Suggestions on car track cleaner

Here is one of many posts on track cleaning cars. Check here...

 

If you do an advanced search you will find more posts. Comments will vary from use your hand to expensive units.

ok thanks Don

I found a Trackman 2000 on eBay for $70 shipped, it works great.  I just put some Scotchbrite on it and drag it around.  I still have to customize it's road name, but it works without it.

 

 

Check out the Track scrubber at www.r&llines.com

I am going to send a cAr to Pat Trains (one of our sponsors) and have him make me one of his.

 

http://www.patstrains.com/

That link doesn't work.

Go to www.railtycoon.com and click on Track cleaner info page

I have a Lionel and the one from Pats Trains.  Pats Trains makes the best commercial unit I have seen.  It looks good (you can run it and most folks won't even notice its a cleaning car) and it works well and doesn't hassle you - easy to refit pads which last a long time anyway.  Lionel's car shredded its pads quickly and often dropped too much cleaner onto the track.

I have had the CMX car for a few years. It works. It also makes a nice display piece.

I pull it behind a loco and let it run for several minutes then change pad and repeat. Because I rarely do cleaning it takes many runs to do a thorough job. I also do hand wiping of the switches that are within reach. I could not believe how dirty everything was  the first time in years I did a cleaning.

Do NOT use acetone. I forget why, just don't. I use denatured alcohol and it works well. I cut my own pads from whatever materials are in my old-clothes + whatever = rags bin.

I made my own simple track cleaner car.  I bought a sponge with the brillo pad on one side and simply trimmed it to fit under a standard Lionel Gondola car.  It just nestles up under the car and I add weight as required and tow it around.  When the pad gets three black stripes then I simply wash it out and dry it.  I am still using the first one from the $2.00 two pack from Walmart.  It is simple and works great.  Thank You,  Jon

That sounds effective, and simple as well.  Another suggestion is contained in the thread referenced in the second posting here.  I used member ACE's suggestions to create, from the junk bin, a car for 3-rail and one for American Flyer.

 

The Marx caboose has a pad carved from wood with a sheet metal weight glued on top.  The screw holders are those plastic spacers you get with appliances that mount under your kitchen cabinet.  Using two keeps the pad from turning.  ACE uses denim cloth, but mine are bed sheet, held on with duck tape.  As you can see, it works.

 

The American Flyer hopper car needed to have much of the hoppers sliced off in order to provide space for the pad, a diecast HO diesel fuel tank.  In this case only one screw is needed, as the remnants of the hoppers keep the pad in place. 

 

Leave vertical movement for the pad to float as the car is towed around.