Track cleaning (constantly)

[Hamaker]

Where does on find this NO-OX-ID ?  Auto parts store ?  Hardware store ?  Industrial supply house ?

[tehachapifan]

I've only tried the Bar Mills version, which may be available at some hobby shops (Don't see it at the Bar Mills site, but might have missed it). I think I picked mine up at a certain auction site.

[peteski]

Where? Google is your friend. 

But personally I'm not a fan of applying oily substances to the track.  Not only it'll reduce friction (pulling ability of locos), it might soften or damage traction tires (of they are used). It will also attract dust, and then the oil-dust muck will accumulate on the wheel threads (especially on plastic wheels). 

Good thing is that oily stuff can be washed off if needed. But it will be a chore.

[LV LOU]

I had Atlas C80 on my last RR,and every one I had before that.Every one,I was CONSTANTLY cleaning the track.The wheels would crud up,and there was always a black film on top.I may add,I ran a lot,there was always a train going.I used to run a train of Centerline cars,it was a losing battle.My new RR is ME.. I almost never clean my track anymore,and cleaning consists of running a single car I built with a sharpening stone on it.I never even cleaned my wheels from the last RR,yet,they're clean now.My RR works so well,I can leave it for two weeks,plop a Bachmann Dockside on it,and it will crawl around all day after one faster lap..No more Atlas 80 for me...

I should add that I run pretty much nothing but MTL plastic wheels & trucks.If you look at the wheeltreads,they're shiny,and my trains are pretty much silent..I hate metal wheels.Why all the complaining about noisy locomotives if you then go out of your way to put wheels on your cars that make your railroad sound like an airport?

[C855B]

... I'm not a fan of applying oily substances to the track. ...

Huh. Yeah, I searched "NO-OX-ID" and found it to be a contact cleaner/lubricant. Didn't realize it was a lubricant, too. I stay away from contact cleaner with "protectants" or lubricants. The key words for me are "leaves no residue" and also no mention of lubricant. I've used contact cleaners like this for - gosh! - 50 years, and the right stuff can perform miracles on even brass track.

The wrong stuff with the lubes can be a headache, although I recall great fun messing with the other guys in the club by using the cleaner-with-lube in my reckless teenage years. Their Tyco locos just sat there and spun until wearing off the lube, then would launch like a rocket. Most of the time they would kill the throttle before hitting the 18" curve next to the wall. Most of the time.

[tehachapifan]

er....nevermind.

[Kev1340]

If you are running DC just fit a High Frequency Track Cleaner:

http://www.gaugemaster.com/modules.html#t1

You'll never have to clean track (or wheels) again! I've had one installed for 20 years, only time I clean track is after pointing it and laying ballast.

If you have DCC, enjoy cleaning those rails

Cheers,

Kev

[Chris333]

 

[peteski]

Sure Chris, the real railroads used for steel structures. But no mention of applying it to their tracks. 
BTW, nice ad! Looks like an old catalog cover.

BTW, track cleaning and maintenance  is one of those tabu subjects on online forums. Like politics and religion.  Each cleaning method has a group of strong followers, and another group of opponents.  There is no best method everyone agrees on. You have to pick whatever appeals to you (again, just like you do with politics or religion). 

[SD452XR]

Does NO-OX-ID affect the pulling power of locomotives on a grade?

[Greyryder]

Track cleaning is my bane. I had things running great last week. It only lasted a couple days. Right back to stuttering and stalling. After more than an hour into an operating session, I'd barely even gotten started on it, because I kept stopping to clean things.

I cleaned the track, and went so far as to pull the engine apart and clean up all of its contacts. I cleaned the wheels twice! Still stalling. I just put everything back, and parked the trains. This may be the most short lived return to a hobby, I've ever had. I don't need this aggravation.

[C855B]

Here's more on NO-OX-ID: http://www.model-railroad-infoguy.com/no-ox.html. Mention is made of temporary issues with slipping on grades.

After searching around and reading between lines, this product appears to be a repackaging of "NO-OX-ID A-Special", an industrial anti-oxidation coating. Yes, it is a grease (actually - Vaseline!) with additives. Available in 1-gallon cans. For really big layouts, I guess.

A couple of the online shops showed the Bar Mills NO-OX-ID to be in stock. Walthers, however, notes it as "discontinued", and as Russ mentioned, Bar Mills doesn't show it anywhere on their site.

[alhoop]

Track cleaning is my bane. I had things running great last week. It only lasted a couple days. Right back to stuttering and stalling. After more than an hour into an operating session, I'd barely even gotten started on it, because I kept stopping to clean things.

I cleaned the track, and went so far as to pull the engine apart and clean up all of its contacts. I cleaned the wheels twice! Still stalling. I just put everything back, and parked the trains. This may be the most short lived return to a hobby, I've ever had. I don't need this aggravation.

Gotta be persistent - did you clean the wheels on the rest of the train. Does anyone smoke anywhere near the layout?
Al

[Greyryder]

No smokers in the house. Apparently, my interim cleaning method wasn't good enough. I did another thorough cleaning last night, and was surprised by how much black came up. I don't know what the general consensus around here is on Life Like's track cleaner, but it works surprisingly well. Especially for something that appears to be made mostly from blue food coloring. I bought a bottle of it, years ago, and barely used it. Thought I'd give it another try. It works.

I had a nearly flawless operating session. Only had trouble on one leg of the layout's only crossing, and I think that was at least partially caused by uneven tension on the engine's trucks. That's since been taken care of. Low speed switching is absolutely unforgiving of even a little dirt or oxidization.

[peteski]

some of the dark-colored "stuff" you see whenever you use a mildly abrasive method to clean the rails is most likely not dirt.  It is probably just traces of finely powdered nickel-solver which was abraded from the rail.  You can verify this by repeatedly cleaning a piece of track. Even after several cleanings, you will see the dark residue (coming off the already-very-clean track).

Of course, when you initially cleaned the track, some of the crud was real crud, mixed with powdered nickel-silver particles.