Thought I'd pass this along, Far a long time I looked for a non-abrasive scrubbing device for my loco wheels. Then I ran accros using a cotton swab but in an unconventional manner. Take the swab with the paper type stem and cut it in two at a severe agle right in the middle. You wind up with two, sharp on one end and cotton swab on the other end wheel cleaning tools. Then just put your loco in a cradle put power to it and use your favorite cleaning solution. The sharp end is strong enough to get the gunk off the wheels but will not ruin the finish of the contact surface. Give it a try it's worked great for me. Steam Lives, Scott
Posted by Bob Cochran (Member # 210) on :
Hi Scott,
GREAT TIP on wheel cleaning. Going to try it real soon.
Thanks, Bob Cochran
Posted by Mike C (Member # 35) on :
Another good idea is to replace all the weelsets on your cars with metal ones. Plastic wheels tend to acculmulate gunk, and spred it on the rails. metal wheels dont seem to have this problem. It works well enough for me that I rarely clean track or wheels....HTH.......Mike Posted by SD7 (Member # 157) on :
hey, I use Rubbing Alcohol on a paper towel and run the locomotive over the wet part and then run it over a dry part. Takes the dirt right off and makes the contact much better. You can also use WD40 and do the same process. Good luck and Happy Modeling! -Jack
Posted by virtual-bird (Member # 37) on :
quote:Originally posted by Mike C: Plastic wheels tend to acculmulate gunk...
And metal wheels dont acculmulate crap?
Best way is to clean the track prior to a running session, and then to clean the wheels after each session...!
------------------ RR: K, C, & Bird Butt Railroad - SP, NS, and ROCK admirer. Its a coal mining region of a place far far away, that shares with SP, NS, and some CSX.. Also some Custom RARE Bird RR sd40-2's coming! Era:
Time stands still round these parts, and we have everything from Steam, to Diesels of today.
Posted by Mike C (Member # 35) on :
Originally posted by Mike C: Plastic wheels tend to acculmulate gunk... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VB, there seems to be something about plastic wheels that make them more sussectible to picking up gunk. I can only go by my experience here, but IMO metal wheels dont have his problem. I suppose a lot has to do with where the layout is located. Mine is in a more or less finished basement, and there is no somking allowed. I very rarely clean my mainline, and so far in 3 years have never cleaned my wheels. The only dirt problem I have is on the little used sidings that collect dust. these I can just wipe off before use.....Mike
