You guys can argue about the semantics all you want, but PJ’s early assertion that “. . . real engines do not have this angle, they run wit (sic) the full surface . . .” is incorrect. PJ, you need to take a slightly closer look at the locomotive wheelset you used to illustrate the (incorrect) point. Even in the pix, I believe the wheel taper is obvious.
Prototype (1:1) RR wheel treads are tapered and also employ a fillet or radius between the wheel tread and the inside surface of the flange. This specialized and tightly controlled shape has virtually nothing to do with PJ’s assertion that “. . . the function for this angle is to center the Engine/car while running on straight track . . .”, but has everything to do with the ability of a pair of RR wheels to go around a curve. The difference in wheel diameter between the inside of the tread and the outside of the tread (due to the ‘cone’ or taper) accommodates the different distances traveled by the wheel on the inside of a curve (shorter distance) and the wheel on the outside of the curve (longer distance). This concept is very basic to 1:1 railroad engineering.
BTW, did anyone of you engineering experts notice that the wheelset PJ pictured is from a three cylinder engine? What’s the clue?
I think you all might spend a little more time looking at the prototype along with the engineering behind it, rather than looking at what Aristocraft, Bachmann, LGB (or whatever their current name is), Mike’s Train House and others pass off as “scale models”, then drawing conclusion about the prototype. And, as was suggested earlier, look at the Sierra Valley Enterprises wheelsets. They are very close in practice to the prototype wheels.
As to cleaning the rails, I assume you are all now going to modify your track cleaning tools to only touch down in the area prescribed in the original post.
Happy (Track Cleaning Free: Edges, Top, Web and Bottom) RRing,
Jerry