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Track Cleaner


cleanerg6e
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Here are three photos of my Model Rail special offer track cleaner made by Dapol.

The first photo shows the track cleaner coupled to my Bachmann 08 No. 3232. 8-)

This loco is ideal for this job as it is very slow even with the speed set at 90mph. At that speed the vacuum motor is revving quite fast and being pushed or pulled by the 08 slowly it is able to suck quite a large amount of debris from the track. I have the DCC address on the cleaner the same as the loco which in this case is 97. If the vacuum sucks up a bit of dust it blows out of the mesh screen. It had me worried at first as I thought it was smoke coming from the over heated motor. I cannot use meths, Isospropyl or similar liquids in the cleaner as it will damage the cleaning machine. So I thought I might buy the CMX track cleaner and couple that on the other end of the 08. I may have to repaint the CMX to match. :)

The second photo shows that even though I have covers there's a surprising amount of dust around the mesh outlet. :o

The third photo shows what the vacuum has collected. Although a little blurred there's even a tiny dead spider in there. :shock:

track cleaner 003.JPG

track cleaner 002.JPG

track cleaner 001.JPG

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I've got one of these cleaners although in a different livery.

As you say Roy they are good at picking up debris with the fan fitted. I haven't used it with fluid yet although I bought some 'Goo Gone' to try. I'll get round to trying it one day ....... maybe. :)

Ian.

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When the track cleaner arrive here Ian there was no information as to which liquid cleaner I could use. So I emailed Dapol and they said anything which is not solvent based, which unfortunately leaves very little choice. They said I can use "Rail Zip" but I'd prefer to buy the CMX and use that for rail cleaning and the Dapol one for rail vacuuming.

Roy.

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I use the CMX track cleaner with cleaning fluid as you've probably read elsewhere and I've found it robust and excellent in use. I did also consider getting the Dapol cleaner as well due to its ability to clean and vacuum around the layout but the one thing that put me off purchasing one was the cost of the replacement parts. I'm not sure how often those replacement parts, in the form of cleaning and abrasive pads, would be required so it might possibly be a misguided belief of mine and not a true reflection of the ongoing costs. However, compared to the cost of the Dapol track cleaner and considering the fact that I already have the CMX cleaner for the important fluid cleansing, I decided instead to purchase one of those small hand-held rechargeable vacuum cleaners that can be simply passed over the track after or at the same time as going round with the track rubber. It has a continuous operating time of approx 15 minutes which is easily sufficient to enable me to go round the entire layout and it's powerful into the bargain.

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I have an N gauge version of the Dapol cleaner (marketed as a Kato product) and have found it works well, but only if you have a loco that is as strong as bull, to push it around - which obviously none of mine were - as I resorted to using my finger :!: I am pleased to hear that you guys have had better experiences using the OO version. It something I have only briefly thought about, before thinking about spending the money on another loco, coach or set of wagons :roll:

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HamptonFieldRailway said:

I have an N gauge version of the Dapol cleaner (marketed as a Kato product) and have found it works well, but only if you have a loco that is as strong as bull, to push it around...

It's much the same with the CMX cleaner - you need a hefty, powerful loco to get it moving and that usually means coupling up to a diesel. I've not yet had any success moving the cleaner in either direction with a steam loco.

I can understand the need to consider if something costing upwards of £80 is actually worth the price when there are loco's and other items of rolling stock on the shopping list but when you can send it out at any time during a session and immediately experience improved running qualitites then it shows it was money well spent. I used to go round with a dampened cloth to obtain similar results before getting the cleaner, but the CMX makes it so much easier. It's also ideal late in the day when you seem to get that bit of dampness on the rail tops which can result in loss of electrical contact. A pass over with the cleaner and you're off and running again.

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mick said:

I can understand the need to consider if something costing upwards of £80 is actually worth the price when there are loco's and other items of rolling stock on the shopping list but when you can send it out at any time during a session and immediately experience improved running qualitites then it shows it was money well spent. I used to go round with a dampened cloth to obtain similar results before getting the cleaner, but the CMX makes it so much easier. It's also ideal late in the day when you seem to get that bit of dampness on the rail tops which can result in loss of electrical contact. A pass over with the cleaner and you're off and running again.

