Track & Turnout Cleaner

CaryH Jun 22, 2014

  1. CaryH

    CaryH TrainBoard Member

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    Today I came across a great article by Paul Lally about using CRC QD Contact Cleaner to clean and improve electrical contact on rails. I just tried this product on the tracks of my layout and on the contact points of my Peco turnouts. The results are fantastic! My engines just creep along without any hesitation. CRC QD Contact Cleaner is available at Home Depot. This is the link to Paul’s article


    http://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/topic/no-more-track-cleaning?reply=24659873117699878#24659873117699878
     
  2. Inkaneer

    Inkaneer TrainBoard Member

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    Not all Nickle Silver track is the same. None of it contains any silver or else you would find the Hunt brothers all over it. NS track is really an alloy of nickle and brass. It is not a chemical compound with a fixed formula such as water (H2O). In an alloy (mixture) there is no fixed formula. Rather the amount of constituents can be varied. It is the amount of nickle in nickle silver track that determines how often it needs cleaned. Both brass and nickle oxidize but while brass oxide is non conductive, nickle oxide is conductive. So less nickle = more brass = conductivity problems = more cleaning. Good way to find out how much nickle there is in a piece of flex track is to flex it. Nickle also hardens the track so track with a high nickle content wants to spring back to its former shape. Track that stays flexed has a lower proportion of nickle to brass.
     
  3. Hansel

    Hansel TrainBoard Member

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    It seems that this product comes in a spray bottle. How do you apply the cleaner to your track and turnouts?
     
  4. Kez

    Kez TrainBoard Member

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    We've been using CDC QD for years for cleaning our Z scale rails. We cut old t-shirts into small squares/rectangles that are easy to stretch over a fingertip, and just spray the rag and wipe. I can't comment on turnout cleaning, though I would imagine a quick spray and a light brushing could remove all sorts of gunk from turnouts, as well.
     
  5. Hansel

    Hansel TrainBoard Member

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    I might have to try that on a microbrush. The only area where I have problems with electrical contact is in the points that meet up with the rail in order to power the rails in my power routing turnout.
     
  6. jdetray

    jdetray TrainBoard Member

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    Given the name "nickel silver," one might assume that nickel is the predominant component. Actually, the largest component of nickel silver is copper.

    Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. So nickel silver is best described as a copper-nickel-zinc alloy, with copper normally comprising at least 50% of the alloy but sometimes as much more. The proportions of nickel and zinc can vary quite a bit, too. Other elements may also be included.

    I've seen references to several different formulations for nickel silver, including:

    60%-20%-20% (copper-nickel-zinc)
    56-12-10-2-20 (copper-nickel-lead-tin-zinc)
    66-20-4-4-6 (copper-nickel-lead-tin-zinc)

    There are many more. I have no idea what formulations the makers of our model railroad track utilize!

    - Jeff
     

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