the Tomix cleaner. The Tomix cleaner never seemed to do better than isopropanol. I don’t like the Tomix cleaner as I know it has some xylene in it (know that smell from lab) and it also has the whiff of urinal cakes...

 

jeff

 

6 hours ago, VentureForth said:

I thought about that. I think the advantage of the Tomix cleaner is that the viscosity is higher so when you fill the tiny tank it doesn't all just spill out. I'll try to see if IPA can stay in there long enough...

I used to use a product called track magic to clean my tracks,it was good but expensive at £10 per bottle,so having worked in chemicals for 20 years I did a bit of digging on the Internet and discovered it’s main ingredient to be isopropanol! I bought a 1 litre bottle off eBay for £6,it’s all I use now.

I use a child’s sponge paint brush to put it on then some lint free rag to rub and wipe. It works perfectly for me.

i find the Tomix cleaner or the equivellant over here from Dapol is a bit greasy,even in the Tomix car.I generally Hoover the track and then use the Tomix car on Hoover then clean with the isopropanol.

just my two pennies worth gents.

[cteno4]

Funny when you find the active ingredient is something simple and the rest just for looks and smell! The Tomix I think will full evaporate given a little time, some of the other stuff may be trying to prevent rapid evaporation actually. I’m sure the xylene is in Tomix for cleaning/solvent action (used in contact cleaning a lot) but it’s not nice stuff, smells, and can go after some paints, decals and plastic more than isopropanol. One of our members uses the citrus cleaner (like goof off etc for cleaning off price tag stickum) when his track is really dirty. He uses it with a centerline. It’s not seemed to attacked his Unitrak or the traction tires over the years. It does take an hour or so to fully evaporate and he runs it with soaked wheel for a while then dry wheel to clean up leftovers.

 

brilliant on the kids sponge brush for an applicator! Gotta try that. One problem with constantly soaking a cotton cloth to clean with is the cloth tends to want to wick up all the isopropanol so not that much actually gets on the track unless you keep soaking the cloth.

 

btw check out your local drugstore/pharmacy/chemist, usually have 70% isopropanol cheap as well as many discount stores.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[GDorsett]

When running cleaning trains, is it safe to run locomotives over the rails before the cleaning stuff has evaporated? Aka, can a full service cleaning train be run on busy tracks with no adverse issues attacking the other trains? Or should I only run full cleaning trains on layouts that are not active?

[Pauljag900]

I think those foam brushes worked out about 10p each from china😂😂‘

Edited February 18, 2019 by Pauljag900

[chadbag]

13 minutes ago, Pauljag900 said:

I think those foam brushes worked out about 10p each from china😂😂‘

 

Yeah.  Sometimes I wonder how they can do it.  I bought a set of 30 cheap paint brushes for modeling for US$ 1 at Walmart the other day.  I figure it is cheaper to use these to paint LEDs black or whatever and then throw them out than trying to clean them (and buy paint thinner, cup, etc)

[Sheffie]

2 hours ago, GDorsett said:

When running cleaning trains, is it safe to run locomotives over the rails before the cleaning stuff has evaporated? Aka, can a full service cleaning train be run on busy tracks with no adverse issues attacking the other trains? Or should I only run full cleaning trains on layouts that are not active?

I’d exercise caution here. Locomotives with traction wheels could suffer degradation of the rubber, depending on the cleaner used

[GDorsett]

Are traction tires a thing outside of Japan? Most of the time I don't generally see traction tires on most American models as "it breaks the immersion".

Bloody rivet counters...

[Kiha66]

Traction tires are still very widely used, although on modern US diesel models they seem to be disappearing.  I suspect its due to the fact that they usually run in multiple so will have little issues with pulling power, while locomotives which run alone usually seem to be equipped.  Most steam and switchers seem to have them.  Kato released its Mikado a few years back without them and had to later come out with a retrofit kit to upgrade them due to the poor traction.

[GDorsett]

so maybe using a small amount (like with the Tomix cleaner) would be better on US layouts than a full tankers?

[VentureForth]

6 hours ago, Pauljag900 said:

just my two pennies worth gents.

 

Would that be the same as "tuppence"?

Edited February 18, 2019 by VentureForth

[cteno4]

Actually tuppence is only one cent these days sadly.

 

jeff

[Sheffie]

Tuppence was old money, and at the time, it was 240 pennies to the pound. So, yes, less than two cents

 

[lighthouse]

Today Katos "Seven Stars in Kyushu" has arrived + Kato Catalog 2019 🤗

EDIT: yesterday a missing package finally arrived

Edited February 20, 2019 by lighthouse

[nah00]

On 2/18/2019 at 4:01 PM, GDorsett said:

Are traction tires a thing outside of Japan? Most of the time I don't generally see traction tires on most American models as "it breaks the immersion".

Bloody rivet counters...

 

I love when people claim 'it breaks the immersion' when you have them on there yet you have a single SD40-2 struggling to pull 10 properly weighted cars...I usually run MU'd anyway (coal drags are heavy) so I don't have these issues but it's embarrassing when a Kato DD-16 can outpull a loco four times it's size and price... 

[GDorsett]

 

29 minutes ago, nah00 said:

 

I love when people claim 'it breaks the immersion' when you have them on there yet you have a single SD40-2 struggling to pull 10 properly weighted cars...I usually run MU'd anyway (coal drags are heavy) so I don't have these issues but it's embarrassing when a Kato DD-16 can outpull a loco four times it's size and price... 

That's even true in HO. I have a Kato EF510 that pulled 88 freight cars while two American four-axle locomotives could barely pull forty.

Gotta love the rivet-counters!

 

One of the people in my club seems to think you need a four axle diesel for every ten freight cars...

 

What

Edited February 20, 2019 by GDorsett

[nah00]

That's actually not an uncommon rule most clubs have. One near me requires one four-axle diesel for every 6 cars. So to pull a dozen boxcars I'd need to MU (which makes sense sometimes but really?). 

 

My Kato US diesels can pull pretty good too even without traction tires, I suspect that Kato motors are geared differently. Most American is geared for slow-speed it seems. My EF510 similarly pulls my Hokutosei with no issue but a Broadway Limited F-unit struggles to pull 4 coaches.

[GDorsett]

I've never heard of this rule. I generally stick to what the real thing could pull. If this one loco could pull a twelve car train, it pulled twelve cars on the layout. If these set of three could pull forty or fifty cars, it pulled forty or fifty cars even if it looked odd in model form.

Want to build a Hokutosei in HO but the funds just aren't there yet. Would love to have the Final Run set in N (with the train and all four locomotives) but can't swing a grand for a set I won't run very often.

[chadbag]

I don't belong to any clubs, but I am guessing that they don't want issues with trains that cannot hack it so they make blanket rules, at the level of the weakest locs, in order to avoid issues when running.