Alcohol As a Track Cleaner---Your Comments and Experiences

ModelRailroadForums.com is a free Model Railroad Discussion Forum and photo gallery. We cover all scales and sizes of model railroads. Whether you're a master model railroader or just getting started, you'll find something of interest here.


Greg@mnrr

Section Hand
I was at a train show over the weekend and I spoke with several club members who set up modular layouts and with other modelers who I met at the show. I asked the club members what they used for a track cleaner and all indicated they used alcohol as their track cleaner of choice. Some non-club modelers said they use alcohol, while others used another type of track cleaner product.

I saw a club member using a Center Line track cleaning car with rollers using alcohol and another fellow using a pad wetted with alcohol. I admit their track did shine and trains ran trouble free. One fellow was using a Brite Boy on a section of track.

I've tried using alcohol with my Center Line cars with mixed results so far. Perhaps, I need to run the track cleaning cars more and longer to achieve clean, shiny track.

My track just does not shine like the track I observed at shows and on other layouts. I also have some reoccurring spots where my DCC locomotives hesitate and no matter what I do the hesitation problems come back in time. The majority of my rolling stock has metal wheels.

How many of the forum members use alcohol as your primary track cleaner? What are your results using alcohol and how often do you do use alcohol in the track cleaning process?

Thanks for your input.

Greg
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Rico

BN Modeller
Alcohol is ok if it's 99%, but not lower. I use it on a piece of paper towel to clean wheels and sections of rail.
On the centerline car I use a rail cleaner fluid (forget the brand) as alcohol will evaporate in a few turns then spread gunk.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

amdaley

Member
Plastic wheels are a no no. They create dirt on track.
I use all metal wheels & I seldom have any problems unless the layout is left without running anything on it for some time.
Good quality isopropyl alcohol is excellent for track cleaning.
 

Gdelmoro

Member
Try gleaming your track. It's a slow process but the result is very shiny and smoothe track. There are YouTube videos and articles available to show you how.
I use 400 Grit Sandpaper then 1,000 then 3,000 grit. This is followed by a SS Washer rubbed on the rail heads. That completes the burnishing. Now a good metal polish (like Mothers). Let the polish dry and use a paper towel or microfiber rag to wipe until clean. Your rails will SHINE !
 

Selector

Well-Known Member
Solvents are very good for lifting organic materials from track surfaces. Acetone would be bitchin', but it's dangerous and highly volatile....not a great choice from the point of view of risks to health. Instead, many long-time modelers have settled on lacquer thinner because it is a concoction of other solvents, not just one. It, too, needs to be handled with at least as much attention as one does for paint thinner. But lacquer thinner does a great job. In between, I use 70% isopropyl alcohol.
 

montanan

Whiskey Merchant
I use a Bright Boy when I find a dirty section of track. Running DC locomotives for years, I very seldom really needed to clean the rails as DC locomotives aren't as sensitive to dirty track as DCC locomotives. In the last few years I have acquired a few DCC locomotives and they are so much more sensitive to any dirty track. They'll find any problem spots in a heartbeat. I run metal wheels on EVERYTHING which probably helps keep the track cleaner. I do use isopropyl alcohol to clean the wheels on locomotives and occasionally will wipe down the tracks with it also, but I always keep my Bright Boy handy for a quick fix.
 

santafewillie

Same Ol' Buzzard
Greg - I only use alcohol with my Centerline car. I don't seem to have quite the evaporation issue that Rico referred to. But I also generally only have to make one pass over 160' of mainline. I do refresh it if I am spending time doing sidings and spurs. On the mains and passing sidings, I use a three car consist behind the engine consisting of a homemade "masonite car" ahead of the Centerline car, as that knocks any loose dust/dirt off the track before the fluid. I follow the Centerline car with a car with a soft dry cleaning pad, to wipe any residual alcohol off the track. It is actually an old Bachmann cleaning car with a tank for cleaning fluid that I do not fill. If I find any really tough spots, I use a Bright-Boy as well, although I try to minimize its use. In my staging yards, I use some contraption with a non-abrasive "eraser" on the end of a stick made by Woodland Scenics that I believe is called "Tidy-Track". Once you get the track "shiny", it does need periodic maintenance to keep it that way. Frequency varies depending on the conditions in the layout area.
On a side note, I have read on other forums that some modelers use their Dremel tools to clean track. I have never asked which attachment that they use, but I absolutely shudder at the thought of using that tool on track! I can envision code 100 track becoming code 83 in short order.

Willie
 

Greg@mnrr

Section Hand
Been doing some thinking about my "Dirty Track" issues.

Rico: I been using 70% alcohol and never thought that I'm using the alcohol that been diluted 30% with water. A higher percentage of straight alcohol will be better than the 70%. Found some 91% and will try that in place of the 70%.

Willie: I do have a Masonite pad cleaning car, but haven't used it lately due to a turnout throw rod being too high in the turn out and catches the Masonite pad. Too lazy to fix, but will address soon. Will use the Masonite car as a lead car before my Center Line tracking cars.

Also, plan on checking the wheel gauge on the locomotive giving the most problems. Maybe be just enough binding to slow the loco. Will also check the track gauge as well. I only have three spots in the track that some some problems.

Greg
 

Greg@mnrr

Section Hand
Used a Tidy-Track cleaning tool by Woodland Scenics using a pad with alcohol and cleaned the "bad" areas of the mainline. The pads soaked in a lot of alcohol and stayed moist and gave a long working time while cleaning track. Locomotives ran well.

