Large Scale Central

Reindeer Pass Rail-Kleen

Reviews
#1

http://www.reindeerpass.com/rail-kleen-3.aspx

For a Christmas gift my wife gave me a Reindeer Pass Rail Kleen , I have the one that came mounted to the H-L-W Coil car.

All I can say is that I cant wait for spring to use this out on the railway!

I have been testing it on our bridge that we store in the basement for the winter and the Rail Kleen works excellent, with just one pass it did a great job cleaning the rail surface, after the second pass it looks as good as anytime I have cleaned the rail using my pole sander and a lot of physical effort!

There was a slight issue with the Rail Kleen upon its arrival, had an issue with the motor shutting down after about 20-seconds of use.

A quick email to Reindeer pass and they advised that the issue I was having was a battery issue, they advised to cycle the battery a few times to clear the internal circuit board and it seemed to do the trick. I have been cleaning all the excess tack sections I have laying around in the basement and it is working perfect.

The Rail Kleen mounted to the HLW car is a bit pricey so if that is holding you up from investing in one they also offer just the Rail Kleen device itself that you can mount to a car of your choice for a lot less money.

#2

My pal Jerry in Annapolis also got one. He sent me a link to this video:

#3

Since Pete showed my video I will chime in with my impressions. My wife also got me the unit unmounted for Christmas. I put it on a USAT crane tender flat car I have. Just bolted it to the front edge, then used a Bachman bobber caboose body from one of those old kits to add a cabin to cover the battery. I used a brass 1/4 inch spacer to set height above the rail head. I mounted the caboose body on a frame of 1/2 x 1/2 cedar to give me something to mount the supplied switch on. The tabs from the bottom edge of the bobber snap nicely on the frame, allowing easy access to the battery. I drilled a small hole in the front wall of the cab to mount the supplied charging jack. I painted the caboose and mechanism with a drab green camo color, sort of matches the GN flatcar.

I sure wish I had this a month + ago…leaves were everywhere. This unit will not rake them up and bag them for you but certainly takes them off the track! (see video) Now as the copy says, it polishes the inside edge of the rail, not the top. This is due to the abrasive paper folding into a U shape during use. However, after running the cleaner on my loop a few times, I gave it the acid test, which is running single block locos, 0-4-0, 0-6-0 little guys. Even the Bachman hand car, which had never made it around the loop. To a one they all ran without stutter which I have found difficult to achieve even with cleaning my rails with green pads and alcohol.

SO my opinion is this is certainly worth it for my layout here in Maryland. Acid test #2 will be the incredible amounts of pollen in the spring that literally shuts down track powered operations a few times a day despite cleaning!

Regards

Jerry

#4

Here’s a link to a video I put together for GR of the Rail-Kleen running on my dad’s railroad. (I think you have to be a subscriber to see the video.)

I have to echo the comments above–very cool little tool, whether you push electrons through the rails or not. It powers through dust and debris without trouble.

Later,

K

#5

Here’s my new Rail Kleen…