Track cleaning, Linn Westcott, and No-Ox


gary60s

New Member
I know of no other more controversial subject than track cleaning. I am not posting this to convince anyone to give up a tried and true method that works for them. I am simply pointing out an easier way. This comes from my being inherently lazy, so any avid “track cleaners” can skip this post. If you hate cleaning track, read on.

One of the things that Linn Westcott wrote back in 1965 was that (quote) “many model railroads are operated successfully without ever having to clean the track”. That was an eye opener for me. I bought the book that I quoted from (764 helpful hints for model railroaders) in the late ‘70’s but filed it away and forgot about it until I built my current layout over 5 years ago. All of the track was atlas code 80 nickel/silver with half of it new, and half 29 years old. I’ve known about NO-OX for some time, but like many of us I was brainwashed by track cleaning dogma, and didn’t try it. I had to clean my track weekly, or they simply wouldn’t run right. An Aztec cleaning car helped somewhat, but I still had to clean track. I finally got fed up with the weekly ritual, remembered the book, and decided to give No-Ox a try. When Linn wrote his article No-Ox was in liquid form, and has since evolved into a paste form that resembles axle grease.

I know what you’re thinking. WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD PUT GREASE ON THEIR TRACK? I went through the same thought process, but also believed that Mr. Westcott knew what he was talking about. I bought a quart can of it and went through an application method that I developed, and will share with you.

An explanation of what No-Ox is, and what it does, is needed at this point. No-Ox (plastic safe) is a rust preventive with a corrosion inhibitor system that prevents the formation of oxides. It penetrates and chemically treats metals to convert the insulative, naturally occurring, oxide coatings to a surface that is a conductor. Nickel Silver rail has been said to have an oxide coating that is conductive, but since it is mostly copper, it will still form a non-conductive oxide. No-Ox prevents this. It works especially well when 2 metals come in contact with each other. Prime examples are loco wheels and track, internal loco contacts, turnout pivot points, or any other type of contacts. NO-OX doesn't wear off, because it becomes part of the rail or contacts by penetrating them.

Future cleaning of the rail, loco wheels, or other contact surfaces will not affect the chemical transformation, and this transformation is very long lasting. The increase in conductivity is so noticeable that you will think your loco engineer put sand on the track. It does not increase traction, but the increase in conductivity makes it seem like traction is improved. No-Ox will not repel dirt. Nothing can do that, but it SEEMS to do just that, and for years. It will reduce your cleaning to occasional light vacuuming. Period.

Sanchem (the maker of No-Ox) makes several variants; the one you want is NO-OX-ID “A SPECIAL”. To properly treat metals with No-Ox, a very small amount is used on the surface or surfaces. A waiting period of 24 to 48 hours allows the chemical process to take place, after which ALL TRACES OF THE PRODUCT ARE WIPED OFF, or otherwise removed. In my case, scenery was completed and all track was ballasted before applying. I felt that getting the track dirty after application would affect its performance, but it didn’t matter.


All contaminants such as plaster, glue, or oil, should be removed prior to NO-OX application. The steps below are all VERY important and none should be skipped.
1. Use a mild abrasive such as fine sandpaper or a brite boy on all rails to remove any oxidation.
2. Wipe all rails with a rag and alcohol to remove any dirt and fine particles.
3. Vacuum all rails to ensure cleanliness.
4. Put very thin smears on your finger and rub it on your rails. The total amount of NO-OX-ID “A SPECIAL” that should be applied to 500’ of N scale track is about ¼ teaspoon.
5. Run all your locomotives (no rolling stock yet) over all of your track for at least 2 hours. You may notice some wheel slippage. DO NOT PANIC, THIS COMPLETELY GOES AWAY, and it ensures that all loco wheels get treated with NO-OX.
6. Remove all locomotives from track and wipe all rails with a clean rag to remove any excess product. Don’t scrub, just rub.
7. Wait 24 hours.
8. Run trains and forget about cleaning your track except for occasional light vacuuming.

If you still have a slippage problem, you may have too much on loco wheels. Clean off excess with a clean rag or Q-tip. You don’t want the rails slippery. What you are looking for is an almost MICROSCOPIC layer that will replace the insulating oxide coating with a long lasting conductive rail.

If you are worried about scratches on your rail from the brite boy, once you’ve applied No-Ox, you can throw it away because you won’t need it any more.

