polishing the track

Sandy lodge

Sandy lodge

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Chaps

I spent a couple of hours on both Saturday and Sunday polishing the surface of the track to ensure nice smooth running ahead of a get together of like minded garden railway enthusiasts this coming weekend

With all the rain today and forecast tomorrow have i wasted my time polishing? Am i going to find the track tarnished as hell on Saturday or will the track still retain a reasonable shine?

Opinions welcome as to how much polishing i will have to do

Phil
 
Sandy lodge said:
Chaps

I spent a couple of hours on both Saturday and Sunday polishing the surface of the track to ensure nice smooth running ahead of a get together of like minded garden railway enthusiasts this coming weekend

With all the rain today and forecast tomorrow have i wasted my time polishing? Am i going to find the track tarnished as hell on Saturday or will the track still retain a reasonable shine?

Opinions welcome as to how much polishing i will have to do

Phil
Click to expand...
Yup you will probably have to do it again, I would make it first job on the day of any GTG. My line is done using LGB Track Cleaning Blocks, best that money can buy. I also have a GTG this Sarurday, sohoping for good weather as well.
JonD
 
Polish? Polish? I don't even clean mine, but then again I guess I'm not relying on conductivity between track surface and wheels any more; but when I was I certainly wouldn't describe what I did as polishing it, more sort of once over as lightly as possible while still getting a result. I used a fine sandpaper on the end of a pole. But I did find that once I had done so it lasted for a number of days because, unlike iron or steel, copper (brass) does take some time to develop surface corrosion (aka rust or tarnish). And, if I did some running it lasted longer. I would certainly do a few test runs before putting in that level of effort again......

(BTW, don't think that because I don't now use track power I'm immune to stuff ups at open days - sometime I'll tell you the story of the idiot who didn't think to check the batteries in his remote controls before one disastrous session when he had visitors at the line. And, of course, batteries run out of charge at the most inconvenient of times.)
 
Yes, even with battery power, you occasionally need to clean the track. My little box cab started lumping and jumping along, and it was simply a build up of crud on the wheels - a few quick circuits with an Aristo track cleaning caboose ( and a wheel clean on the box cab) soon sorted it, but it is a problem with 1:1 crud on 1:20 track.
 
Worse thing about rain is that it can cause small bits of crud to fly about, inevitably getting on the Rails. The Aristo Cleaning Van trundled round a few times in FRONT of a Battery Powered Loco would certainly sort that issue out.
JonD
 
Polished and shiny rails don't mean that they are clean. There can be a problem with dust especially after rain.
I'd recommend giving the tracks a clean using the track-cleaning block.

I used to keep my tracks shining brightly using a fine grade wet and dry thinking that shiny track meant clean track. But I was puzzled why my LGB Sumpter Valley without pick-up skates would hesitate on shiny track. My other locos all fitted with skates all ran well and I guess that the skates themselves were cleaning the dust. When I purchased some LGB lighted coaches with ball bearing pick-ups, they too flickered on my seemingly clean track.

The solution was of course to purchase a track-cleaning block to clean the unseen dust. The dust in my case was probably from the wet and dry but there is definately a problem after rain, think about your nice clean car after rain, it can be quite dusty especially if it is dust from the Sahara!

I have now fitted all my 4 freight trains with a small piece of track cleaning block material so that the trains are constantly cleaning the track for me. They are about 30mm long, sit between the wheels and are hardly noticable unless you know where to look.

I like to enjoy the railway and not be a slave to it, gives me more time to enjoy my favorite beverage!

Alan
 
I agree with Greg. The rails must or should be kept shining, if track power is the case. Any minute scratches will invite foreign matter to settle in. Too small to see, but big enough to cause issues. I found the LGB track cleaning block to work the best, when I was running track power. If there was a way to polish the rails with a buffing wheel and some buffing compound, I would have done that. It would have made for even more infrequent cleaning.
 
Back in the days of indoor model railways, tried the method mentioned below, worked brilliantly, info from old notes and memory from around 1995 or so, there used to be a video clip doing the rounds on You Tube at the time.

"When it comes to having clean track that stays clean, you might want to try this. It was posted by one of the members of the forum. It worked for me. It's called 'GLEAM'."


"QUOTE: (Originally posted by Semafore)"

"I'm talking GLEAM!: ULTRA_SHINY and Smooth rails can now be had with my 'WHAT box?" approach to this conductivity problem. An HO modeller since 1970, I know the problem WELL!
THIS IS A ONE-TIME PROCESS. DO ALL TRACK!!
1] On an appropiate-sized block, use 400 wet/dry paper to remove the extrusion milling left on the railheads. The block must span both rails.
2] Now use 600 or finer, repeat process.
3] Using an appropiate-sized STAINLESS-STEEL piece, apply moderate pressure and BURNISH the rails! The more you slide back and forth, the smoother and shinier the rails become! [ the GLEAM part ]. This is because you have removed the ridges, bumps, and pits. Burnishing helps seal pores with metal, eliminating traps for dirt and tarnish; almost like a MIRROR!
4] [For Bob H.] Use BLUE MAGIC or equivalent metal polish to deep-clean the remaining contaminates.
5] Last, buff the rails to your eye's content!
The shine is 5x more lusterous than just polish alone. The wax left behind is minimal, is not insulating, and virtually eliminates rail cleaning.
This is a process HOT OFF THE PRESSES! [Of my brain] I've only been at it 6 weeks with amazing results! {I just added the wax step today.} prior to that, though, the NS HO rails I'm guinea-pigging (300') sans wax STILL gleams today, with slight tarnishing, so I'm gonna wax 'em next!
I will also try some classic brass rail to see how that stands up.

