best track cleaning method?

My fastrack had a layer of grime on it from years of use. I clean my track regularly, but I could not penetrate the layer of thick grime. I tried everything, goo gone, alcohol, acetone etc. Yesterday I stumbled upon a miracle… the purple abrasive scotchbrite pad. After a few passes it was like I had brand new track. I wiped the remaining grime off the tracks with alcohol on a rag. What a difference!! Highly highly recommend. And to think I was about to go buy new track!

I have the Northeast Trains model, picture attached. It does an okay job, but I felt that it needed more pressure & modified mine, but then it needed more weight to keep the flanges on the rails & multiple engines to pull.

I actually like the one shown earlier in the thread, on Laidoffsick's Ohio & Southwestern, pictures attached. Does anyone know if thats available? For that matter, does the Ohio & Southwestern RR still exists?

@biscuitag97 posted:

My fastrack had a layer of grime on it from years of use. I clean my track regularly, but I could not penetrate the layer of thick grime. I tried everything, goo gone, alcohol, acetone etc. Yesterday I stumbled upon a miracle… the purple abrasive scotchbrite pad. After a few passes it was like I had brand new track. I wiped the remaining grime off the tracks with alcohol on a rag. What a difference!! Highly highly recommend. And to think I was about to go buy new track!

If you haven't looked at the article on track solvents, you should.  Alcohol is a poor choice for track cleaning, it allows the grime to return much faster than non-polar solvents.  If you want a good non-polar solvent, consider Naphtha, aka Lighter fluid.  You can buy a quart of Naphtha at your local big box home improvement store for a lot less than Isoptopyl Alcohol, and it's a better track cleaner as well.  A quart of Naphtha at HD or Lowes is around $9.

I know Naphtha doesn't appear in this list, but it should be in the top group.

Since this was brought back up I've had success with a rag and mineral spirits. Just wipe the track every 6 months or so and call it good.

Not to start a war but, in my opinion, that article and the list of recommended solvents is a bit misleading when it comes to pure track cleaning. A great deal of the article focuses on solvents that prevent future micro-arcing and the build-up of "black gunk" on the track, rather than getting the track the cleanest it can be.

While that may be a desirable objective, it does not necessarily correlate that the best solvent for inhibiting future micro-arcing and build-up of "black gunk", also makes the best pure track cleaner.

In addition, the article does not factor into account the residue that may be left behind by a recommended non-polar solvent after using it. Further, the article does not factor in whether the use of a recommended non-polar solvent or the residue that may be left behind by using it, may inhibit good electrical contact between rail and engine wheel/roller pick-up after cleaning with that product or that solvent's potential effect on the future overall performance of your locomotives after cleaning.   

What makes the best track cleaner is the product that removes the "black gunk" as completely as possible and returns the track to near pristine condition while also not damaging the track or negatively impacting future electrical contact or engine performance and requires only a reasonable amount of effort to use.   

I don't makes these points in a vacuum. I have tried several of the recommended products on the list and found the results to be less than satisfactory when taking into account these additional factors. 

Like many things, real world performance can often vary greatly from theoretical projections and you should use what you believe works best for you.

@Richie C. posted:

Not to start a war but, in my opinion, that article and the list of recommended solvents is a bit misleading when it comes to pure track cleaning. A great deal of the article focuses on solvents that prevent future micro-arcing and the build-up of "black gunk" on the track, rather than getting the track the cleanest it can be.

Oddly, the recommendations have worked for me.  Since I want to extend the time between required track cleaning, getting rid of micro-arcing and the resulting "black gunk" is high on my list.  I used to recommend Isopropyl Alcohol, and I was forever cleaning track.  Since I've changed to Naphtha, I've been cleaning a lot less often.  Most of my experience was with my prior track choice, Fastrack.

It so happens that Naphtha isn't on the list, but it is a non-polar solvent.  Obviously, the one drawback of Naphtha is it's highly flammable, so I only use it for manual cleaning with a rag on an unpowered layout, I'd never consider putting it in a track cleaning car on on the pads of a track cleaner.

I've actually found that running my Trackman 2000 around with the Scotchbrite pad is quite effective, and I rarely have to resort to liquid cleaners of any type.  This is on new Ross/Gargraves track, hard to say what will happen in a few years when it accumulates lots of running miles.

I have a homemade track cleaning car that uses cut off mini paint rollers.  It work okay and I use it on the main lines or loops.

I have mid sized layout that allows reaching most of it by hand.  I usually keep 4 or 5 six cars or so trains, parked on the layout along with several engines on sidings and in and around the round house.  It is a pain to move the parked trains and engines to give the track cleaning car access to almost all the track.

I find it easier and quicker to move the trains by rolling by hand and to clean the track by hand.  I am working on a 2 ft long stick, with a small hinged board to mount a wiping rag on, and using it to reach in the tunnel and round house.

Charlie

Still a 91% IPA guy, alternating between my NE Trains track cleaning car and by hand with a clean rag.

Some of the products on the list left a greasy, oily residue on the track. If I have to clean once and then wipe it down again to remove the residue, that's too much work and I don't consider that to be an effective way to clean track. After using other recommended solvents, I got a lot of sparking when subsequently running trains.

Maybe I don't run my trains often enough to require a lot of cleaning, especially in the summer, or perhaps it's the new dehumidifier.