I applied NO-OX to my layout 5 years ago, and have experienced skip free running ever since. This is even after periods of no running for as long as a month. I HAVE NOT CLEANED MY TRACK IN 5 YEARS! An added bonus is that the NO-OX has changed my loco wheels into better conductors, as I have not had to clean them either. The results it produces are truly amazing and will make you wonder why you ever cleaned your track. No-Ox resembles grease, and therefore creates a natural resistance in the minds of some modelers. The fears are totally unwarranted, and the product has been successfully used on model railroads for over 45 years.

About 6 months ago I had a loco that started skipping badly. It was a Concor SW1200, and never did run that well. I decided to disassemble and discovered that the contacts were full of grease and dirt. I cleaned it all off and put a pinhead sized bit of No-Ox on the contacts. I reassembled and ran it on my track. The loco now runs better than it ever did, no skipping, and will run VERY slow. I have a video if anyone is interested.

I’m not the only one that has used No-Ox. Perhaps the most notable is Art Fahey of Bar Mills. He told me that he has been using No-Ox since the 70’s and that quote: “My N scale layout runs like a watch because of it (after wasting about $200 on track cleaning cars)”. He mentioned that he couldn’t understand why more model railroaders weren’t using it.

When I bought the quart can, I had so much left that I started giving samples to friends. Those sample giveaways resulted in many testimonials from amazed and happy users. A few years later I contacted Sanchem (the maker of No-Ox), and told them about my results, and the results of others. At the time, their site had no mention of its use in model railroading. They revised their site to include my testimonials and my application directions and can be seen here by scrolling down to paragraph 9:

http://www.sanchem.com/aSpecialE.html

Those same directions are included in every container sold by Bar Mills (also available through Walthers). You can also get No-Ox on Ebay. So far the records I’ve been keeping are perfect. Those that I’ve sent samples to (61), that have used it, and reported results, have all said that it works great. To my knowledge, EVERYONE who has properly used No-Ox has had nothing but GOOD things to say about their results. The only BAD comments come from those that HAVE NOT TRIED IT.
 
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I've had exactly the same results with DeoxIT contact cleaner you can buy at Radio Shack for $10. Just spray it on the track for about three feet in front of a locomotive and let the loco transport the contact cleaner around the layout. Run the loco for about 15 minutes and on all sections of track on the layout. I haven't had to clean my track in a year and DCC engines run fine even when the NS railheads are almost black. I've use No-Ox in the past and it works well but the DeoxIT seems to do about as well with a lot less work.
 
Gary, you have shares in Sanchem, don't you?
Just kidding!
Thanx for posting this, I'm looking at trying this once my main line is back up and running. (relaying track in hidden staging... YIPEE!)
As for those who are hesitant to try it, I know just what you mean. I've seen good results from guys who still use Whal Clipper Oil and yet I haven't tried it for the reasons you mentioned above... oil... are you crazy?
By the way I'm also inherently lazy, so I'll try not to skip steps!
 
I probably should own shares in Sanchem, the way No-Ox is catching on Rico! I don't even know if they're public.
 
Thanks Jim.

Yes, I did google for sources but I should have specified that I was looking for Canadian sources. Most US dealers have free shipping to the lower 48 but shipping north of the 49th is often more than the cost of the product.:eek:

I don't know why we don't get rid of that stupid border anyway... Oh, now I remember. It's to allow the Canadian government to charge us higher taxes than our southern cousins. :D
 
Bernie, I keep forgetting you're in Canada. I don't know why things have to be such a hassle to get up there. I thought that NAFTA was supposed to support borderless trade between our neighbors but it seems that Canada still wants get a bite of their citizens for anything they import. The only thing it seems to have done is allow broken down POS Mexican semi's to freely travel our highways. :mad:
 
Jim,

It's not the issue of taxes and duty - there are none on US made goods imported into Canada. It's the shipping that a lot of vendors charge to ship from the US to Canada. It's not unusual to have shipping charges double and triple the cost of the goods.:cool:
 
I think it's because the USPS and Post Canada don't do a very good job of cooperating, and UPS and Fed Ex just see it as a way to make extra revenue. There are customs declarations to fill out on our end, even if Canada doesn't charge duty. Still, it seems to be extraordinarily expensive to ship to Canada. I shipped a birthday gift to a friend in Calagary. I had to fill out the customs declaration stating it was a gift, so it looked like Canada was charging something on their end if it wasn't a gift. A flat rate medium priority mail box can go anywhere in the US for $10.95. The exact same box going 100 feet across the border costs $25.95. :eek: Either there are some hidden costs or the USPS is making a heck of a profit on everything going to Canada. Is the reverse true up there? Does it cost substantially more to ship something to the US then the same package to a Canadian destination? Since, what is it, 80% of the population of Canada lives with 500 miles of the US border, distance certainly isn't a great factor. It seems like both countries would benefit if we got our postal rates in line with one another.
 
