How to Make an N Scale Track Cleaning Car

December 06, 2021

22nd Apr 2017,04:49 PM #1

Track Cleaning

Hello everyone, Question. What is good for cleaning N scale track rails. I just finished my layout and probable have a spot of glue or tape residue
on the tracks. I have used 50% rubbing alcohol but it does not seem to help much.. thanks for any help.
22nd Apr 2017,05:31 PM #2

Here's the adhesive-residue removal products I use:
� Goo-Gone for 90% of that kind of stuff.
� Lift-Off for hard-to-remove sticker-residue.
� Goof-Off when the above won't work (petroleum-based�kinda nasty).

Southern Pacific | Santa Fe | SPSF | BNSF | Metrolink | CalTrain | Chicago Metra | TGV Lyria
railways by Kato Unitrack + Unitram | electric light-rail by Tomix | construction by Kato Diotown & Tomytec Co., Ltd. | vehicles by Busch GmbH & Co. KG
ambient sound design by Fantasonics | digital command control by Dynamis Ultima | layout automation by RailController
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22nd Apr 2017,06:41 PM #3

91% alcohol
then progressively fine sandpaper like 600/1000/1500
then wipe again.
I then apply No-Ox but that is another thread.
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22nd Apr 2017,09:47 PM #4

Along this same line...thoughts on track cleaning cars for routine cleaning ? I see a lot if ads but I don't recall ever seeing them mentioned here. Just wondering if they work or if they are as most As seen on TV products.
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23rd Apr 2017,02:00 AM #5
Most of the cars, I own, specialize on what they do.
- Centerline narrow body is great for wet and dry cleaning. While the factory cloth wraps are expensive. You can cut your own from HandiWipes or Shop Blue paper towels. The narrow body is a perfect to drop a caboose body on. This allows you to run the car all the time in disguise. People have shortened various other bodies to cover the approximately 30 foot long chassis. When backing the cleaning cloth can unwind.
- Aztec Cratex Roller, the hard rubber roller gently scrubs the rails as it rolls. The metal chassis fits inside a 40 foot boxcar body. Can also be run all the time. Can be picky about the direction the car is going.
- Tomix/Atlas is a powered car that has a fluid tank, brush and DC track powered motor. The motor has several swappable disks. The car can sand, cloth polish or even vacuum as it is pulled along. The vacuum sounds like a gag, but it does an excellent job as it collects a bunch of gunk that can destroy a loco. The car is easy to convert to DCC. Like all other cars this needs a loco to pull or push it around.
- John Allen Masonite Special. Can be made from any boxcar in your fleet. A small piece of Masonite is suspended from the bottom of a boxcar using finishing nails. Tiny bits of rubber tube retain the nails inside the car. The Masonite gently scrubs the rail. It has to be replace periodically as it gets dirty.
- Model Power used to make a version of the John Allen car but using a plate mounted piece of BriteBoy. Inside the car body was a weak spring pushing the scrubbing pad down. They may or may not still offer this 40 boxcar. Grab a gently used one if possible. It will take a bit of work to replace the scrubbing rubber.
- European Tank Mop. This car has been sold by multiple companies over the years. Built on a classic short 4 wheel chassis, a modified tank body has an outlet that drips cleaning fluid onto a triangular cotton or felt pad that is pressed to the rails by a spring copper plate. A hole on top is filled with a plug that resembles a filler cap. Though out of place on most North American layouts, the short body works perfectly on streetcar layouts with their very tight curves. It even resembles a car used for spraying water on the streets. As part of their original contracts, many streetcar companies did street cleaning by spraying the street with lots of water. Mine is modified with a larger hole on top with a bit of brass tube in it. The filling dome from a NA tank car covers the tube. While the actual cars were self powered, mine is pulled by a work car.
While each of these cars can help clean a layout by themselves. They do a better job when combined into a train. You can get excellent results by altering wet and dry cars. Each application of cleaning fluid loosens the grime as the scrubbers knock it off. A dry HandiWipe in the Centerline caboose collects the residue.
Because the scrubber cars offer a bit of resistance to moving. One or more heavy locos are needed to move the train. Because the Athearn F45 or FP45 is a large full bodied locomotive it is perfectly suited to the job.

