I picked up a recent Model Railroader wig wag (magazine) and thought the same thing. Repeat, pete, and repete. Is there hiding somewhere a new and primitive subject we haven't uncovered in model railroading, rail-fanning or toy train enthusiasm? I don't think so. These favorite Emoji's do add something to our discussions !! Just not sure what? LOL Oh, and that Wig Wag wasn't near as interesting as the first ones I picked up as a young teenager. It was all knew back then. That might have something to do with it. Eng'r Bill, a TB participant here. He used to recommend a particular metal treatment for cleaning track. I'm pretty sure I illustrated it on BarstowRick.com. However, that's down for the count and even I can't get to it. Thanks for the come backs.
One more burdening thought. Er...what? But Rick we are tired of this. You aren't the only one. Masonite pads for cleaning the top of your rails. A few of us touched on this in the above discussion. You can make these right on your work table. A club I visited, hoping to run trains. I wasn't disappointed but first before I get ahead of myself. Whatever they had treated the rails with prior to our arrival...caused our locomotives to stutter, halt and stall out. A member of our visiting club (membership short lived on my part) brought out his homemade box cars with his infamous floating Masonite Pads and one or two foam pads with IPA applied. He sent his trains out over the main lines and we had little to no problems after that. Of course mum was the word. We didn't want to loose our invitation as a club to visit another club and run trains on it. If you get my drift. Just something else to think about.
Funny, to funny!! The problem is and we all face, is the "I believe syndrome." Most of the time we believe something without sufficient proof or no proof at all. Believing something blindly. Did I say that? Or... we are suffering from the "I'll prove your wrong syndrome" when there's little or no practical evidence that anyone is actually wrong. When scientist set out to look at a belief, they set-up a protocol to follow. Sometimes the protocol gets changed and sometimes they blindly work on collecting what they believe (that word again) is evidence. Think about that... we do it all the time. So, you are asking where did this go horribly wrong? May I suggest. In what we want to believe as opposed to what really works. Like we are all myth-busters. Or not! May I remind you. No I better not, that would make it horrid. Now... go clean your track and wheels and set-up a yearly, bi-annual, weekly (I don't care) Maintenance Program to keep your layout clean. I've shared what works for me. Adopt it or not, I really don't give a flying (expletives I'm not allowed to use here).
Yep. No Wig wag purchase in years. However, I do have a MR and others "archive" in the closet. This is utilized by going to the "Comprehensive Index" to verify if desired info is available. I used to read these mags avidly and now I agree with the above folks, not much is new generally and mostly new technology which is great if the same is desired. The rest is a recycling of older articles with new people writing them. Not much is new under the sun. Maybe we need more "originalization"? I myself have broken new frontiers with "The Very Small Railroad" also known as The Omega Scale Railway. Most of the time things are a hot mess but I persist.
LMAO When my blood sugar goes south you don't want to be around me. Snickers helps. Mr. gmorider, well put my good man, well put.
I dont think anyone posting here is/has tried to convince anyone that their way to clean wheels or track is better or worse then someone elses . In the end...if something mentioned makes ya go 'Hmmmmm'...what does it hurt to try something you havent in the past ? If it doesnt give the results you hope for its not a sin to go back to the old way. I found the discussion informative to say the least. Maybe some old school reports where dredged up again...but...the newbies may not have heard about them. It doesnt hurt anything to revisit those solutions...does it ? Unless of course those old ways included the use of a hammer and a chisel !!! I dont think any of us made any enemies...maybe just the opposite...at least I hope.
Oh, I'm so hurt. What? What? What did I say? Now as a retired mortician I enjoy digging up old subjects. I didn't really say that, did I? After three years, no...you don't need to hear that story. Get your track and wheels clean so I can come over and run trains. Later.
All cleaned ready to go. Come straight down 95 to I40...turn left to Holbrook...to right on 77...call me when u get here
People seemed to skip over this. It raises a couple of problems: 1. No PFTE (teflon) is an insulator, not a conductor. It would not be a good thing to put on electrical conduction surfaces. (On the other hand, graphite is a reasonable conductor of electricity in thin applications.) 2. Both teflon and graphite are lubricants. Putting either on rails is going to promote wheel slippage. Trains will pull fewer cars and are more likely to stall on grades. Putting anything on the track that leaves any sort of residual deposit seems like a bad idea to me.
these threads seem to pop up every once in a while. I'm about to do an experiment with NO-OX-ID A special once I'm finally done with applying turf and weather the ballast. I've read some wonderful things about it.
No Ox is exactly what Engr. Bill a TB participant used to recommend. From everything I've read about it and the good reviews others have shared it might be worth a try. Thanks for posting here on TB. And helping me to remember it. I'll be trying it on my layout as I restore it back to it's former glory. Salute Cedar Creek.
I have a small jar of NO-OX-ID A Special in one of my parts boxes. I heard great things about it and thought I would give it a try about 5 years ago. The results werent anywhere as great as reported. I remember reading way back then that a little goes a long way. Wipe a small dab of it on the rails and you should be able to coat the whole layout with that small dab. Less is more in the case of NO-OX-ID A Special. JMO
No Ox is pretty much what it says it is. No Oxidation as opposed to an Ox in the ditch. All metals oxidize some more then others.
Google "the No ox thread" and you be directed to a forum thread at Model Railroad Hobbyist. It's explains how to apply it and is very informative/supportive of the product. It's what first tuned me into the product. Apparently it's been around forever! Lynn Westcott apparently endorsed the product, and Bar mills used to sell it as "NO-OX". They stopped selling it cause it lasted so long people would buy one then never need it again.
If my memory serves me correctly, I recall No Ox was the darling of the HO crowd back in the day when HO track was brass not nickel silver. Brass oxide is non conductive where as the nickel oxide in nickel silver rail is conductive. NS rail still contains brass but the nickel content, if high enough, will maintain conductivity. All rail for the last 40-50 years or so has been nickel silver but the nickel content has varied depending on the price of nickel. That has fluctuated.
