How do you clean your train layout?

My Pennsylvania layout is on the basement floor.  So while windblown grit isn't much of a problem, dust and animal hair is.  Every week I vacuum everything -- verrrrry carefully -- to clean things up.  Especially the track, since anything that stays on the track for any length of time ends up on locomotive mechanisms.  And at the same time, I vacuum the locomotives on the display shelves.

Some day, I'll have the space for a "real" off-the-floor layout...

Compressed air, Dustbuster, Swiffer, soft bristle brush, and a very cheesy but effective track cleaning car made from a beater gondola and cheap dollar store sponges.  It helps that my "scenery" is all accessories.

Pete

I have a vacuum with a very tiny cone for the layout. I am very careful around switch lights, etc.  I also have high and low suction settings accordingly.

I have been told buy my LHS techie unequivocally that track clean cars are worthless so when the trains appear to slow down I wipe them down manually with a soft cloth and track cleaner. 

Wanted to be the first! 

Jerry

Using compressed air seems like an easy way to dust off your layout, but all you're really doing is putting it back in the air and moving it around. Vacuuming is the only way to get rid of it, and make room for NEW dust.

Thanks everyone for the advice.Looks like vacuuming is really the way to go.I have a real inexpensive track cleaning car that i will also use.

Bryan

At the LCCA meeting in Chattanooga, we toured a home layout near Atlanta and that owner (retired from the state of GA) controls dust by having his layout in his basement with no AC or other forced air system.  No pets, etc.  He does not use any "realistic" scenery but keeps his layout as it would have been when he was a youngster; just track on a painted surface, classic Lionel or Marx accessories, engines-cars, etc.

I clean the trains, tracks, diecast cars, and some roofs when needed. The rest I call "weathered".

I use a small hand held 120 volt vacuum. Have tried the B&D dustbuster but never lasts that long so I went back to 120 volt source for a vacuum cleaner. 

Sometimes if the dust is really bad and won't easily come off, I take a paper towel with water on it and clean the tops of buildings, then use a dry paper towel to follow up. Gets most of the dirt off.

Track cleaning is another job, track cleaning cars don't work that good for me so I use them sparingly, like where I can not reach that easy. I have the Trackman 2000 and use it with two powered Williams SD-45's.

Lee Fritz

PS - I use the compressed air outside, to blow dust off rolling stock and wireless free standing accessories.

Pete

I do this whole evolution once a month.

I blow dust off it with compressed air: as mentioned above this redistributes it,  however I have a Dayton powered HEPA air filter in the trainroom that runs all the time and sucks up alot of that and I use a shop vac on the whole layout every so often.  

Using compressed air tends to loosen and redistribute small bits of "vegetation" which makes cleaning the track more important than ever, since I have had bits fall between the rails and jam the gears on at least one engine (WBB Trainmaster - took forever to free it).  The photos below show my "comprehensive track cleaning train"(The CTCT Special ) in which I try to do everything in one train.

The loco is the first I bought when I got back into O scale - an RTR SD70.  A good loco that can pull this heavy load. 

First up: the magnet car: just two very powerful neodymium magnets taped to a plastic flat car.  Picks up the odd screw or whatever that might be down between the rails.  It always comes back with something it found, even though there should be nothing there.  

Track cleaning car, from Pat's Trains if I remember correctly.  I usually run it with a dry pad.  This does an excellent job but loose fibers wear off the pad and wrap themselves around the axle trailing it quickly, creating additional friction.

Probably redundant given the cleaned car above, I run this homemade one I had before I bought the other: just a box with a lever and weigh inside pushing a Brightboy track cleaning eraser down on the tracks.  

Finally, cleaning up after everything is my vacuum cleaner car, which I've posted about in the past.  Guts of a Dustbuster.  Originally I had a 10-amp full wave recitifer and it picked up power from the track.  But it wants 8.5 to 9 amps at around 14 volts to spin up properly which runs the train to fast to vacuum well, and 9 amps leaves too little out the 10 amp circuit breaker maximum for the loco.  Now I run it with two 18 V B&D rechargable tool batteries as shown.  One of them will run it for about five minutes - enough to make enough passes to clean half my layout: then I turn the car around and use the other battery on the other half. 

Edit: you reminded me, I always do this whole evolution on the first of the month.  Close enough today - I will do it this afternoon.  

Lee-  I like your 2 home made cars.  Could you post any more details on them, like the box car without the box on it and closeups of the vacuum car.

Brian: Mostly I just pull a couple of Dennis' design cars, one with Scotchbrite, One with a paper towel folded & taped under it. Eval the paper towel every 50 feet of track or so and refold to fresh side out as needed. It turns black pretty fast even if the rails look clean. Run until it comes back clean and you are good.

That does a decent job if you run it at least once a month.

Lee: I just located my Dustbuster which I intend to mod as you did.

I will be going with rectified track power as I run DCS and can run slowly with full power on the rails. This means I will be making a Voltage Regulator and Capacitor storage car to run with it. A couple Big Caps will fill the spots where Track power drops on switches, ect.

I already have 2 cars made to Dennis' plans that work fairly well by themselves to team with it.

I have several Engine choices to pull it with but usually go with a Starter set 2-8-0. If the load gets too high with the Vacuum car I can up the motive power as much as needed (The Big Boy is available for grades).

I suppose I can drop the Crane and tender cars in that case as It's really not going to look quite right anyway 

Here is the vacuum car.  I'll try to find photos of the track cleaner car before I put it back together.

https://ogrforum.com/t...ar-that-really-sucks