Track cleaning question

[Nick]

Dumb and no doubt old question...

Having restarted modelling after a long break, I'll be fixing buildings and scenery down soon.

What do people do about cleaning track that passes through buildings? I have an engine shed and a quarry building that tracks pass through, and I would like to retain the ability to run locos into them from time to time.

I normally clean with a track rubber or alcohol wipe, but that's going to be difficult through the little doors of an engine shed.

Any suggestions? Layout is DCC controlled if that's relevant to any fancy solution.

[BobB]

The Engine shed (at Ford, near Arundle) have little pads which fix to the axles of a wagonand hang down on the track (or maybe coach, perhaps even a steam loco's tender). They are a bit obtrusive to use all the time but occasionally running them through a hard to get at piece of track usually works.

The pads may be available from other places as well. I put alcohol on them and a couple of runs over the track seems to be sufficient.

[scotsoft]

I use the small pads that fix to the axles as well and find them very effective 

Cheers John.

[Ensign Elliott]

My advice would be to not permanently fix down your buildings which have tracks running through. All my goods and engine sheds are movable, so I can get to the track with a decent rubber.

I've tried various pads and track cleaning gimmicks but in my opinion, there's no decent alternative to a good track rubber with some elbow grease behind it. I find that the IPA on pads just leave a smear whereas with a track rubber, you can really get a good shine on the rails.

[Nick]

I take Elliott's point, and I had wondered about leaving them loose myself. But I would prefer to fix them down so as to integrate them into the ground cover better. And the quarry building is quite large and a bit of a devil to get back into position, which will only get worse once I fit its conveyors.

Are these the pads? I hadn't seen those before.

Perhaps I should buy some and give them a try before finally getting the glue out.

[Nick]

Jeepers - that is a fancy solution. I'll try the £5 approach first! 

[keithfre]

You might want to look at this thread before using a track rubber:
http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=9244.msg97320#msg97320

[macwales]

Hi

I too have access to all my track and regularly use a rubber when a loco stutters. This means that tunnels have to have removable tops or sides so you can get to the track.

Dust settling on the track is the main problem and prevention is a good idea. However, I have found that the track does not get dirty much if dust is regularly removed or not allowed to settle. I achieve the latter  by having my layout in a locked shed built in my garage but some sort of cover and regular hoovering would do it just as well. I also regularly remove the gunge that still builds up on rolling stock wheels. I remove this with a finger nail clad in an old linen rag. (Tea towel).

Although I rarely hoover now, I use a tiny low powered  battery vacuum cleaner for scenery and sidings. It has a brush and a nozzle attachment. To vacuum the track I use the vacuuming facility on my Tomix track cleaning machine. This works quite well. I have foam underlay ballast.  Very rarely I use the Tomix spinning discs with track cleaning fluid but this does leave a residue that I clean off with a rag.

Cheers

Mac

[scotsoft]

Are these the pads? I hadn't seen those before.

Perhaps I should buy some and give them a try before finally getting the glue out.

Those are the very ones. I put it on the rear axle with the pad between the two axles, that way it gets some downward pressure as it travels along.

Cheers John.

[red_death]

I'm not a fan of any abrasive (including track rubbers). Any benefits in terms of "shine" tend to be lost in scratching the surface which picks up more dirt in the scratches.

IPA on a cloth is good.  Paper/card is good as well - paper particularly useful for cleaning between point blades and rails (insert paper while open, close and remove paper to clean - repeat as necessary).

One of the most important things is to check that your wheels are clean and not spreading dirt around the layout!

Cheers, Mike

[msr]

Heres the fancy solution.....

http://dapol.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=310

Sprintex  made a "How To" document to fit a DCC decoder to it

Fixing the decoder yourself is quite tricky, not least because of the need to get a replacement PCB. DM-Toys in Germany will supply the Tomix track cleaner with DCC already fitted (a D&H 05 fitted by their technician):
http://www.en.dm-toys.de/produktdetails/items/Tomix-6421.html

[msr]

Is this the guide you mean?
http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=865.0

As I understand it from this guide, the PCB has to be trimmed and the decoder hardwired in, which of course means soldering. I am happy with soldering in general but rather nervous about trying it so close to all that plastic detail. The alternative is to remove the yoke from the model and then fit it back.

It does not strike me as being a particularly easy fix although some of the posters reckon it can all be done in an hour. I'm glad I paid DM-Toys a few extra euros to fit it for me!

[mickeyflinn]

Or fit a replacement PCB with a 6-pin socket from Modellbahnshoppe;
http://www.modellbahnshop-lippe.com/produkt/Tomix/33-2-0-4850-001007005-0-0-0-0-2-0-grp-gb-p-0/ein_produkt.html

[Railwaygun]

I use the small pads that fix to the axles as well and find them very effective 

Cheers John.

Like these from Gaugemasters  / Kibri

[smg id=30979 type=full align=center caption="image"]

[Newportnobby]

Woodland Scenics do a complete range of track/wheel cleaning items but I'd suggest you don't use their cleaner as it leaves a slippery residue on the track