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Track Rubbers


mick
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A track rubber forms a vital part of regular garden railway maintenance. With full exposure to the elements and airborne pollutants the problem of tarnishing of the nickel silver rails is more severe and occurs much more quickly than it does on an indoor railway layout. In addition, in my own experience the rail tops in certain areas of a garden railway layout tend to exhibit a greater degree of tarnishing than others, specifically those which are in close contact with soil and areas of vegetation. The rail tops in the vicinity of my garden shed and up along the incline towards the rear of the garden for example tend not to tarnish so much as the track along the left side and the top curve which run alongside a planted border and are closer to soil level.

From the outset I have tended to use a standard Peco track rubber finding them convenient to handle and sufficiently up to the task, however, some people suggest that the composition of a Peco rubber is too abrasive for nickel silver rails and leads to fine scratches on the surface which simply attract further dirt deposits.

As an alternative I obtained some Hornby track rubbers which are almost the same size as a Peco rubber but only about half the thickness. The Hornby rubber is clearly less abrasive than the Peco, being of a much more rubbery composition, but I found it to be too rubbery and not so suitable for cleaning rails that had been exposed to the elements outdoors. On lightly tarnished rails and with a bit of moisture to aid its movement along the rail tops the Hornby rubber works just fine but the Peco was clearly better suited to those stubborn areas.

As suggested by IanR in another thread recently, I have now obtained a couple of Garryflex abrasive rubbers - one in fine grade and one in medium grade. The fine grade is of a 240 grit composition and the medium grade is 120 grit. Coarse and Extra Course versions are also available but these would be much too abrasive for the delicate nickel silver rail tops.

As a size comparison I am including the photos below showing the standard Hornby track rubber at the top and a Garryflex fine grade track rubber beneath it.

r1.jpg

The Hornby track rubber is almost the same length & width dimensions as a Peco track rubber but is only about half the thickness so even though I don't have an unused Peco rubber to photograph as a comparison you should be able to gauge the difference.

r2.jpg

r3.jpg

The Garryflex rubber is rather flexible and feels only very slightly abrasive although as is evident from the photographs the small abrasive particles do come away easily and these may be left behind after track cleaning. IanR also suggests that they can be easily cut in half so that in essence you get 2 rubbers for the price of one. The Garryflex rubber is more expensive than the Hornby or Peco types (about £4.50 as against £2.75 depending on where you shop) but they certainly look better value for money. It remains only for me to test them out outdoors and to see whether the larger size is more suitable for use or whether they would be better cut in half.

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I have found the Garryflex blocks to be very good for cleaning but they do leave particles behind on the rail surface which need to be removed. I follow with a wipe over with a slightly damp car windscreen demister pad, the chamois leather type.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've now been using the Garryflex rubbers to clean the tracks on my outdoor layout for a couple of weeks and it has to be said that they really are the best track rubbers I have yet encountered. In fact I don't see any reason to look elsewhere for an alternative product. The size of the Garryflex rubber coupled with its low cost makes it an ideal purchase and it performs far better than anything I have tried previously.

I have not found it necessary to use the medium grade at all - the fine grade does all that is asked of it. It's really hard to describe but in use there appears to be no friction whatsoever and it simply glides along the rail tops leaving a wonderful shining rail behind. Its large size means you can just about clean two tracks at the same time simply by holding the rubber at a slight angle to the tracks rather than at 90 degrees to them.

IanR said:

I have found the Garryflex blocks to be very good for cleaning but they do leave particles behind on the rail surface which need to be removed. I follow with a wipe over with a slightly damp car windscreen demister pad, the chamois leather type.

The Peco track rubbers I used previously left noticeable amount of particles/grit behind after use which needed cleaning off the rail tops before running could commence. The Garryflex also leaves behind a deposit of loose particles but nowhere near as much as the Peco in my opinion. Performance of the Garryflex is also improved by dampening the rubber with a small amount of water. After use, I follow the Garryflex with a large 5" soft bristled paintbrush to brush away any loose particles and then a CMX track cleaner filled with IPA.

During the past two weeks I have gone around the layout several times cleaning the rails with the Garryflex rubber and yet it shows minimal signs of wear. The Peco ones quickly deteriorate with a couple of grooves produced where the rubber is in contact with the rails.

By shopping around you should find the Garryflex rubbers available at less than £4 each which for the time and hassle they will save you is remarkable value for money. If you use any other type of track rubber then I suggest you give the Garryflex a try.

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  • 3 months later...

I picked up a Garryflex at the York Show and I must say I'm impressed. Just a gentle rub of the track and it's as shiny as new. The large block size means I can easily clean 4 rails at once. Strangely I found track cleaning a pleasurable experience, enjoyable in it's own right!

The deposites left behind are a bit of an issue, but a damp cloth should sort that out.

I've just tried it out on my Scalextric track and it does a brilliant job. "Dark track" on Scalextric is a real issue and common advice is to throw it away, but the Garryflex has cleaned up the dark track nicely.

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And while I'm on, I'm glad I had a moan about losing my peco track rubber back in January, if I hand't then this topic may not have been started and I wouldn't have found out about the wonders of Garryflex.

Lets all keep mentioning the small things, you never know where they'll lead.

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I've never purposely used the Garryflex rubber 'wet' as is suggested they can be, but when used on damp rails they appear to work even better than they do on a dry rail. I would also say from my experience that the amount of small particles left behind after cleaning does reduce the more the block has been used. I've not found the particles to be an issue on railway track as I always follow the use of the rubber with either dry brushing or vacuuming.

Agreed - The 'Garryflex' rubbers are certainly one of the successes found through the mutual involvement of forum members (thanks IanR!)

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  • 4 weeks later...

I recently bought a replacement LGB track cleaning block pad for $16.00 and if I want to I can easily cut it into threes. I've found that by using just the replacement pad without the original large red hand piece which your supposed to glue it to I have a lot more control over the amount of pressure I apply. I did a test on a piece of track which was totally oxidised and there was little to no residue left behind by the rubber. If you apply a lot of pressure to the pad you'll soon get two deep lines in it and a lot of residue left behind by the rubber, but if extremely light pressure is used you have next to no residue and you still get nice silver rails and a pad which lasts longer.

Roy.

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  • 3 years later...

Here's a couple of pics of the tool I use for cleaning the girder bridge and tunnel.

Basically it's a piece of dowel attached to a piece of cable trunking holding half a Garryflex block.

02.jpg

01.jpg

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