I had an experience on the old outdoor line in mid winter when the track looked clean but my class 31 kept juddering along the track. It turned out to be ice on the rails and that was a night of one of our VERY few frosts. We often get dew but NOT frosts. I was unable to operate until about 11.30 am. Now with covers frost when we do get it is no problem, another benefit of the covers.

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  • 2 weeks later...

A covering of ice/frost is common for us hardier folk during winter time. (There's times during our summer when it isn't unknown!) Covers would help without any doubt but they'd really need to be implemented at the planning stage like those you have designed. I've not let it stop me before but perhaps in the future when there's frost or ice build up on the rail tops it's really the time for me to retire indoors and do something a bit more sensible.

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If you get frost on your rails, even in the summer time?, have you thought about connecting your rail lines to a higher electrical source to provide a source of heat to the rails, although not too hot as to melt the plastic sleepers. I know that sounds daft but it maybe a way of keeping the trains running as long as the power source can be connected and disconnected so as not to interfere with the DCC power supply.

If it is possible I could do with it to fry the cockatoos and spiders.

You can tell I'm a conservationist.

Roy.

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With the CMX that I bought it says if your tracks are badly tarnished you can use 600+ grit sandpaper. I used "Isocol" rubbing alcohol 345ml bought for 5 pounds at the local supermarket. I first weighed the CMX on my kitchen scales and the weight is 300 grams. So I needed a loco that could pull or push and weighed more than the CMX. I used a Bachmann Warship which weighs 550 grams. I could use my Bachmann 47 which weighs 580 grams I found the CMX to be very economical on "Isocol" as one syringe load did all the lines of the present run of tracks. The "Isocol" has a fragrance so I can smell it as it runs on the layout. I also use the same "Isocol" to clean my loco wheels. If you push rather than pull the CMX the propelling loco gets it's wheels cleaned at the same time.

Roy.

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The instructions with my CMX mention the same thing regarding the use of 600+grit abrasive paper and I managed to get sheets of 600 and also 1200 grit to try it out. It does work but I find it better to go round with the 'Garryflex' and save the CMX for the fluid clean. Mind you, I don't have nearly so much track to clean as you and so it's not such a problem. I also prefer to use a loco to propel the cleaner round whenever possible to ensure that the loco isn't picking up all the dirt beforehand.

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  • 2 months later...

Here in the US people use a light coating of either sewing machine oil or a product called Goo Gone. The problem with abrasive pads is that they rough up the surface of the rail. A rougher surface is more likely to oxidize and create resistance between rail and wheel.

On my n scale indoor layouts I've used q-tips soaked in alcohol to clean the rails and then used an almost non existent amount of oil on the rail heads. I plan to do the same for my outdoor layout. I would think oil would prevent water from freezing on the rail heads as well. SO perhaps your frost issues may not occur.

Having said that, I have no experience with outdoor layouts yet; I could find out I'm completely wrong on all of this.

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I'd be very reluctant to put any kind of oil, however light the coating, on to the rail tops. I've spent hours trying to get some of my loco's hauling decent rakes up the incline along the back side of the layout and I dread to think what would happen should they encounter a coating of oil. In addition, and perhaps more importantly, I think you'll find that any type of oil, including those spray type water dispersants/lubricators such as WD40, while certainly providing additional protection against rusting or oxidization of the rails will only serve to attract dirt and debris which will lead to poor running.

I agree that some abrasive pads can scour the rail tops and make the problem of oxidization worse but the finer grade pads designed for jewellery and fine metal work are much kinder than some of the commercial stuff sold for model railway use. In fact the regular use of a very fine abrasive pad has appeared to make sections of my track less susceptible to deep oxidization than previously - probabaly as a result of smoothing the scouring made by the Peco and Hornby type track rubbers I used before. I've not run any trains for a few weeks now but surprisingly the rail tops are still very clean apart from those areas that are in close proximity to soil.

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