By keeping a DCC equipped Tomix Cleaner as an independent unit. You can alter the speed and direction of it's motor. Very useful when you have very dirty track with the sanding and polishing disks.
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23rd Apr 2017,05:30 AM #6

Originally Posted by ron6238

Hello everyone, Question. What is good for cleaning N scale track rails. I just finished my layout and probable have a spot of glue or tape residue
on the tracks. I have used 50% rubbing alcohol but it does not seem to help much.. thanks for any help.

Johnson's Baby Wipes! They're fantastic - removes tons of black stuff!
23rd Apr 2017,07:51 AM #7

Also can use the alcohol wipes.

"It's not whats best......It's whats best for you"

Gary
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23rd Apr 2017,10:26 AM #8

Some of us have also had quite some success with these Track Cleaners: http://www.noch.com/en/product-categ...ers-60158.html - they clip onto the axles. We have often run the cabeese at our modular meets with these and hardly had to clean the track.
Heiko
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23rd Apr 2017,12:03 PM #9

It sounds like you used masking tape? Try painters tape next time as it does not leave the residue.
I don't like using Goo Gone unless needed and it sounds like you need it. Be sure to hit the inside edge of the rail a bit too. Then the sand paper, but I start of with a sanding sponge and work toward the polishing sponge(look up Track Gleaming). I also use the No-Ox to top it off. Once that is done its simply a matter of dust busting with a vacuum, wipes, block of wood, etc.

Some add the use of graphite by simply wiping onto a short section and letting the locos and cars spread it around. Hit a rough patch rub a bit of graphite onto the section and off you go. I have not given graphite a try yet so is just from my readings.

John
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23rd Apr 2017,12:43 PM #10

90% IPA on a microfibre cloth.
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23rd Apr 2017,01:34 PM #11

General track cleaning:
I use the disposable 91% isopropyl alcohol wipes from Rite-Aid, and they seem to work fine. They're cheap, individually wrapped, and convenient. I also have some RailZip 2 (which looks suspiciously like automatic transmission fluid!) that I started using on the contact-strips on my locos to minimize oxidation. In general, from what all I've read, most agree against applying any oil-based products directly onto your track (since it attracts dirt), and there's even been some recent reports against using No-Ox. There are many proponents of using graphite sticks only, to improve conductivity, a practice which I support—just a light touch (using a wide carpenters' pencil) along the inside-corner of the rail-head, and voila! For general contact cleaning, I use plastics-safe electronics cleaners:

• CRC 2-26 (available at Home Depot)
• DeoxIT D5 (available at Guitar Center)

Track-cleaning cars:

Not wanting to spend the dough on a Centerline, I did happen to buy an eSPee Masonite track-cleaning car. Based on a couple reviews (and the statements on eSPee's eBay site, which of course are extremely positive), I thought it was worth a try. I also really like the Santa Fe MTL boxcar I bought from them (they offer various rolling stock with their Masonite pads pre-installed). So I get a cool piece of rolling stock, plus some added cleaning benefits for just a few dollars more than the rolling stock alone would've cost. I don't know how well it works since all my trackwork is pulled up right now, but it can't hurt. Once I get my track laid, I'll soak it in alcohol and give it a whirl. Among the product's benefits which eSPee touts:

• Low-friction.
• Use wet or dry.
• Doesn't create any micro-abrasions to rail-head.
• Weighted, free-floating pad follows track-profile.
• Washable.
• Lasts for years.

Southern Pacific | Santa Fe | SPSF | BNSF | Metrolink | CalTrain | Chicago Metra | TGV Lyria
railways by Kato Unitrack + Unitram | electric light-rail by Tomix | construction by Kato Diotown & Tomytec Co., Ltd. | vehicles by Busch GmbH & Co. KG
ambient sound design by Fantasonics | digital command control by Dynamis Ultima | layout automation by RailController
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23rd Apr 2017,03:35 PM #12
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23rd Apr 2017,03:50 PM #13

I am using WS dust monkeys saturated with DeoxIT D5. Check e-bay's prices cheaper then Guitar Center. I also use the WS tidy track cleaning system.

"It's not whats best......It's whats best for you"

Gary
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23rd Apr 2017,04:04 PM #14

Originally Posted by jhn_plsn

I also use the No-Ox to top it off. Once that is done its simply a matter of dust busting with a vacuum, wipes, block of wood, etc.

