Maintenance of Way

Technical Pages

One of the challenges of a track-powered railway is getting the power out of the rails and into the locomotive and cars. Clean track and clean wheels are a necessity and as such are the toughest thing to maintain. Cleanliness is next to impossible, but we don't stop trying.

After showing up in a couple of places with my little track cleaning setup in hand, I had several questions about how/if it worked. I've also mentioned the "Maintenance of Way cut" several times in the Pictorial and thought you might like to know a little more about it. As I've said, on a rail-powered garden railway keeping the track clean for good electrical contact can be a pain. Many people have come up with different ideas on how to solve this problem. Here's what I've done.

This method of rail-cleaning builds on the idea of legendary HO modeler John Allen. He used a fibreboard of appropriate size, slung under a boxcar. I up-sized this method, using the 'rough-side' down, added weight and discovered it still didn't work that well. I added drywall sanding mesh of 150 grit and my track stated getting very clean. Then I realized this method needed less weight on the slider, or I was going to prematurely wear away my track! There is a delicate balance between amount of weight used and the coarseness of the mesh. I've tried both 220 mesh, which clogs up too easily, and 120 mesh, which leaves marks in the track!  I've also discovered that Mr. Allen's original idea still has merit. I used a second car, following the 'mesh' car, which seems to polish away any oil or other muck. Both need regular cleaning, but seldom do I have any track-surface conductivity problems.

The tow "dragger"-equipped boxcars

Mesh-equipped dragger mounted through the floor. Don't use too much weight!

Plain dragger detail

When the going gets tough....

The Aristo plow has a 4 pound brick and is equipped with its own mesh dragger mounted on a platform made from an LGB track cleaner that I had found less satisfactory. If you aren't a believer, watch the plow at work

The Track and Roadbed

The Power

Maintenance of Way

Motive Power (locomotives)

Rolling Stock