How Do You Clean Your Rolling Stock Wheels?

So while running my lighted passenger trains I spent some time pursuing the flickering interior light issue (Katos). I cleaned the track, checked rail joiners, even reset the lamp mechanism but was still experiencing flickering interior lights.

Then I took a look at the truck and wheel sets on these passenger cars and realized they had developed a layer of gunk on the wheel surface. I scrapped off a few of them and the interior lights shine as good as they every have. No more flicker.

So other than scrapping ever wheel with a finger nail, and regularly cleaning the rails, how do you recommend cleaning gunk buildup off of wheel sets? Thanks

 

Take a new coffee filter. Lay it accross the track. Splash with some 70 or 90 percent acohol on the filter. Hold filter tight with thumb and index finger. Roll one truck and wheels back and forth between thumb and finger and over the filter. Move the filter a little and do it again. Once there is little to no 'gunk' coming off the wheels...reverse the car...and repeat.

Also works really well on locomotives. Just turn power on to track...and let the spinning wheels run over the filter while you hang on to it and move it back a forth.

Coffee filters DONT tear like paper towel does and WONT shred fibers up into the gears ;-)

You can buy 200 coffee filters and a whole bottle of Iso alcohol for about 5.00...should last ya about a year...or two !!

JMHO...YMMV

 

I let the guys with the metal wheelsets run first on our Ntrak layout then when the track is nice and clean I run my stuff.

 

Agreed on the isopropyl alcohol- works like a charm, and even helps clean excess paint off wheelsets after weathering! Then I use said coffee filter to clean off my rails!

FWIW- I ONLY use water-base paints (like polly scale) on my locos' & cars' wheelsets. Extremely low paint build-up, and fully cleanable without harsh chems.....

 

Hmm... I use a hammer
and chisel...

 

I would have thought a primitive primate would have used a bone or stick?

 

Adds an intersting flavor to the coffee, I imagine. Now I know why some folks coffee tastes luke turpentine.

 

That's about how I do it also.

 

If you use the filter to clean enough wheels and rail...you dont even need coffee grounds !! Just drop the filter in the basket and run the water through it ! Will make even a truck driver sit up and take notice....ROFLMAO !!!!

For those who prefer tea....wad up the used filter...use a big set of twizzers...dunk it in a cup of hot water just a few times....waalaa...proper English tea !!!!

:teeth:

 

Ultrasonic jewlery cleaner (bought cheep off eBlay) using hot water and 'Formula 409 grease & grime' kitchen cleaner. Buzz 'em a while, rinse 'em off. Wheels removed from trucks of course.

 

Thing is, these are metal wheel sets. Kato passenger cars.

Thanks for the coffee filter idea folks. Will try that tomorrow. Thanks!

 

The coffee filter method sounds good, in the past, I have taken a scrap piece of flex track, about a foot long, intentionally cut the rails about half way, to create a little friction, then put an alcohol soaked towel over the top, and ran the freight cars back and forth over the towel covered track.

 

For cleaning metal wheels, for years, I have been using an Alvin EE-175 electric eraser (a draftsman's tool that was also marketed as a Staedtler 527-00) with 1/4 (.260) inch diameter x 7 inch long pink (soft) eraser refills.

For those of you who are constantly on the go, battery powered (portable) versions of Alvin's / Staedtler's electric erasers are also available online.

Note: Likely a result of the prevalence of CAD (computer aided design) software, from what I could garner from various Internet searches, Staedtler has discontinued marketing its line of electric erasers.