How to clean G scale track

[@Papag53]

Only about 7 months till the snow vids. Thank you for the great tips.

[@vitale6633]

thanks for sharing - really like the leaf blower - so cool.

[@CapeCodTrainTodd]

Thanks! Happy RRing

[@garyhotchkiss4207]

Amazing Kit Bashing. I really like what you did with making these Cars. Ingenious. I will be replicating your great work. I bought a Broom Car/Engine from a Man in Sun City, Arizona.

[@CapeCodTrainTodd]

Thank you. You can stick a railbroom on anything but I wanted mine to look like a real piece of RR equipment. The same goes for the blower car.

[@coastaltitansrailroad]

Always love watching this operations. I'm constantly struggling to keep my little bit of track running. Learned some nice tricks to try and I'm adding a couple of those cleaning cars to my wish-to-build list. Love watching the leaf blower in action.

[@questwest6273]

Amazing layout....

[@kellyflannery9391]

That an awesome video, love all your custom cars.

[@charlesbolduc1636]

Nice system

[@CapeCodTrainTodd]

Thank you.

[@charlesbolduc1636]

@@CapeCodTrainTodd your welcome where did you say from

[@ingomoba1001]

Nice Idee, your Cleencar🛠👍👍👍

[@CapeCodTrainTodd]

Thanks. It works really well.

[@alleghenycityproductions]

your railroad is one of my favorites in gscale. love the paintscheme which is similar to mine. My railroad is an arizona shortline called the Allegheny Phoenix western Railroad or APWR for short. i don't have any equipment yet as i decided to switch to g scale only today after being in o gauge. but my railroad will be tiny with only a handful of equipment

[@CapeCodTrainTodd]

Thanks. The Cape Cod Central and Bay Colony are both real RR's that do or have operated near me. You say you will start off small but watch out because these things tend to grow and grow as you have probably experienced in O gauge.

[@dionblasco727]

Hi just saw your track cleaning video.Looking to get my outdoor railroad up and running this year.Does the alcohol and goo gone work good on brass.thats what I plan on using.I also have issues with weather i'm in n.w. pennsylvania here,and we get snow.Happy New Year to you

[@CapeCodTrainTodd]

HI. I have all brass track. Remember it does not have to be shiny clean to work well just free of grime. I use goo gone on pole sander/scotchbrite pad when it gets really messy but goo gone leaves a slippery residue so keep that in mind if you plan to run long trains up grade. I have moved away from the rubbing alcohol and instead use regular water with my rail broom MOW car. I'm in Mass. and we get snow too and sometimes it is the plowable type for the trains. I have videos of that on my channel. Happy RRing.

[@rustyc521]

Try using mineral spirits instead of the rubbing alcohol and goo gone. You’ll clean your track less often. And also use a pad that’s not abrasive. Wet it down with mineral spirits and clean your track and see how you like it.

[@jeremyjohnson457]

Do you use the "common rail" method? I use that method for my HO DC/DCC and it's been working great out for me and I just noticed that you have some plastic or fiber track joiners on your layout.

[@CapeCodTrainTodd]

Yes there is a common rail and those plastic rail joiners provide breaks in the track current so I can park a train on it.

[@rossmartin1018]

I really admire your railbroom/water dripper rig :). Can you provide the “bashed” car body upon which it is built? Is that another Bachman tanker/flat bash up, or does another car serve as the underbody/frame? Can you also provide details about the valve you use there? Thanks so much for all the great information, and entertainment too!

[@CapeCodTrainTodd]

Thanks. The base is an all metal track cleaner car made by Centerline Hobbies. It was designed to accept a paint roller for cleaning. The tank is from HLM. The broom is a product you can buy and the rest I built. The valve I found at Home Depot in the plumbing section. It is made of brass. It has a T handle at the top and I used plastic pipe with grooves cut out to catch the T. That is the part popping out on top of the tank. On the underside is the drip bar that is attached to the valve. This is also made from plastic pipe with holes drilled and tiny brass tube to make the drip. Here is another video that shows some of the pieces. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHrTd6qhjstnoNk

[@rjsrailroad6166]

Great layout- so pushing the engine back and forth with the paper towel underneath does not damage the gears ?

[@CapeCodTrainTodd]

Thanks. I have been doing this for years and haven't had a problem. I use Googone for the cleaning agent and it is slippery. I squirt the paper towel wipe it on the section of rail, drive the engine on and you saw the rest on the video. I do not press down on the engine. I just let the wheels spin on the towel. Happy RRing!

