cleaning post-war tubular track questions

I use a Swiffer handle and pads soaked with alcohol to reach all the way down the track.  Haven't had a problem in nearly 15 years.

A wire brush is okay so long as you make sure that none of the "wire splinters" are left behind. You don't want them picked up by the engines. Opinions about the best track cleaning car will be the same as, "which track is best", they will vary. I prefer the one produced by North East Trains. They were available in different levels of detail and are all hand made (just the other night I noticed that one of mine has two different trucks, not to say theyy shouldn't be the same, just pointing out that they are not mass produced). Here's the link:

http://netrains.com/northeastt...gcarandsupplies.aspx

Fellow forumites have made their own and can be found using the Search feature.

Hope this helps.

Mike

Just don't get too aggressive that the wire brushing.... and don't even be tempted to use steel wool for the reasons EZ Mike mentioned above.    If the track wasn't overly rusty/dirty in the first place, you may have gotten by with a good rubbing with a cloth soaked with denatured alcohol.  Some use plain rubbing alcohol.. but there are claims that its water content is too high.

I have used paper towels & rubbing alcohol for 30 years with no negative effects.   If you will have "hand-to-track" access to all/most of your track, I don't see that a "track cleaning" car is needed.  It will never duplicate the downward force you can place on the track with your hand, as you constantly flip over the towels to get new "clean," wet spots. 

Jerry A posted:

... Please advise the best track cleaner available that can be pulled by a locomotive or one that is self powered. Also please advise the best cleaner itself to use.

I plan to use Lionel and MTH and I'm wondering just exactly how important it is to keep track clean on a regular basis ... 

Second-hand track should be manually cleaned as necessary before installation on a layout.

Regular use of track cleaner cars on an operating layout will ensure consistently reliable no-stutter operation. It also minimizes the need to clean wheels and is much less work in the long run. I run home-made track-cleaner cars in most of my trains, which use disposable wipers of denim cloth material cut from worn-out pants. I know they work because the material gets visibly dirty from sliding on the rails. 

Most hobbyists will wait until they have dirty track and dirty wheel problems and then want some quick high-power remedy. My method is to run track wiper cars as regular maintenance. It's easier and more fun than manually wiping track and generally avoids tedious manual cleaning of dirty wheels.

Related posts:     Track cleaning cars              Wheel cleaning question