Obviously I realise that this sounds a bit ridiculous, but how do you clean a wheel cleaner? I have a Minitrix one which keeps getting dirt on the cleaning brushes. I have tried sanding off the dirt and did think about using some sort of cleaning fluid, but I'm worried it will end up making the loco wheels less clean than before. Any ideas?
Perhaps standing it upside down in an ultrasound cleaner? I'm dubious of sanding the ends of the brushes as it is likely to shed particles of brass into the brush and clog it further. In the absence of an ultrasound cleaner then standing it upside down in a suitable solvent or detergent solution and 'swooshing', tapping, shaking loose the dirt, possibly assisted by an old toothbrush?
Although I have one of these Minitrix items (and an Egger-bahn one as well) I do not use them for cleaning wheels anymore.
This is because it is impossible to see the wheels when you are cleaning them and that they are useless at cleaning any oil deposits off the wheels.
What I do is place the loco in a foam cradle and then use two single strand wires (like BT bell wires) connected to a basic old Triang controller set at about
Both methods (the Minitrix block and the cradle method) have their uses. I find that the Mintirix block is most useful at exhibitions for giving locos a quick clean between running turns (there is even a dedicated 6" length of track in the Latham's fiddle yard for one) but for a 'deep clean' tend to use Brian's method, though often with the chassis out of the loco and power clipped directly to the motor or pick ups.
As to cleaning the wheel cleaner itself Graeme's suggestions pretty much cover it, though I would be wary of using too aggressive a solvent - nothing stronger than methylated spirit or Isoproply alcohol - as it may adversely affect the plastic body of the wheel cleaner.
Essentially though the dirt on the brushes of the wheel cleaner is the stuff that has come off the wheels and dropped into / onto the brass bristles along with some tarnishing of the bristles themselves. The tarnishing will be hard to get rid of (they will not shine along their length), but getting the 'wheel grot' out is no bad thing.
This is all part of the larger problem of cleaning track and by extension, wheels. As many of you will know if you have endured previous posts from me, I do not clean track in the accepted sense. Nor, shock, horror, do I clean loco wheels. Ever. It seems to me that dirt on wheels is all part of the same equation. It seems to be carbon based as a consequence of arcing between wheel and rail. If you can eliminate the arcing then you can eliminate the carbon build-up. As I have posted before in different places, at Exhibitions, half an hour before opening time there is a furious ritual going on of people scrubbing every bit of track with different cleaners, some abrasive, some not. I have come to accept that ALL abrasive cleaners are bad in the long term. Short term they do burnish the rail but they also minutely scratch the surface, thereby reducing contact area between rail and wheel. This promotes arcing, which produces the dirty deposits on the wheel treads that you then have to remove somehow. If you condition the rail head with graphite, doesn't matter how you do this, proprietry product, 2B pencil, graphite block, you will reduce or even eliminate the arcing and you will find that your wheels do not need cleaning. And if you don't believe your locos cause arcing whilst running, try running in the dark with your eyes at rail level. You will be horrified I guarantee. Then try the same thing after having applied graphite. The arcing will be gone. The (long winded) moral of this seems to be the more you clean track/wheels with an abrasive, the more you have to.
My attention has been drawn to a very good article in the current issue of Model Railroad Hobbyist, available online, on the subject of applying graphite to rails, the principles and results.
I agree with Rod.
We have been cleaning the track on the morning of every exhibition that the layouts have been to for the past 30 years.
Graphite will indeed improve rail to wheel pick up considerably, however I have found that adding graphite to the rails will significantly reduce adhesion, so it is fine on a flat layout but not so good if you have any grades.
In fact I have found that the use of track rubbers actually helps with adhesion, probably because it generates lots of small scratches on the rail head.
Brian Meldon
I am wary of track rubbers - the usual brand contains abrasive particles. Where do they go? On to the layout and possibly up into the mechanisms, where they can (possibly) do damage....
I have had and driven automatic gearbox cars for over 40 years, now what's that got to do with wheel cleaning you may ask, yes you did, ask that is, ;D
Well, I read somewhere recently that auto gearbox oil lightly applied to a section of rail, and a loco run over it and on, aids cleaning and current pickup, so as I have some of the oil in question, I thought I would give it a try.
Now I know this sounds bizarre and against all common sense, but it does work, the operative word of course is lightly, just a smear from a cotton bud around the odd section of track, depending upon your layout size, is all that it takes.
There you go, daft but it works.
Regards,
BrianT.
I have been told by people who know these things that 'Railzip' is in fact ATF fluid in a small labelled bottle!
Again rail zip (and probably ATF fluid) even in tiny amounts will affect the locos adhesion on grades.
So it will be fine for a flat layout, but not so good for one with any grades, especially if these grades are marginal for the locos already.
Brian Meldon
Rail Zip shouldn't affect adhesion after it's been distributed around the layout by a Loco's wheels.
I have heard of people cursing Rail Zip, they say they would never touch it again, after using it they had to strip and clean their locos to make them run again. All I can say to that is they must have immersed their locos in a bath of the stuff if it got into the locos. It's supposed to go on the track! I don't even use it as suggested. I merely put two blobs on the wing rail and check rail of one point then run a train round for ten minutes or so and the wheels do the rest. As for gradients provided these are reasonable I have had no problem with slipping. I think some people seem to feel that there is a constant oily film on the rail head. If there is you have used FAR too much. Indeed the manufacturers actually recommend wiping the rail head clean after 24 hours so adhesion should not be a problem anyway. Suffice it to say, with no connection to the product except as a satisfied user, it's the best