My track develops several black spots along the top of the rails in random places and it requires a Bright Boy block to remove them. The layout is in my basement. Anybody else experience this and any recommendations on how to prevent this? I don't recall this being typical dirty track symptoms.
Do not use abrasives to clean the rails; they only contribute to faster corrosion. I recommend a solvent-based cleaner/conditioner like Aero-car Lubricants' Track Cleaner and Conditioner.
I've read that using metal wheels on all your rolling stock cuts down on this problem, but probably won't completely prevent it. Rich
I think two of my cars have plastic wheels. I've got Kadee replacement trucks so I guess it's time to install them.
I will have to try a bottle of the solvent, I use a bright boy, but also know the abrasive is not the best for the rail. I have tried other lubricants, but still get the spots. Most of my wheels, on my older stuff, I have replaced with metal wheels. The HO wheel tuner works real well on the plastic trucks, makes them run just as smooth as getting the whole wheels and trucks. The newer stuff, comes with great wheels and trucks.
Still waiting for my bottle to arrive but I will let you all know how it does when I get it. As a side note, I found mouse turds on the right of way leading east out of Greenbrier. I set a mouse trap using peanut butter as bait and the next day I found that the mouse had been caught by the trap but was still very alive it took out a few trees and knocked over some wagons while it was thrashing about but nothing was damaged. I took the mouse out back to the bean field. Catch and release.
Seems like I read somewhere that a small block of soft wood - I've used what I think is pine - can do a sufficient job of cleaning the track without the negative impact of abrasives. Based on the color of the wood after cleaning and what I perceive to be improved locomotive performance, the results seem good. Any downside that I'd be missing? Best Regards,
Most of the local guys used un-tempered masonite scraps for rubbing the rails. I have replaced all of the plastic wheels/axles on my rolling stock with Intermountain wheelsets purchased in bulk packaging. The rolling stock rolls so much easier as well.
Good Jim, keep us advised, Do you think the mouse will be able to make a living in the bean fields? Thats quite a transition to country life. Hopefully he will do better than minium wage, tough to make it on pickers wages. Maybe the migrant mouse pickers will already have too much work. Anyway we will be thinking of him.
Something I used many years ago was a pencil eraser . It was a. "Tip" in an old MR. Good old Eberhard-Faber. Not bad for a small layout, but got tedious on my old. 4x8 setup! Geez, that was in the 60's! Time flys.... Dan
I never thought about a pencil eraser. Here's one of those pesky black spots that randomly appear and also a pic showing the new track cleaner and cotton rags I used last night to clean my layout. I thought my Bright Boy was pretty efficient but as you can see I still removed a lot of black grime from the rails using the cleaner. It was a bit of chore getting everything clean but I hope this makes track maintenance easier in the future. Thanks for the tip Keith! I'll let you all know if the black spots return.