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I've been having a down day for whatever reason. I know Eric was asking an honest question, but a few of the replies absolutely MADE MY DAY.

 

I'm not a cat hater, but that one made me laugh.

 

Simple Green... a good one!

 

Rob's comment "Lee, you need the enzymes in the detergent to remove the cat puke" mad me howl.

 

Then the nice layout, but passing on the dinner invite and then tossing the whistle tender into the dishwasher... those are great.

 

Thanks guys. The laughs those comments gave me really made my day... seriously! First laugh of the day and a very good one at that. Lifted my troubles off my soul.

 

 

Last edited by brianel_k-lineguy

This is silly. I can't believe anyone would even take the time out to analyze a dishwasher and washing track. You have two options for a $5.00 section of track. First is to try and clean it which is a simple dish soap and a little scrubbing or toss the track and buy a new section.

 

If you want to toss it in the dishwasher go ahead if it works fine if not then again buy another section of track. Your track is one of the most important connections on the flow of electricity why take short cuts.

 

I'm betting a simple hand washing takes care of the problem and problem is solved with out a lot of theory and thought.

I agree that this is a crazy "what if?" thread but I have enjoyed it thoroughly. I recently had 2 Fastrack switches and 4 straights loose connectivity for no reason during a show. Replaced them and moved on but I still have to look at them.....at least I won't have to throw them in the dishwasher....

Originally Posted by challenger3980:

Well, which is SILLIER, the person trying to save $5.00, or the person who takes the time to  complain about a thread being silly for FREE?

 

Doug

Apparently you haven't taken the time to view Erics videos demonstrating some of the latest and greatest scale o guage offerings on a substantial layout.

 

It would seem $5.00 isn't going to "break the bank" for Eric, with all due respect to him and more power to him as well.

Originally Posted by RickO:
Originally Posted by challenger3980:

Well, which is SILLIER, the person trying to save $5.00, or the person who takes the time to  complain about a thread being silly for FREE?

 

Doug

Apparently you haven't taken the time to view Erics videos demonstrating some of the latest and greatest scale o guage offerings on a substantial layout.

 

It would seem $5.00 isn't going to "break the bank" for Eric, with all due respect to him and more power to him as well.

 

Nope, I haven't taken the time to watch Eric's videos, He probably does have a Wonderful layout, and 5 bucks probably wouldn't break his bank either. But I fail to see how that would make him any less silly to complain about a thread where he has no financial incentive, than the OP, who is trying to salvage a piece of track.

 

Besides some of the replies have been interesting and/or Humorus to some of us.

 

Doug

Obviously a lot of you guys do not know how to use a dishwasher? 
Or ruined enough stuff to know what works when.

LOL.
As a single dad with two young in,
I have lots of experience doing both.
You can turn the dry cycle off.
Most have a single element like an electric stove.
If something falls down to bottom or is to close.
Usually plastic on the bottom rack, it will melt or deform.

Wash the way that I do rolling stock.
In sink with warm water, dish soap and soft restive brush.
If you want, put in dishwasher on Rinse only or Sani-rinse.
Take out. Pour isopropyl ( either 92 or the weaker stuff down the rails.
Blow out the rails with compressed air. Around 40-60psi  with a needle nozzle.
If you are still worried, spray a little WD-40 with the red tube down inside of the rails.
Wipe with a paper tower.
Let dry in warm house overnight.
Meanwhile, grab a beer and work on something else.
lOL.

I went looking for the piece of track that the cat puke ruined.  I must have tossed the U channel rails because they were so corroded  from the cat puke that no amount of cleaning was going to fix this.  I did keep the plastic base (seemed like a good idea at the time).

 

I did not catch the cat puke when it first occurred.  It had a couple of days, possibly a week, to get under the rails and attach the underside.  When I tried to clean the track with alcohol I kept getting these brown stains where the rails met the plastic base.  The track didn't conduct electricity so I pulled it out of the Christmas layout and replaced it.  When I took it apart that's when I found out that almost half of the underside of the center and outside rails were badly rusted.  They were flaking/scaling.  The pitting at the bends of the U were enough to start making pin prick holes in the track.

Erie Lackawanna, I have to say it is a quite unusual and funny thread. And with so many replies and ideas. And even tests that people are doing.

 

Kudos to the forum members, this thread indeed shows how willing and helpful everyone here is to help one another no matter how big or small the problem is.  

 

Apparently there are more than a few cats out there throwing up on train tracks for whatever reason....who'd a thunk.

Originally Posted by Erie_Lackawanna:

I can't believe this over $5.00 worth of track!!  Perhaps the Forum Gods will shine down on us and put this thread out of it's misery!!  ROFL!!

In my case it was a lot more than $5. 

 

It was about 25-30 pieces from an eBay purchase, and, well, they were kinda' grubby and were obviously from the home of a heavy smoker(no cat puke evident).  A trip through the Maytag with a good dose of Cascade made them pretty squeaky clean and odor free.  I did 1 first, and then the rest when that one came out nicely.

 

The detergent enzymes do need substrates to work on and to work properly - that part was no joke.  I had a few pots to run through with the track.

1st step - rope off area with HAZMAT tape

 

2nd step - get government grant to study the effects of cat barf on o gauge track

 

3rd step - when grant $$$ hit bank account, buy gloves

 

4th step - reach down (wearing gloves) and pick that mess up

 

5th step - clean it off in the sink and dry (you can study/examine the track if needed to meet conditions of grant)

 

6th step - love thy cat (I have 2, the male hurls frequently, the female never)

 

 

Originally Posted by ericstrains.com:

Hey fellas, 

 

I've got an odd question. I had a loop of fastrack around the Christmas tree a few weeks ago. We've got several cats and one them managed to barf all over the track so it's really nasty right now. I'm wondering if anyone has every put Lionel fastrack through the dishwasher? It seems it would be a great way to get the cat barf out of all the nooks and crannies but I'm just not sure if the dishwasher will ruin the track or not. Anyone ever try that?

 

Thanks,

Eric Siegel

 

 

Get some purple power or pine sol..just spray it on let it sit on it for a few mins then rinse it off..as for putting it in the dishwasher?? can do that...but what does your wife thinks about it..cat barf in the dishwasher...she might think we wont eat off of your dishes ever again..lol

Originally Posted by Gregg:
Originally Posted by ADCX Rob:

The next thing you know is fellas' will start soaking die cast engine shells in laundry detergent & hot water to strip paint.  That's just nuts.

Tide??

So I guess now is not the time to say I'm doing exactly that to a diecast Brooklin '56 Pontiac so i can prepare it for my layout?

Gentlemen,

   Did I actually read that somebody recommended throwing a piece of FasTrack away,

Eric is probably like me, we do not throw anything away, it's just not done.  Rebuild if necessary, re-engineer if required.  All that nasty 1st Generation FasTrack with mid Black Rail that some people believe is worthless, please box it up and send it to me,

I will even pay the shipping. 

PCRR/Dave

 

Last edited by Pine Creek Railroad

My grandfather (who also was a train nut, it's where I got it from) always said,

 

"Use it up,

Wear it out,

Make it do,

Or do without."

 

To some of you, $5 doesn't seem like a lot, but for some of us that are living paycheck to paycheck, $5 is a meal for my family.  Knowing that I could throw it into the dishwasher with a load of dishes is great news.  Why waste my already limited train budget on track when the old track can be saved?  So many wasteful people in today's world.  I'm grateful that at least some here took this thread seriously enough to post helpful information.  Thanks to Eric for asking, and to Lee and Rob for answering with experience.

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