# Track cleaners



## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

Ok what are your all opinions on track cleaners, what works what doesn't? I have track and no cleaners, so far I just use a sponge with the hard (usually green side used for hard scrubbing) side on the rails, normally I just use scotch bright pads for cleaning my rails and/or train wheels as needed...so I just want to know what you all think and what you all use.


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## xrunner (Jul 29, 2011)

Right now I just use alcohol and small pieces of old T-shirts, but I want to try this new device - shipping late this month -

Tidy Track System


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

yea I want to go with the tidy track system, but so far I can't afford that  so i look at things like the powered track cleaning cars and things like that...what do you guys/gals think of things like that?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I guess it depends on what scale you run. I run O-gauge and I have the Lionel track cleaner with a modification to use ScotchBrite as a scrubbing medium. I'm also going to build a track cleaner that drags a ScotchBrite pad along the tracks.


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

HO here, and yea i would even consider buying a powered track cleaner unit (HO scale) off a member here if possible! so yea help!


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## Mr.Buchholz (Dec 30, 2011)

xrunner said:


> Right now I just use alcohol and small pieces of old T-shirts, but I want to try this new device - shipping late this month -
> 
> Tidy Track System


That looks interesting. I'll have to take a peek for it the next time I go to my local model train store. In the meantime, I've been using cotton rags and some universal cleaning solution on my rails.

-J.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Looks labor intensive, I have modified a Lionel 3927 Track Cleaning Car to use ScotchBrite, I can tow that around with any locomotive and clean the track from my handheld remote.


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## [email protected] (Jan 30, 2012)

I have a Walther's boxcar with a spring-loaded pumus block underneath ($19.99). I run it once a week or so. Tidy Track has some things I will look for. I do like to check our local stores first. Kansas City has four or five trains-only shops. I found the one in Grandview yesterday. That Athearn inventory is humungous!


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

CMX Track Cleaner:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Fill with alcohol and away you go!


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## tkruger (Jan 18, 2009)

I have an old IHC caboose with a track cleaning pad on the bottom. It also has a tanck in it to apply cleaner through the pad with. Since switching to all NS track I have only needed to use the pad without any liquid. I just add it to the end of a train and run as normal.


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

well I found one but it appearently uses sand paper??? is that harmful for the track or what?


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Yea that one's junk!


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

NIMT said:


> CMX Track Cleaner:thumbsup::thumbsup:
> Fill with alcohol and away you go!
> View attachment 15466


Yep, that's what I use. I hook it up to my trusty Bachmann CN and let 'er rip around and around for about a dozen laps. Works like a champ!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Bob


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Yikes!

*CMX-O-HR - Clean Machine O Scale "3 Rail" CMX Products $259.95*


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Yikes!
> 
> *CMX-O-HR - Clean Machine O Scale "3 Rail" CMX Products $259.95*


Can't buy cognac on a beer budget!
Bob


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

John,
I have never use a track cleaner that works like this! It's worth every penny!
There is a lot more tolerance in O than HO, partially because size of everything, the AC power, and the higher voltages.
In some ways DCC makes dirty track problems better and other ways it makes it far worse!


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

can you guys suggest some good track cleaners that will hook up to my trains? is this a good one or no?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/270912822435?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

I answered your question in post #9.


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

And I also answered your question in post #13. 
The CMX works like a dream with NO hassles.
Bob


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## cabledawg (Nov 30, 2010)

New Berlin RR said:


> can you guys suggest some good track cleaners that will hook up to my trains? is this a good one or no?
> 
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/270912822435?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649


I think that is the cheap version of what Sean mentioned in his previous post. Fill the tank with solution and the pad underneath wicks it down to the track. I'm not sure if that makes it electrically conductive though, never used one before.

I just use good ole elbow grease and alcohol. GooGOne for the stubborn stuff with alcohol afterwards to remove the residue. I also have a drag block under a box car that tags along with whatever train is running at the time. The block keeps most of the stuff off the tracks but does nothing for the wheels.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Well, if the track is clean, the wheels don't get as dirty.


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## cabledawg (Nov 30, 2010)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Well, if the track is clean, the wheels don't get as dirty.


Touche!

I guess I meant to say that the wheels still need periodic cleaning, just not as much.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

That part is true.


