Lionel Super O Track

With my super "o," I have used two methods for cleaning:

1. Those old five cent pencil erasers have worked for me in the past, very inexpensive.

2. After consulting with fellow HO and N gauge types, WD-40 smart straw, 8oz can is very effective.

Have fun with your latest purchase...

There is a person on here who can possibly help you. He is into Super O track in a big way.   He is on this forum and there is a Yahoo group too. Hspanier.............Paul

Speaking of track cleaning, what about tubular track.  With old tubular track that has become tarnished from storage, I thought of using a maroon Scotchbrite pad.   However, if it wears through the tin-plate, will this affect conductivity ?  I've noticed that soldering to a cleaned spot on old tubular rail is more difficult than soldering to brand new rails.  I assumed that because the tin-plating may have been cleaned too well, exposing steel, to be the reason soldering is more difficult.  Any thoughts ?

You should take a look at the Super O Yahoo Group. This subject has been discussed in depth.

Mike (hspanier@aol.com)

An idea I robbed from the Yahoo group is using a product called Evaporust. I put a thin layer in a plastic shoe box and placed the track in it rail side down. The rust just disappears. I picked a quart of it up at an auto parts store.

J White

I acquired some dusty, dirty Super O a while back for a really good price.  I thought at the price I paid, I'd try running it through the dishwasher. And it worked pretty good.  A couple of companies make a product that is just for cleaning dishwashers, I used that product per load of track.  Do not use the heat dry setting.  I also put it in the top rack to keep it away from the heating element below the bottom rack.  I took it out of the dishwasher as soon as the complete dishwash cycle was done.  I didn't want to take a chance of it getting warped.  I used compressed air to get as much remaining water off as possible. I used a scotch pad and/or a dremel with wire brush to finish the clean up.  Finally, I sprayed a rag with WD40 and wiped the track down with that.  It turned out pretty good.  There were a few pieces that were pretty badly corroded, pitting, etc., that this method could not salvage.  Note this was for the track only and not switches or uncouplers, stuff like that.

Steve

I have been running my trains on Super O Track since the track first came out in September, 1957. The only cleaning that I do is to whip off the grease that get deposited on the rails by the passing train wheels.