I know that some of you swear by this and others swear at it.

I currently clean my track with alcohol, followed by contact cleaner.

I would like to try a light application of Wahl Oil, but I wonder about an adverse reaction with traction tires.

Does anyone have any experience with this to shed a little more light on the subject?

I think it depends a lot on what the traction tires are made of. I used it with some G gauge and the tires shortly fell apart. The up side was that they ran just as good without the tires. I dab a bit on each rail at the start of a curve, and they run good.

On HO, some tires get old and rot off and I replace them with suitable band from an Ortodontist. The oil doesn't seem to bother them. I have used plastic compatible oil on my HO and have no troubles with it.

Lynn

Hi Gang,

I have a problem with using Wahl Clipper Oil on the rails...

:hey: Don't do it! :hey:

Eventually, the oil is going to attract more gunk and dirt.

Then you are going to have to clean everything again and again...

Instead of oil, use a "2B" hardness sketching pencil or graphite stick to rub onto the rails.

It is a semi-conductor that will give you good reliable electrical pick-up.

As a fine dry lubricant it resists dirt and gunk from building up on the rials.

It's not too slippery, so it doesn't effect traction.

It fills in all the tiny/microscopic scratches in the rail so that dirt and gunk doesn't get stuck.

It lasts a long time.

Buy a six pack and hand them out to your friends!

We've coated the rails on all of our layouts and the Whole Narrow Gauge Madness Gang has had reliable operations on our mini/micro/modules...

A quick rub with a soft rag and another dash of graphite is all you need to maintain the rails.

It's great on Brass and Steel rail to protect against oxidization and helps keep them clean....
[attachment=543]

It just takes a little Graphite rubbed on top and inside edges of the rails...
[attachment=542]

Then sit back, relax and enjoy running your trains!

Thanks for the replies.

Ron, that graphite idea is one I have never encountered. I may give that a try.

Seems like I spend more time cleaning track than I do running trains.

TinGoat Wrote:Eventually, the oil is going to attract more gunk and dirt.

Then you are going to have to clean everything again and again...

I haven't had that problem so far after two or three years of use. I've applied the oil maybe twice in that time. I do run a masonite block track cleaner car to help remove dust once in a while.

Wahl oil saved my interest in th hobby after aggravating issues with dirty track and conductivity. But, I say if you've found something that really works for you...stay with it!

I'm afraid I can't answer the question about traction tires though.
Ralph

If you're gong to apply Wahl oil, take a small shirt pin, dip the head in the oil and apply that much to each rail, then spread it around with a train. Any more than that will do nasties to various bits of the railroad.
The was a thread on the old place where one of us did a controlled experiment and liked the results.

I've heard alot of good things about wd-40. You may also want to take a look at this I copied it from some where but haven't tried it.
c/p
Hints and Tips Page

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Track Cleaning and CRC 2-26

We clean our track ONCE A YEAR! Yes, you read right! Once a year!
This is what works for us.

First, clean every piece of rail with your favorite track cleaner. Something like Acetone (flammable. CAUTION), Denatured Alcohol, etc. I really don't recommend Goo Gone since the dirt may be gone but the Goo Gone isn't gone. Denatured Alcohol will remove it. Whatever you do, do not use paint remover or thinner. It will take the paint off of wheels like Kadee and others that are blackened metal wheels and put the paint, you guessed it, right on the rails!

Don't forget to clean the top inside edges of the rails. this is where the wheels make contact with the rails.

The rails should now be clean.

Now, here is the tricky part. Go to Home Depot or Lowe's Home centers electrical department and ask for CRC 2-26. It comes in a 11oz. spray can and costs less than $4. .

Spray a SMALL amount (about a half second spray) at a place on your RR where all the trains go past. Run trains to every part of your RR and the chemical will be spread by the wheels. Don't worry, it doesn't leave a stain on your scenery. If you use too much, it acts like wheel cleaner and makes a royal mess of the tracks. So don't over do it!

You may want to wipe the rails of excess dirt and spray again every six months. That's it!!

Other Uses

Apply a little CRC 2-26 to the axles and axle wipers on all your cars using track power for lighting or detection. This will cut down on rolling resistance and provide better electrical contact.

In January 2002, we sprayed some on a noisey door hinge where oil did not work and it hasn't made a noise since!

