Model Railway Forum

I was raised where one did not mention sex, politics, or religion at the dinner table. However, they neglected to mention track cleaning. Rarely do more subjects raise the ire of model railroaders than track cleaning. If the discussion turns violent, the admins are invited to close down this highly controversial post.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nCKr_a4uUg

I cleaned my track a couple of years ago by rubbing a 9B graphite stick on the rails. Never had to do it again and have had trouble free running ever since.

OH NO! Not another Wahl oil track cleaning item!!! Its been doing the rounds for at least 10 years or more! If you want to put oil on your rails - you are welcome to do so. Hopefully you don't have any locos with Traction tyres!
If you want to clean your rails (Nickle Silver) then use 99.9% Isopropanol Alcohol (IPA) on a soft clean lint free cloth or via rail cleaning tanker wagon - CMX etc. Or use the rough side of a suitably cut to track width piece of Hardboard (Masonite in the USA).
To remove PVA ballast glue that's got onto the rails use a Track Rubber then follow up with the IPA or Hardboard.

Brian I found if you cover the track in a polythene sheet it remains spotless for ever. You can’t run trains though.

Graphite stick and forget it? That's amazing. I'd've guessed it would wear off in short order. Never had trouble with traction tyres with Wahl's in
the decade or so I've used it. Rail Zip and all that juice is well an good, not sure if it's a lot different than Wahl's, judging by the slippery texture,
but it is costly. Wahl's is cheap as cheap can be. Again, Lionel Strange wrote an article on it, some years ago. He made a living building and running model trains, so I figured it was a good endorsement.

I'd used isopropyl for years before, and it does the trick, but the track cruds up in 45 minutes with hard use. It was necessary to shut it all down and recleanse the mains before powering up, again. Evaporated nicely, but left no anti-oxidization.

TBH, I am relentlessly pragmatic, if all else fails, read the instructions sort of fellow, and if cow patties were demonstrated to be effective I'd be out roaming the countryside.

you would only need to go to my back garden fence for those, chops.

It is my understanding that cows are very dangerous, seriously, and stomper to death a number of unsuspecting hikers in the UK annually. Another advantage of Wahl's.

Brian wrote: ↑Fri Dec 22, 2023 6:10 pm OH NO! Not another Wahl oil track cleaning item!!! Its been doing the rounds for at least 10 years or more! If you want to put oil on your rails - you are welcome to do so. Hopefully you don't have any locos with Traction tyres!
If you want to clean your rails (Nickle Silver) then use 99.9% Isopropanol Alcohol (IPA) on a soft clean lint free cloth or via rail cleaning tanker wagon - CMX etc. Or use the rough side of a suitably cut to track width piece of Hardboard (Masonite in the USA).
To remove PVA ballast glue that's got onto the rails use a Track Rubber then follow up with the IPA or Hardboard.

Strange............ when i first started a model railway i read somewhere about the alcohol and hardboard and continued with it ,i couldn`t remember where i read it ...........must have been on here

I find that enamel thinners on a cotton bud works well for me especially between switch and stock rails on turnouts.

They're also good on loco and tender wheels as it evaporates and leaves no residue and as a result any of my locos which still use traction tyres have never suffered any ill effects from it