Large Scale Central

Noel's Make Up Track Cleaning Fluld

I’ve been have over the years trouble cleaning up Brass rails that sometime are not used very often. So started to experimenter on some kind of cheap home made fluid that was easy to make and use.

I also have seen others having the same problems on here, so I figure there had to be an easier way.

After playing around with difference ideas that would not seem to hurt the plastic ties so far, I came up with this make up.

Take a cleaned empty washed out spray bottle.

Two cups of Vinegar Distilled White.

10 to 12 Table spoons of Table Salt.

Mix well do to salt take a lot of mixing to break down in Vinegar.

I sprayed on a 3-M Blue pads, rub on rails back and forth a few time until kind of shinny and let set for a few min’s. Come back over Rails with a Wet or Dry 3-M Green pad. "Keep rinsing out the Green pad to get any dry out left overs if needed."

Shown is what we use. Sanding pole w/3-M pad if use on ground level so don’t have to bend over to clean rails. We have 4 of these to use.

Shown is cleaned / dirty area.

Close up.

I do about 20 foot at a time.

Shown is around our guys set up area.

Our layout is over 700 foot and has been setting for a year and a half now. Do to we run Track power trains, sure did not want to spend days after days trying to get track cleaned up.

Now, this became so much easier for us old guys.

Hope this help and not sure on your areas on cleaning tracks, but here in Calif. it is a on going job keep track clean for elect. pick for our trains

Hey Noel,

I like your concoction and method! But, I could loan you old guys a battery powered track grinder pulling a track cleaning car with green scrubby pad under it. While consuming beverages, making smoke ya’ll are cleaning track from your rocking chairs…….

A year and half Noel, how have you managed? HO must have feeled the need.

Michael

Other thing once in awhile we have here is a lots of Pine Trees dropping Pine Sap on rails. WD-40 cleans that up easy and then back to using the home made stuff.

Michael Glavin said:

Hey Noel,

I like your concoction and method! But, I could loan you old guys a battery powered track grinder pulling a track cleaning car with green scrubby pad under it. While consuming beverages, making smoke ya’ll are cleaning track from your rocking chairs…….

A year and half Noel, how have you managed? HO must have feeled the need.

Michael

Hi Michael…Darn tracks was so tarnish and crap on them that my wind up Eng.with a pull string, even with two tracking cleaning cars didn’t touch much… lol.

Ya … hate to say it but yes… lots of Ho time was spent.(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

Hey… Did get the Trolley line running today tho…

I for one would never use anything called a ‘track grinder’ as this implies wearing of the rail. I use the LGB track cleaner which ‘polishes’ the rail.

Dan

My track grinder is the LGB track cleaner, some embellishment was intended! Track grinder implies and or sounds more prototypical too.

Michael