Here we go again. Yep, I heard you. I've spent the last couple of days pondering my approach to this subject or issue. Let's start here: We've talked over the years about gunk and how much of it collects on plastic wheels and/or metal wheels. I've always wished I had a picture of some of what I was up against on my S Scale, HO scale and now N scale layouts. Some have boo-hoo'ed me and called me a liar to my face, others behind my back. Say what? You guys and gals wouldn't do that would you? Well, there it is. There's the proof. In case you are curious. It's a B&O, Rivarossi, N Scale mail storage/baggage car. It arrived in the mail a few days ago. Then I found a second example with a Southern car of same description. Off the same layout. Once they are cleaned up and new MTL trucks, wheel-sets and working knuckle couplers installed. These will be going on my AT&SF mail train. Cleaning the gunk off won't be a problem but keeping it off will. Keep in mind this is older metallurgy and I'm thinking approximately 20 to 30 years old. This is what I've put up with, during my model railroading, life time experience. Do I need to duck and run for cover if I say, "Running metal wheels is no guarantee of clean track and wheels." Incoming! In Hollister, Ca. where i grew up with tree's, bee's and those blooming flowers. Ahchoo, ahchoo! Big Bear with the pine tree pollen and now Idaho's high pollen counts. I'm sure this problem-o will still haunt me. So, let's not get this thread locked up by letting out the toads sitting on their toad stools. Croaking nonsense. What? I can't make up stuff like that. . Remember, if you quote me then give me the credit. Unless you really want to annoy me. I don't care if you quote old cliche's without credit to whom. Do we start the typical River of Denali or what. Your response is always welcomed, sometimes. Be cool.
Use pizza cutters a size too small. When the dirt finally builds up, you'll be relieved. Don't like that idea?
Plumbers tape and Pam...….. hmmmmm. We all know dirty wheels are a problem That's why I joined DWA where step 1 is admitting you have a problem. I have seen a lot of different things about keeping wheels and track clean. Dirt, dust, and gunk are a fact of life. I am finding (and this is just my humble thought) that metal wheels seem easier to clean. With that said, I only have a small amount of cars in my fleet with metal wheels but that number is slowly (and I do mean slowly) growing. A recent purchase was an ultrasonic cleaner that should work well on the metal wheels (at least I hope so). So, I am not going to look at wheels getting dirty as and issue but instead as a prompt to clean, inspect and tune my rolling stock through the years to come. Now, as Rick would say, I will duck and cover and probably just crawl back under my rock.
The best solution to dirty wheels is clean track. I'm not sure that putting oil gunky stuff on it to "stop oxidation" is productive, and I do believe that metal wheels don't attract hnd hold gunk as quickly as plastic wheels, but cleanliness is happiness.
I find metal wheels less prone to pick up dirt, easier to clean, and more prototypical to the ear when banging through frogs. And I'm not afraid to say it.
Well, the boys at the lab have been taking note: Research Article The Influence of Wheel/Rail Contact Conditions on the Microstructure and Hardness of Railway Wheels Figure 1 Influence of wheel diameter on average depth of material removal at reprofiling, as a function of mileage since last turned. This example is for the leading wheelset 1, which is most commonly affected by RCF. Wheels turned because of other damage types (e.g., flats) or for parity are excluded. (a) Wheels from all manufacturers. (b) Wheels from only one manufacturer. It is usually necessary to remove approximately φ5 mm to recover the flange thickness; deeper cuts indicate that RCF damage has propagated more deeply. Both graphs show a trend that RCF becomes serious more quickly on wheels of smaller diameter. (a) (b)
There really is no way to prevent it. The wheels roll, the materials to cause it are there. These materials build up on the wheels. It just happens. I used to be obsessive about keeping wheels clean but I now have plenty of cars with gunk on them and I don't worry about it anymore. At the same time, for some odd reason, my track doesn't get dirty anymore. I rarely, if ever, have to clean it and I used to have to quite often. BTW, the Rivarossi B&O cars are beautiful. I have a set of the Atlas cars from way back then. Doug
I was afraid this would happen. Pamm and plumbers tape. No, I don't think so but, nice try. One way to solve the pizza cutter flanges, perhaps. LMAO A paper towel, Isopropyl Alcohol and if needed a small flat head screw driver will remove the gunk off the metal or plastic wheels. Referring to Old plastic and metal wheels I've said, "I've cleaned off as much dirt from plastic wheels as I have metals wheels." That holds true to today's newer wheels as well. i agree with Acptulsa, today's metal wheels sound great banging through the switch points and frogs. Not much noise going on out there with the long stretches of flex track.
Wahl's Hair Clipper Oil, was something I first saw in an article in MR from sometime in the 80's, if I recall right, by Lionel Strange, a professional model railroader. I thought the idea crazy, as did my electrologist and model railroad friend, Jimmy, who refuses to use the stuff. I do use it routinely, for me, better than isopropyl, and it does not induce slippage, mostly, but I have found that it does penetrate the traction tires on some of my British stuff causing more than average slippage, but with a swipe on a clean dry paper towel it will remove the excess sufficiently. One would assume the lightly greasy film suppresses electromagnetic arcing, as does kerosene in heavy duty electric transformers. It does remove a lot of gunk, and trains run good for at least several sessions. I've used Wahl oil dampened in paper towels, affixed to a track cleaning car, which removes a lot of gunk, but after half a pass appears to redistribute the collected gunk back down on the rails. This is ameliorated somewhat by adding a second car with a dry strip of paper towel behind the first to pick up the relaid gunk. But again, it fouls up pretty quick. End of the day, I find that a swipe with the wet car, once, followed by a hand rubbing with a dry towel after, section by section, gets the track the cleanest, and is still a dang pain in the caboose. None the less, still better than isopropyl. That Orange Gunk stuff- oh you will suffer for that mistake. My bigger question is how does this impact DCC? I've not ventured there. Yet.
I'm looking for pictures of my track cleaning cars. You might have one you can share here. If so, do so. A Masonite wedge not wedgie, mounted on the bottom side of a box car. Allowed to run around the layout on a short freight hop. I also have a box car with a built on foam pad I can add Isopropyl Alcohol to dampen it and send it out ahead of the motors/diesel engines, followed by the Masonite car to dry the track. That looks more like a work train when I send it out. I can spend the whole day cleaning track and love every minute of it.
Has no negative affect on DCC. DCC will work anywhere Analog DC works. Does not have to be DCC friendly. Oop's that opens up another whole can of worm's.
One more look this time at the Southern Baggage Car. Did you see the comparison? The dirt on the plastic wheels and metal wheels. Point 353 and Chop, I have no problem with Wahl Clipper Oil. There's another application and the name escapes me.
That is some heavy gunk on those coach wheels. I'd try to manually rotate them while holding a lightly dampened Whal's oiled paper towel to the tread, and trying not to smear oil on the nice paintwork.