Ooooh don't get me started on Canada Post!
I can ship two identical items at the same time, one to Texas and another to Regina SK.
The Texas package is one third the price, and it has to be handed over to the USPS and clear customs. Regina is a hop skip and a jump away!
Grrrr:mad:
 
Rico, I just don't get it. Well, I do, if you consider politicians and maximizing revenue, but it just seems like we should have common postal rates between out two countries. If there are no taxes or duties, why should things have to be turned over to Customs for either country? Canada and the US are one country in terms of economics. I'm sure sovereignty issues will raise their ugly heads but, cripes, it's just sending a package. :mad:
 
I don't know why we don't get rid of that stupid border anyway... Oh, now I remember. It's to allow the Canadian government to charge us higher taxes than our southern cousins. :D

Yeah, but you have universal health care. Try getting decent insurance for less than $400 a month around here if you're unemployed or self-employed.

Back on topic now.

I too hate cleaning track so I'll have to visit my local RS and try this stuff.
 
No, no, no...

It has nothing to do with taxes and duties. It's the shipping charged by many vendors.

As an example, I requested a shipping quote for an 8oz can of No-OX-ID from the vendor provided by Jim in the URL above. This is the reply I got:

Weight 2 lbs Cost $10.99
Standard = $26.19
Expedited = $36.30


2 lbs????? It's an 8 oz can....

Now am I to believe that it resally costs $26.19 to ship an 8oz can of anything from Tennessee to Canada? When shipping within the US is free?????????

Sounds like gouging to me...
 
Sounds like gouging to me...
Yep they're gouging you (and me too). Remember that Canada Post is a Crown Corporation and operates on its own at arms length from the politicians and answer only to themselves. They now also own several courier companies which they bought out with the high prices they are charging. Their motto seems to be if they can't compete with business then they buy them out. Neat eh!

Cheers
Willis
 
Bernie, it must have something to do with Canada Post. The exact same package going to California costs $10.95 or $25.95 if it goes anywhere in Canada. This is sending it by USPS Priority Mail. There must be some kind of fees being charged by Canada Post or the Canadian government. The only other alternative is that the USPS and every other shipper to Canada just gouges Canadians. I guess that's possible but it's hard to believe some companies down here that want Canadian business wouldn't find a cheaper way to ship, if there was one, and take market share for their competitors.
 
Bernie, it must have something to do with Canada Post. The exact same package going to California costs $10.95 or $25.95 if it goes anywhere in Canada. This is sending it by USPS Priority Mail. There must be some kind of fees being charged by Canada Post or the Canadian government. The only other alternative is that the USPS and every other shipper to Canada just gouges Canadians. I guess that's possible but it's hard to believe some companies down here that want Canadian business wouldn't find a cheaper way to ship, if there was one, and take market share for their competitors.

Nothing to do with Canada Post when its coming from the US. The same thing happens with just about anything shipped from the US to another country. USPS is reasonable but if any other package company gets involved you get it up the nether regions in 'customs brokerage' and other charges. Case in point we order a lot from Montana Coffee traders in Whitefish. 20lbs of coffee shipped air by USPS costs us around $100 and we get it in under a week. Shipped surface by UPS is $195 once all the fees get added on and it can take 4 weeks.
 
I've been told that USPS charges X amount to ship to it's borders, then gets charged X amount once canada Post or any other agency gets involved.
Now I don't know this for fact so I await correction from those in the biz.
As for shipping from Canada (I know we're WAY off topic here) try getting a rate from http://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/far/personal/findARate?execution=e3s1
Go ahead and use my postal code "R0E 0R0".
I can get an item to Texas for $1.00 more than it takes to get it across the river to postal code R1A 0R3!

I do plan to get me some of that track cleaner tho! :D
 
My apologies also for hijacking this thread.

But shipping rates charged by SOME US businesses to Canada are atrocious. It has nothing to do with Canada Post. Many times I have paid $10-$20 to ship a package to find the cost on the box to be $3-4 when I get it. Yes it will cost slightly more to ship to Canada than within the US but some businesses use that excuse to gouge what could be a bountiful market.

Just to clarify, some businesses charge the exact rate.
 



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