Don't forget to try this......

Very true Peter. I usually spray some CRC on a q-tip and run it around the wheels before I put a loco back on the tracks.

Bob

Peter, I’m with you on this one. My track never gets very dirty. It’s always the wheels on engines and rolling stock. Sometimes it so thick it looks like an o ring has been placed on the wheels.

@Putnam Division  Peter, good suggestion on keeping Locomotive wheels clean.  I also started out cleaning wheels with Q-tips.  Later I discovered inexpensive microfiber rags (14" x 14" Cleaning Towels) work very well and one of them can clean a lot of wheels.  They're also great for all kinds of cleaning tasks, even track.  I usually find them in packs of 10 or more at home improvement stores.  When they get too dirty, they go in the laundry and then get used again, etc.

Another thing to consider is scenery items getting sucked up into the gears.  Over the last two months i have had three locos with ground foam clogging the gears, a new and unique issue.