[@theventuracountyrailfan]

My cleaning routine: wipe with a damp microfiber cloth and then use 400 grit sand paper to rub off the corrosion. I find it barely grinds the rail because if you go light, it will only get the corrosion

[@CapeCodTrainTodd]

That works but I would be very careful with the sandpaper. They say that it can put small scratches in the rail and then those scratches collect dirt quicker. Shiny rail looks good but it doesn't have to shine to work.

[@emloray1]

I have a rail sweeper similar to yours but I love the customization of the engineer's cabin etc . I'm going to take your ideas and try to do something similar to mine I just love the look of it . Where do you get the metal endcaps to go onto the cut paint rollers ? Again enjoyed your videos .

[@CapeCodTrainTodd]

Thank you. I'm glad you like it. A good hardware store should have the end caps in their nuts and bolts aisle. Amazon has plastic ones. Inside the rollers I put a piece of closet pole and or rebar to add some weight to it.

[@IndustrialParrot2816]

Eyegh we have even worse pollon over here on the west coast. Pollen, pine needles, and leaves

[@therosijedha]

Im gonna be making a catenary powered railway, and my backup engines/maintenance engines are gonna be battery powered. Do i still need to clean the rail surface if im just using it for negative current?

[@CapeCodTrainTodd]

I'm not sure how the catenary setup works but if the track is the negative then yes you would want it to be clean so it gives trouble free running. Dirty track can make trains jerk or stop. The battery powered trains will be isolated from the track so the only thing you would have to worry about are leaves, twigs etc that might be on the track and in the way. Track does not have to be shiny to conduct power but being outdoors it can collect a film that will stop the power.

[@therosijedha]

@@CapeCodTrainTodd ok, thank you

[@jeremyjohnson457]

One other method you could use to clean your track is get some masonite and put it under one of your cars for Ho scale modelers you can get a masonite pad from a-line/ppw

[@CapeCodTrainTodd]

I just checked that out and is it really a piece of masonite? The grey Aristocraft caboose that I showed in the video has a pad underneath that is like a hard eraser on a pencil. Those work well on small RR's.

[@rick-ry3kj]

I had a chat with an electrician and he suggested a contact cleaner, any thoughts?

[@CapeCodTrainTodd]

A contact cleaner instead of the GooGone? Sure that would work too, I have used a CRC spray called 2-62 in bum joints. If a track joiner is failing you can spray 2-62 into it to keep he trains running and then fix it properly later on. You could spray some contact cleaner on your scotchbrite pad too. My only concern would be if those products are plastic safe. It would be lousy if they cleaned your track but ate away at the ties on a hot sunny day.

[@rick-ry3kj]

@@CapeCodTrainTodd thanks for the info

[@santhosh5796]

What kind of dc motors are used in g scale diesel locomotives? How much weight they can haul?

[@CapeCodTrainTodd]

They are all different and there are many variables that factor into the weight they can pull. These are questions best asked on one of the forums I mentioned. They can give you a more detailed answer.

[@santhosh5796]

G scale flexi tracks are available or not?

[@CapeCodTrainTodd]

? ? Yes flex track is available in G scale but I didn't use it on my RR. You can certainly clean flex track using the techniques discussed in this video.

[@santhosh5796]

@@CapeCodTrainTodd Is it possible in a g scale LGB track to remove the rails off the sleepers?

[@CapeCodTrainTodd]

@@santhosh5796 Yes but the rail joiner at both ends holds the track sleepers in place so they would have to be removed. Track from Aristocraft and USATrains has joiners that can be removed with a tiny screw plus screws on the underside of the track then the sleepers slide off. If you are planning on bending your own curves it might be easier to buy a dual rail bender and then you can bend and bend without removing the ties.

[@santhosh5796]

@@CapeCodTrainTodd Ok thank you for your reply

[@CapeCodTrainTodd]

@@santhosh5796 If you have questions there are many forums that can answer in more detail such as G Scale Trains and Gscale.net on Facebook and Largescalecentral.com Happy RRing!

[@IndustrialParrot2816]

i am building a layout with PLA/aluminum track and battery power locos so this is not relavant

[@crockett11000]

What a pain in the butt!. Why not go battery? Their big trains, You got all kinds of room inside to intall them, Real trains are dead rail. Iv'e been G scale battery power radio control for over 30 years!. No muss no fuss!.

[@CapeCodTrainTodd]

One word MONEY. It is not cheap to outfit an engine with battery RC. I have 2 that are set up with battery and it is very easy to run them but the track still needs to be clear of debris. Outfitting the roster would be too much money for my budget. Track cleaning is part of the maintenance and I try to have some fun doing it hence the varied equipment I have built and bought.

[@NHseacoast]

Goo gone will eat traction tires

[@CapeCodTrainTodd]

I have been using goo gone like this for years and have not had an issue.