Then ran a locomotive with a car equipped with a Masonite pad and ran the locomotive numerous times around the mainline. Track is more more shiny than before and locomotives are running well. May just stay with the Masonite pad cleaning method and use alcohol in problem areas.

Found what maybe of the been the problem...have several older cars with plastic wheels in a train parked in a siding. Ran this train prior to the problems developing. Metal wheel install soon - checking for more plastic wheels.

Greg
 

Iron Horseman

Well-Known Member
How many of the forum members use alcohol as your primary track cleaner? What are your results using alcohol and how often do you do use alcohol in the track cleaning process?
I would say alcohol is my primary track cleaner. I get good results or I wouldn't use it. I often follow a cleaning of alcohol with a VERY light coating of Atlas Track Cleaning Fluid, Bachmann EZlube, LPS-1, RailZip, Wall Clipper oil or some other electrically conducting lubricant. This is because the alcohol cleans it really good and also dries it out. Dry track causes micro sparks when a locomotive passes over. Micro sparks cause micro pitting on the rail which further collects dirt. The "oil" helps the electricity pass from track to wheel without the spark.

I make certain the coating material is not one where the carrier will evaporate and leave a sticky or ion charged residue (such as Goo Gone, WD-40, and Amzoil MP). In the long run these only collected dust and made things worse.

How often? Umm when it seems dirty. The museum cleans the main and sidings with a cleaning train using alcohol daily before opening, and then everything (including yards, spurs, industrial track) gets cleaned with manual wiping (scrubbing?) once a week. I believe the cleaning train is a CMX tank followed by a Masonite scraper, a centerline, another CMX tank and then two or three more centerlines.
 

Greg@mnrr

Section Hand
Iron Horseman:

Good idea about following the alcohol track cleaning using a good cleaner. I like using ATC 6006 since it lubes and is electrically conductive. I'll follow the alcohol cleaning with the Masonite pad car and then a trip or two around using my two Center Line cars with ACT 6006.

Thanks.

Greg
 

Rico

BN Modeller
Yes I forgot to mention as IH pointed out do not use a cleaner that leaves a residue, like Googone etc. Unless you follow with alcohol. When I commented on the use of 99% I should have said a higher percentage, 90% is much better than lower.

Your mention of plastic wheels reminded me of blackened wheels Walthers used on some passenger cars. They spread black around the rails as the coating wore off the brass wheels. Maybe check to see if any of your wheels are wearing.
 

Genetk44

Active Member
I just use regular rubbing alchol on a piece of cotton t-shirt on a track-wide piece of balsa and in a cleaning car for hard to reach spaces. About twice a year I rub a bit of graphite stick onto a couple of 6-inch long sections of the track and let the trains spread it around the track.
 

NYC_George

Well-Known Member
This track cleaner car I made last year works extremely well. I use the non toxic Lionel track cleaner.

tc_1.jpg

tc_2.jpg

George
 

Rico

BN Modeller
George that looks great, and everyone likely has everything they need to build one!
Well done!
 

RBMNfan

Member
I only clean track when it's​ new or painted/ballasted. After cleaning with a Brite boy and vacuuming, I apply a really thin coating of no-ox and wipe it after a day.

I run mostly stock plastic wheels. The few metal wheelsets where stock.

This method does appear to depend on operating the layout at least once a week. A longer period of time will result in stalling out on sidings and areas with little traffic until you run a train over it.

It only costs the price of the no-ox and a bright boy to try this method compared to buying cleaning cars. It's less work than homemade cleaning cars are.

Cleaning with solvents leaves a film that needs to be cleaned again and again. Not to mention slowly eating plastic wheels and anything plastic it touches.



Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
 

Greg@mnrr

Section Hand
I forgot to mention that I also use a piece of cork roadbed to clean dirty areas of the track. It removes the residue without harming the track like an abrasive eraser pad can if too much pressure is applied.

Thanks.

Greg
 

Genetk44

Active Member
I forgot to mention that I also use a piece of cork roadbed to clean dirty areas of the track. It removes the residue without harming the track like an abrasive eraser pad can if too much pressure is applied.

Thanks.

Greg

I sometimes use a piece of balsa-wood in the same way for the same reason. No brite-boys or other hard abrasives for me.
 

montanan

Whiskey Merchant
I also will use roadbed. I used Honabed for my roadbed and it also will do a good job of cleaning the track. I still have a few scraps of it laying around. I have nothing against a bright boy also. If a part of the track need cleaning, I'll grab what ever is handy. My track is code 70 and have been using a bright boy on it for over 30 years without any problems.
 

tlorey

New Member
I've had great results with alcohol - I was given a box of old, dirty track and it actually cleaned up perfectly using nothing but 70% alcohol.
 




Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a commision from some of the links and ads shown on this website (Learn More Here)


ModelRailroadForums.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

RailroadBookstore.com - An online railroad bookstore featuring a curated selection of new and used railroad books. Railroad pictorials, railroad history, steam locomotives, passenger trains, modern railroading. Hundreds of titles available, most at discount prices! We also have a video and children's book section.

ModelRailroadBookstore.com - An online model railroad bookstore featuring a curated selection of new and used books. Layout design, track plans, scenery and structure building, wiring, DCC, Tinplate, Toy Trains, Price Guides and more.

Top