AND REMEMBER; NO MORE ABRASIVES...EVER!!!!!!
Or you'll just ruin your mirror finish, and will have to gleam and wax AGAIN!
Dry-wipe with paper towel or cotton. You can always polish anytime; wipe away excess.

I've had DCC and DC locos/lash-ups creep at a scale 3-5MPH around the staging level loop 100' with NO STALL or FALTER. gotta love it"
 
Arthur Aardvark said:
Back in the days of indoor model railways, tried the method mentioned below, worked brilliantly, info from old notes and memory from around 1995 or so, there used to be a video clip doing the rounds on You Tube at the time.

"When it comes to having clean track that stays clean, you might want to try this. It was posted by one of the members of the forum. It worked for me. It's called 'GLEAM'."


"QUOTE: (Originally posted by Semafore)"

"I'm talking GLEAM!: ULTRA_SHINY and Smooth rails can now be had with my 'WHAT box?" approach to this conductivity problem. An HO modeller since 1970, I know the problem WELL!
THIS IS A ONE-TIME PROCESS. DO ALL TRACK!!
1] On an appropiate-sized block, use 400 wet/dry paper to remove the extrusion milling left on the railheads. The block must span both rails.
2] Now use 600 or finer, repeat process.
3] Using an appropiate-sized STAINLESS-STEEL piece, apply moderate pressure and BURNISH the rails! The more you slide back and forth, the smoother and shinier the rails become! [ the GLEAM part ]. This is because you have removed the ridges, bumps, and pits. Burnishing helps seal pores with metal, eliminating traps for dirt and tarnish; almost like a MIRROR!
4] [For Bob H.] Use BLUE MAGIC or equivalent metal polish to deep-clean the remaining contaminates.
5] Last, buff the rails to your eye's content!
The shine is 5x more lusterous than just polish alone. The wax left behind is minimal, is not insulating, and virtually eliminates rail cleaning.
This is a process HOT OFF THE PRESSES! [Of my brain] I've only been at it 6 weeks with amazing results! {I just added the wax step today.} prior to that, though, the NS HO rails I'm guinea-pigging (300') sans wax STILL gleams today, with slight tarnishing, so I'm gonna wax 'em next!
I will also try some classic brass rail to see how that stands up.

AND REMEMBER; NO MORE ABRASIVES...EVER!!!!!!
Or you'll just ruin your mirror finish, and will have to gleam and wax AGAIN!
Dry-wipe with paper towel or cotton. You can always polish anytime; wipe away excess.

I've had DCC and DC locos/lash-ups creep at a scale 3-5MPH around the staging level loop 100' with NO STALL or FALTER. gotta love it"
Click to expand...
Not sure if this method will work outside, but I am going to try a few yards as a Test.
JonD
 
so it's your guess that Blue Magic leaves some film on top, like a wax?

So many theories about leaving something on the rail to avoid oxidation are out there. Many success stories, and many stories of more problems with what is left on the rails.

Something dry, that does not build up on wheels and the rail, and does not "attract" dust, etc. would seem to work.

Others, like oils, whether it is Wahl clipper oil, WD-40, automatic transmission fluid, etc can work for some, but eventually they build up and need to be removed and re-applied.

Also ANYTHING on the rails can affect traction.

So to each his own.... the guy with a flat layout, short trains, that sprays WD-40 on the rails each week is happy, and the guy who keeps them completely clean and wipes with a solvent is happy, etc.

I've never seen a solution of leaving some coating on the rails that worked for EVERYONE.

(I have stainless steel now, so my life is very simple, a garden hose is the cleaning tool)

Greg
 
I guess also your geographic location has an effect. For example, I'm in Northwest Florida. The line is located within 1000 yards of Choctawhatchee Bay, which feeds into the Gulf of Mexico. So salt air, but not blowing around, unless we have a 'wind event' (we don't use the H word!). Humid in summer. The soil in the garden is sandy and we have an irrigation system which runs every other day. Vegetation around the track can be quite lush. Consequently I do have oxidation of brass track, but it's not excessive. I do get sap and other stuff from the plants which varies at different times of year. The irrigation system does result in fine sand being splashed on the track.
I start each running session with the LGB track cleaning loco. That seems to work fine most if the time getting off dirt and sand/grit. Even using a battery loco, the sand/grit if not removed will lead to noisy and rough running - just pushing a two axle truck by hand you can feel the roughness. I also sometimes run a p/w train with a wagon that has an LGB sprung pad device underneath which works well.
Occasionally I'll need to do a local area clean with either an LGB block or Train Line block (which I think is better) where sap has affected the track or more usually where our boy collie has been marking. That latter activity is the most corrosive!

I'm sure being in a desert environment, or in different parts of the U.K. Would have different challenges. As Greg says, what works for one, doesn't work for another.
 
Not being a seasoned traveller..
My guess, here in the UK, we have a 'damper', cooler climate than many??

Gives us our 'green and pleasant land', but does mean everything will tarnish/rust/rot/get-a-growth-of-something on it!
 
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