Dusty Track/Clean Track, Christmas Village

JoelP2600 · 01-01-2007, 09:56 PM

Guys,

It's been a very long time since I had and HO Scale model train, but I seem to remember having to sand or clean the tracks now and then, otherwise the train would loose contact with the track and stop moving.

My wife and I are setting up a Christmas village, which will probably be up year round, we are planning a train which goes though a tunnel and passes though the village. The issue is that most likely the tunnel will be rather long and difficult to clean without taking the village apart.

If the track is covered (by the tunnel) should I have issues with stopping trains?
Also, I remember a kind of "Flex" track, it was brass I think and could be bent, would it maybe not corode as bad and/or stay cleaner longer??

Any suggestions would be great.

LongIslandTom · 01-01-2007, 10:01 PM

Hello and welcome,

Brass is the stuff that tarnishes fast and loses electrical conductivity. That's what you want to avoid.

What you want to get is Nickel Silver track. Even when tarnished, nickel silver still retains conductivity, so it needs cleaning less.

If you are setting up just a circle of track, just get a set of Kato Unitrack. It's nickel silver, and it's easy to assemble and disassemble. Flex track is intended for permanent layouts, and it needs to be fixed down to keep its curvature.

Hope this helps!

shaygetz · 01-01-2007, 10:43 PM

Welcome to The Gauge, Joel

Here's a link to a thread I did on how I keep my track, both Christmas and regular layout, clean. >>> http://www.the-gauge.com/showthread.php?t=23668 Hope that helps

Jim Krause · 01-01-2007, 11:22 PM

For the tunnel, you can purchase several varieties of track cleaning car or make one yourself. Pick an inexpensive box car and find a piece of scrap Masonite. Cut a piece of Masonite wide enough to cover both rails but not wider than the car body and about 2 inches long. Put two holes on the centerline of the piece about 1 and 1/2 inches apart. Epoxy 2 two inch nails in the holes in the Masonite. Drill matching holes in the underframe of the car, between the trucks The holes should be slightly larger than the nails. Put the two nails in the holes and set the car on the track. Hook up your loco and pull the car around the layout several times. You will have clean track.

01-01-2007, 09:56 PM	#1
JoelP2600 Inactive Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 1 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Dusty Track/Clean Track, Christmas Village Guys, It's been a very long time since I had and HO Scale model train, but I seem to remember having to sand or clean the tracks now and then, otherwise the train would loose contact with the track and stop moving. My wife and I are setting up a Christmas village, which will probably be up year round, we are planning a train which goes though a tunnel and passes though the village. The issue is that most likely the tunnel will be rather long and difficult to clean without taking the village apart. If the track is covered (by the tunnel) should I have issues with stopping trains? Also, I remember a kind of "Flex" track, it was brass I think and could be bent, would it maybe not corode as bad and/or stay cleaner longer?? Any suggestions would be great.

01-01-2007, 10:43 PM	#3
shaygetz Senior Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 3,941 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Welcome to The Gauge, Joel Here's a link to a thread I did on how I keep my track, both Christmas and regular layout, clean. >>> http://www.the-gauge.com/showthread.php?t=23668 Hope that helps __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. "He's a Christian, Jim, but he's unlike any we've ever seen before..." My website>>> To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. My blog>>> To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

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01-01-2007, 10:01 PM	#2
LongIslandTom Inactive Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 729 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Hello and welcome, Brass is the stuff that tarnishes fast and loses electrical conductivity. That's what you want to avoid. What you want to get is Nickel Silver track. Even when tarnished, nickel silver still retains conductivity, so it needs cleaning less. If you are setting up just a circle of track, just get a set of Kato Unitrack. It's nickel silver, and it's easy to assemble and disassemble. Flex track is intended for permanent layouts, and it needs to be fixed down to keep its curvature. Hope this helps!

01-01-2007, 11:22 PM	#4
Jim Krause Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Polson, MT Posts: 1,415 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	For the tunnel, you can purchase several varieties of track cleaning car or make one yourself. Pick an inexpensive box car and find a piece of scrap Masonite. Cut a piece of Masonite wide enough to cover both rails but not wider than the car body and about 2 inches long. Put two holes on the centerline of the piece about 1 and 1/2 inches apart. Epoxy 2 two inch nails in the holes in the Masonite. Drill matching holes in the underframe of the car, between the trucks The holes should be slightly larger than the nails. Put the two nails in the holes and set the car on the track. Hook up your loco and pull the car around the layout several times. You will have clean track.