I did try cleaning it with the wet swifters. They did get black but not as bad as when I started with the dry swifter. Should I be spraying the swifters with Fantastik or just using them as is?
Greg,
Regardless, acetone has worked well for me! (https://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Joe, yes I have used acetone to clean some gunk off my track. Acetone works on some contaminants but not so well on others. It does evaporate quickly, so I have to do small sections at a time when I clean with acetone.
Grease and slippery crud will not clean off well with abrasive pads. The abrasive pad just spreads the gunk around. Abrasive pads work well on dry and hard gunk, gunk that when abraded, turns into dust and falls to the ground.
John Caughey said:
After you get the rail clean, clean your wheels or you will just be laying it down again.
Pretty much.
Then pull your tires off the USA loco and put the raised white lettering on the outside. Blackwall lettering is an east coast thing especially if you have a redstripe on them radials.
SHINY tires are great if you wanna smoke them off !
I use Scotchbrite pads on the bottom of an old Swifterjet. It cleans off the tarnish to the point the railhead is close to being totally clean. With two distribution points the train runs smooth. My new transformers I purchased last year puts out a consistent supply of power to the two loops and the combination works well for a open house at Halloween.
Having come from the world of scale resin car modelling, I used to produce a range, I can testify to the fact that silicon is the most gawd awful stuff to remove. It’s used as a release agent on molds and it is a prerequisite to remove to ensure you can get paint to hold. My previous suggestion was gleaned from pro auto painter forums. However, there were two preferred methods amongst minature auto modelers -
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Cleaning and rinsing the moldings in a washing soda crystal (not the caustic ones !). Used other than normal household detergents as they have lanolin (oil) and such like added to make them kinder to human skin (otherwise they take the skin’s natural oils out) so would end up putting a further barrier on the repel the paint.
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A quick wash with cellulose thinners. Not really advisable except with great care and making sure none of the stuff goes on those plastic sleepers.
I tried as Greg instructed. I first scrubbed the track with the wet swifter doused in Fantastik. I then cleaned it all again with just a fresh wet swifter. I then ran the test train for over half an hour and tried it out on the incline.
The good: It was able to climb the incline.
The less good: It only barely was able to climb the incline.
I then proceeded to clean the track again with the swifter. It was dirty again which is to be expected due to the wheels. I then allowed it to run again for a while and tested. The results were about the same.
Conclusion: Things are improved but still don’t seem quite where they were before I applied the Amor All.
I have attached the first cleaning swifters and the swifter after I wiped the track after running.
Did you clean the wheels too?
If I understand Greg’s instructions, by cleaning the track and then immediately running the train on it, liquid left on the rails from the swifter should rub on to the wheels and clean them.
It does it to a degree, running the trains while the track is still wet does indeed clean the wheels.
Then I wipe again.
Now that I clean the track while trains are running, the wheels seem to keep cleaner.
One thing I forgot, are you running traction tires? I forgot to mention that you probably want to clean the rails very thoroughly after armoralling BEFORE running a loco with traction tires, the Armorall might make them a lot less effective… and THOSE I would indeed clean with 99% alcohol, or perhaps acetone if you can be sure the acetone does not negatively impact the traction tires.
This may be the key difference… I run really long trains, no traction tires, and 3.4% grade, so I have not had the trouble you have Nicolas. Also the wet swiffer alone should be fine, it should not require any other fluid.
A last thought, the traction tires could be slipping on the wheels, seems unlikely but worth checking.
Greg
The test train is SD70 no traction tires. They don’t appear to put traction tires on those locomotives as the two I bought have do not have traction tires and were bought brand new.
I will clean the traction tires separately on my GP38’s. I had one suggestion of lighter fluid which seemed to work without negatively affecting them.
I wish I had known to clean the track after applying the Amorall. I would have done so before running any trains. Running exclusively battery power, I never bother to clean the track so it was never a part of my process. All my trains have now run on the track and thus all the wheels will need a good cleaning as well.
I run a mixture of long and short trains. I do have some grades that reach 4% at points and are also on curves (10 foot diameter).
Yep, lighter fluid is naptha, which dries a bit slower, but is usually kind to plastic. I’m real careful with solvents on imported plastic.
I know a lot of people say they used such and such and saw no damage, but there are many documented instances of DELAYED damage to plastic after using certain compounds:
So in my experience, when I have to use a solvent near plastic, I start with the “weakest” first, and work my way “up” if it does not do the job.
Sorry I did not specifically indicate to remove the Armorall first, although I have not quite run into the issues you have. I think you are pretty much running at the limit of what your locos will pull. Also, if your locos are pretty new, they will get more tractive effort as the wheels wear in.
4% on a curve is over 5% on a straight… sounds like doubleheading is in your future… more fun!
Greg
p.s. I updated my page to reflect cleaning after armoralling… https://elmassian.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=84:track-and-rail-material&catid=20:track&Itemid=109
X
Ah. Thanks.
Yeah. Good to know about the more abrasive chemicals. I don’t plan on using anything not suitable for plastic on either the wheels or the tracks due to the plastic involved in the ties/wheels.
Unfortunately I cannot remember how well it pulled up the current test train that I am hauling. All I remember is that it was able to pull it and I don’t remember it slipping. I plan to use dual head engines to pull up longer trains just do the the grades. As a side note, I re-measured the grade and it varies along the path there from as low as 3 to just over 4 percent. It was tough to maintain a constant grade. Used both a normal level + digital level but it can vary quite a bit it seems with a very small amount of change.
I will tell you that I have often observed people determined to only use a set number of engines, and have slipping wheels on grades.
Unless someone is closely watching, down at the level of the wheels, it’s sometimes difficult to tell.
My advice is put one more loco on and cut down the wear on your drivetrains, and also the loads on your batteries.
My “back grade” is 3.4% and a 10 car passenger train needs 3 E8’s with a lot of extra weight. Also you also mentioned, you have grades on curves and that makes a huge difference in the “effective” grade.
Greg
Based on observing operation on my double loop helix grade, loco wheels are more apt to slip on its straights than the curves when pulling a long train. However, there is more risk of string-lining longer, heavy trains on the curves.
-Ted
Ted,
That is not my observation at all. Mine is just the opposite. Loco slippage is more apt to occur on the curves as the resistance of the wheels to rails increases. I do agree though about the string-lining.
What is string lining?
Cars pulled off the rails to make a “string line” around a curve, not following the rails.
Joe Zullo said:
Ted,
That is not my observation at all. Mine is just the opposite. Loco slippage is more apt to occur on the curves as the resistance of the wheels to rails increases. I do agree though about the string-lining.
I affirm my experience is opposite to yours. Wheels can migrate toward the rail on the curve with the flange providing slightly more physical contact with the side of the rail with additional grip - less likely to slip.
Example truck coasted on a curve with flange angle of attack:
-Ted
My locomotives are most apt to slip when the locomotive is on the straight track, but he trailing cars are still in the preceding curve. The curve creates more drag on the cars, but the locomotive cant get the added traction of the flanges pressing against the rail in a curve.