BR60103 Wrote:The was a thread on the old place where one of us did a controlled experiment and liked the results.

That was me. I applied Wahl oil to long siding on my layout only and ran a locomotive back and forth over it for a while, isolated from the rest of the layout. I liked the results and then applied oil to the mainline.

Ralph

[quote="wgrider"]I've heard alot of good things about wd-40. You may also want to take a look at this I copied it from some where but haven't tried it.
c/p
Hints and Tips Page

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Track Cleaning and CRC 2-26

About 25 years ago we encountered a moisture problem with our Generators (they got flooded). After 2 weeks drying time two of the three Megged OK to put on line, the third one just wouldn't dry, so we got 10 Gallons of 2-26 and soaked the thing down. It brought the thing way up in resistance, but still not enough, and there wasn't a drop of 2-26 anywhere. We called CRC for help. The engineer told us that 5-56 was the same thing in the gallon cans, the difference in the aerosol cans was the propellant. There was lots of 5-56 out there and one more application brought her up to where we could put her on line too. I would not use much of this as it too has an oily residue that will attract dirt.
To put a little prospective on this we use about a quart of soy based grease on 3.5 miles of track to keep the flange noise down. I don't know how you would scale that down. Someone will figure it out.
Charlie

wahl will eat up most traction tires in time , also depends on ambient temps higher temps speed up deterioration colder tepms slow it down , i removed the tires from the few locos i had that come with them on (20 year wahl user)

Charlie B Wrote:

wgrider Wrote:I've heard alot of good things about wd-40. You may also want to take a look at this I copied it from some where but haven't tried it.
c/p
Hints and Tips Page

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Track Cleaning and CRC 2-26

About 25 years ago we encountered a moisture problem with our Generators (they got flooded). After 2 weeks drying time two of the three Megged OK to put on line, the third one just wouldn't dry, so we got 10 Gallons of 2-26 and soaked the thing down. It brought the thing way up in resistance, but still not enough, and there wasn't a drop of 2-26 anywhere. We called CRC for help. The engineer told us that 5-56 was the same thing in the gallon cans, the difference in the aerosol cans was the propellant. There was lots of 5-56 out there and one more application brought her up to where we could put her on line too. I would not use much of this as it too has an oily residue that will attract dirt.
To put a little prospective on this we use about a quart of soy based grease on 3.5 miles of track to keep the flange noise down. I don't know how you would scale that down. Someone will figure it out.
Charlie

I think that came off the same site Charlie , I recognize it.

The only problem with Goo Gone is most people don't read past the put Goo Gone on part they they bitch and bellyache because their track is dirty.Goo Gone is like any cleaner of its type ,you put it one and you wipe it off to clean .

It is the only liquid cleaner we use on our NTRAK ,2TRAK ,and TTRAK layouts and is the only cleaner we have used for over 10 years now,and we have no power pick up problems.

Quote:Wahl oil saved my interest in the hobby after aggravating issues with dirty track and conductivity. But, I say if you've found something that really works for you...stay with it!

I'm afraid I can't answer the question about traction tires though.
Ralph

I have the same declaration as Ralf. I was ready to close the door of my layout and never look back. I used to clean my track, run for about 10 minutes and start having trouble. I tried Wahl oil like everyone said just a little but it didn't help. So I decided that maybe every one is on a 4X8 plywood and I have28 feet of double main line on on side of my layout. so I put a little bit about every 15 feet. Same problem, about 10 minutes of running time. So in a last ditch effort I got my centerline track cleaning car soaked it with Wahls oil. Pushed it around my layout in front of loco adding oil to it about every 15 or 20 feet. That was about 2 years ago and I am still running trains. I do have a couple track cleaning cars in my system. The kind with a pad on the bottom, and I occasionally use the centerline car with nail polish remover for one time around and then do the Wahl oil thing again. This is done when I feel like it not that there is a problem. I swear by the stuff.
Last week I got an old Riverossi 4-6-4 out of mothballs put in a decoder and tried it. It had same old trouble of poor electric contact. I put about a one inch bead of Wahls in front of it. Nursed it through the oil getting it on all wheels. It took off and ran for a long time non stop and the headlight didn't even flicker. So now you know what I think about Wahl oil.
Les.

Quote:

Les, I can hear that steamer's whistle going WHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLL! WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAALLLL!!!
Ralph

Hey, I like that Ralph.
Les.