Some add the use of graphite by simply wiping onto a short section and letting the locos and cars spread it around. Hit a rough patch rub a bit of graphite onto the section and off you go. I have not given graphite a try yet so is just from my readings.

John I've done a little research on No-Ox and all the pros and cons of it.
One thing that kind of turned me off it was the extensive procedure that they say is needed to apply it.
Can you tell me how you go about doing it and the steps you use?
Thanks

I've used the graphite and it does indeed seem to help with contact. I've used it right before a session or two and have had good results with it.
However, in time, between sessions I've still had to wipe areas down, which I'm suspecting is dust.

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23rd Apr 2017,06:26 PM #15

Originally Posted by Allen H.

John I've done a little research on No-Ox and all the pros and cons of it.
One thing that kind of turned me off it was the extensive procedure that they say is needed to apply it.
Can you tell me how you go about doing it and the steps you use?
Thanks

I've used the graphite and it does indeed seem to help with contact. I've used it right before a session or two and have had good results with it.
However, in time, between sessions I've still had to wipe areas down, which I'm suspecting is dust.

After I gleamed the rails I applied a very thin layer here and there then ran a few diesels and 10 or so metal wheel set equipped cars to spread it. Then after it sat for a day or two I had to wipe any excess off the track, locos, and cars. There was very little on the locos and cars but the inside edge of the rail is where it tended to collect a bit. There was excess slippage for a couple weeks then everything was fine. Keep traction tires off the rails until the excess is removed or the tires will expand and roll off the wheels. Plastic wheels are gunk attractors and spreaders so I replaced with metal. You can still run the plastic wheels but the results were always the same before and after I added no-ox.
This was my experience on my home garage layout from 2004 to 2014. I vacuumed and wiped from time to time, but if I ran trains at least every two weeks it fired up and ran well. I did need alcohol on the sidings here and there as there was less traffic. My Daylight GS4 has traction tires and I never had an issue with them on the layout.

Hope that helps.

John
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23rd Apr 2017,06:32 PM #16

@Allen H. I did much the same applying some No-Ox to my index finger and rubbing it between my thumb and index finger. then spread the No-Ox on the rails. repeat, etc. then I run my locos and a couple of metal wheeled cars.
Next day I rub down the track and clean the wheels as @ike8120
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24th Apr 2017,12:53 AM #17

For 'preventive maintenance' between ops sessions I occasionally run my three 'sliders' around the layout, sandwiched between two locomotives. Remember to clean the loco wheels regularly.
https://gulflines.blogspot.com.au/se...cleaning%20car
I'm a stickler for smooth, 100% reliable operation during 'serious' operating sessions. Before each session I clean all my loco wheels, and wipe all my track down with lighter fluid squirted on a cloth and wrapped around a small block of wood. (91% IPA works well too, but the lighter fluid comes in a handy can with nozzle.) It takes me about a minute to clean each loco's wheels and about 30 minutes to wipe down the track. Details are here:
https://gulflines.blogspot.com.au/p/...-cleaning.html

Perhaps I'm just lucky but I've never found it necessary to use anything more aggressive to clean the rails. I won't use anything that might scratch the rail head, or leave residue that can foul points.

Regards,
Ron
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24th Apr 2017,03:28 PM #18

as above @Ron McF
I have a 1x2 cut at an angle the I put coffee filters on the end - held in place w/rubber bands and then wet with 91% alcohol and run this over the tracks followed by a dry wipe just to get any crud left behind.
I only do this if the layout has been dormant for a while or I have been doing lots of scenery.
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25th Apr 2017,07:50 AM #19

I use Dust Monkey with DeOxit D5 or 70% Isopropll Alcohol. See the attached article.
I've never used Goo-Gone on my rails, but no reason you could not apply that with Dust Monkeys.

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/m...aning-easy-way

Good luck,
Mark

Last edited by mgilger; 8th May 2017 at 10:22 AM.
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How to Make an N Scale Track Cleaning Car

Source: https://www.nscale.net/forums/showthread.php?42712-Track-Cleaning

Casimaty Denard

How to Make an N Scale Track Cleaning Car

Track Cleaning

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