03-29-2009, 11:42 AM
The majority of cars on my layout have the plastic wheels which they came with - I don't change them out unless there's a problem with them, such as not concentric on the axle or out-of-round, etc. Even then, the replacements are usually more plastic ones. Some newer cars have metal wheels, of course. The only wheels that have occasionally required cleaning have been those from Kadee. At first I thought that this was because these wheels were on my cabooses - they obviously ran more often than any of the freight cars, so it stood to reason that they might collect more gunk. However, as the handful of freight cars with Kadee wheels cycled on and off the layout, I also discovered the same "disappearing flanges" problem with them. It may have something to do with the blackening agent that they use - I'm going to polish the treads as they come in for cleaning. Most of the other metal-wheeled cars haven't enough mileage on them to notice any build-up. Other than one or two locos with brass wheel treads, I don't have to clean wheels, and I don't clean track, except immediately following ballasting.
My first layout had brass track, and did require regular track cleaning, although it performed well when clean. The current layout is nickel-silver, with all rail joints soldered. With about 140' of mainline in service, and another 110' or so to be added, there is only a single pair of feeders soldered to the rails near to the power source. Control is DC, via handheld throttles, and I have run over a dozen locos at a time, with no apparent loss of power due to the relatively poor conductivity of nickel-silver. As they say, your results may vary.
Wayne
My first layout had brass track, and did require regular track cleaning, although it performed well when clean. The current layout is nickel-silver, with all rail joints soldered. With about 140' of mainline in service, and another 110' or so to be added, there is only a single pair of feeders soldered to the rails near to the power source. Control is DC, via handheld throttles, and I have run over a dozen locos at a time, with no apparent loss of power due to the relatively poor conductivity of nickel-silver. As they say, your results may vary.
Wayne