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

i just want the car to clean the track, i will be looking into the wheel cleaners later...and besides the brass cars that clean track what others are good? Im on somewhat of a budget sadly so I try to find deals when ever I can


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

I agonzed over spending the big bucks on a CMX for nearly two months before I finally took the plunge
I shopped all over the internet and eBay trying to score a better deal on one, but no dice.
I've long ago forgotten the high price due to the high quality of this product and the great job that it does in cleaning my HO nickel silver track.
Again, you can't drive a Cadillac for a Chevy price.
Bob


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## manchesterjim (Dec 30, 2011)

*Track Cleaners*

Bright boy about every two weeks followed by a wiping with lint free clothes and alcohol. I try and use the 90%+ alcohol due to the fact that common rubbing alcohol tends to leave a film. 

For the wheels, I use the same cloth and alcohol combo on the programming track. hwell: I've had track cleaning cars but they just don't do what a few minutes with a bright boy and some alcohol will.

Jim


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## manchesterjim (Dec 30, 2011)

Hey look!!!! I'm getting close to the 100-post mark! (Brakeman here I come)!!


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

raleets said:


> I agonzed over spending the big bucks on a CMX for nearly two months before I finally took the plunge
> I shopped all over the internet and eBay trying to score a better deal on one, but no dice.
> I've long ago forgotten the high price due to the high quality of this product and the great job that it does in cleaning my HO nickel silver track.
> Again, you can't drive a Cadillac for a Chevy price.
> Bob


but I would take a well built Ford any day...them trucks see it all with me  but i get the point....but meh guess i will get it, better to pay more and get something of better quality...


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

NB RR,
So sorry, but we folks in this part of Michigan rarely use the "F" word since General Motors was founded in Flint, MI.  :laugh:
Anywho, I was ASTOUNDED at the quality of the CMX unit when I opened the box. That sucker weighs over a pound and is built like a F*^d (sorry, just can't say it) truck. 
It is one beautifully engineered piece of serious equipment, not a toy. Using it is about as simple as boiling water, with easy-to-follow instructions. I took NIMT's advice and used denatured alcohol as the cleaning agent. It made the track absolutely like NEW in just a few laps behind my loco.
Yes, it's pricey, but in the long run well worth the bucks and you'll have it for many, many years of service. I would LOVE to be a dealer!
Good luck,
Bob


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

manchesterjim said:


> Hey look!!!! I'm getting close to the 100-post mark! (Brakeman here I come)!!


Jim,
Can't believe it, but I just passed 1,000 posts. Just proves I'm gabby, right?
Bob


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

New Berlin RR said:


> but I would take a well built Ford any day...


well built furd? Shirley you jest.
My son bought a Mercury mini van, a Villager? Made him park it on the street as to not lower our house value.


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

Uh-Oh......
The gloves have been dropped! :laugh: :laugh:
Seriously, Shirley, about 90% of my personal friends are GM retirees and wouldn't be caught deceased in the same block as a F*^d dealership.
However, all that being said, those folks at F*^d have at least been able to turn a buck and stay out of G-man assistance during the last few years, so hat's off to their tenacity.
Years ago my step-daughter was given a Toyota for her high school graduation gift by her father. He was, at that time, still cashing checks from our U.S. Government as a tax auditor for the freakin' IRS!  I couldn't believe the audacity of that ba*#*rd for buying a rice burner and sending my tax dollars to Japan.
Jack, I wouldn't allow her to park the piece of crap in our driveway. Her mom and I agreed on that move and the car went bye-bye within two weeks. I won't bore you with the rest of the story, but it's juicy.
Bob


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## jzrouterman (Nov 27, 2010)

manchesterjim said:


> Bright boy about every two weeks followed by a wiping with lint free clothes and alcohol. I try and use the 90%+ alcohol due to the fact that common rubbing alcohol tends to leave a film.
> 
> For the wheels, I use the same cloth and alcohol combo on the programming track. hwell: I've had track cleaning cars but they just don't do what a few minutes with a bright boy and some alcohol will.
> 
> Jim


I use a bright boy for the track and a Kadee electric wheel cleaner for the wheels. Because of the amount of sidings I have, a cleaning car would not be practical. Even though there are two continuous main lines, it's just quicker using a bright boy. I also use an abrasive track cleaning head that's mounted on a 3 ft rod (3 twelve inch sections screwed together) for the hard to reach spots, like in between the sides of a truss bridge, between high narrow canyons, inside of some tunnels etc. t's sort of like a bright boy on a stick. The wheel cleaner does a pretty good job in a short amount of time of cleaning engine wheels. The faster the wheels turn, the better and quicker it cleans. 

Routerman


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