This review was great for many reasons, it was in HD, you showed what you used to clean it with and the drops per minute, you showed it running with a nice loco and you showed it running with other cars too! All of that ontop of a impressive layout...amazing thanks for the video
I see a lot of comments by people who don't have one, or never used someone else's. I've had one for years and it's the go-to device for cleaning rails. The main reason it's so heavy is that it's totally metal. Got nothing to do with cleaning power. Metal will resist anything any of us are likely to pour into it for cleaning the track. The pressure on the cleaning pad is generated by the spring underneath. The pad mount is metal, so is already heavier than my standard Masonite pad. The pressure on the track is the total of the pad mount plus spring pressure. This helps the unit to ride over edges of rails that stick up, if there are any. Plus the various guard rails at turnouts. Those of you who use abrasives, like the people who enjoy using sandpaper, I am assuming you are still running in the DC world, which is fine. For those of you running in the DCC environment, scratches on the track, no matter how small, spell death to clean track. I agree about following the CMX car with one or two cars that have some kind of "mop" underneath to wipe up the gunk once it's softened. Masonite will do that. Or cover a masonite pad with the cloth strips from the CMX car. This cloth is just a type of "binding tape" you can find at sewing stores. Get any color you want. I've tried a lot of other methods on track. Keeping it smooth by burnishing with a shiny metal item, like the shank of an old drill bit, polishing with a metal cleaner such as "Flitz" or any polish for sliverware, will get the top of the rails into awesome condition. Then cleaning with a liquid maintains the rails in great condition. I find laquer thinner to be the best for cleaning, but won't use it any more due to dangerous fumes. Alcohol seems nice but is a poor cleaner for burned-on organics. What seems to work for now is Mineral Spirits. I get odorless mineral spirits. It dissolves everything, cleans everything off the track, and doesn't give me a headache from the fumes. But like everything except alcohol, it leave a residue on the track. Maybe the best cleaning train is one with a CMX car at the front, followed by one or two locos, then two or three "mop" cars behind. Just my 1.1 cents. (That's 2 cents, after taxes......)
If you are using acetone or lacquer thinner and using a steam locomotive, PULL the tank car, or you will be replacing the rubber tires on the driver wheels of steam locomotives. This involves removing the driver rods to get access to the wheel grooves. The alternative is Bullfrog Snot, but it is better to avoid the problem in the first place. PULL, don't push!
Pictures are worth a thousand words. BTW, how many turns did it take to get 10-12 drops per minute? Per MRH Magazine and The San Diego Museum, odorless mineral spirits are recommended for best results.
Great review! One question though, do you think that the thinner will eventually break down the paint on your ties and rails causing it to flake or wear away?
@flymanjg I just watched the CMX video, been using mine for about 8yrs. now, went to metal wheels about 3yrs. ago. I have always used alcohol in mine. No sticky switches works great.
I have found that lacquer thinner and acetone will evenly atack plastic ties and rail will change gauge and rial will come off the ties plastic spikes.
No, Just be sure to cut down the throw rod from the Tortoise or any other switch machine at the center of the Throw bar of the turnout. It need's to be below rail height or else it will catch the Cordoroy cleaning cloth. I think the sticking of the switches is due to the laquer thinner. Once it dries and you manually move the switch points they move freely again.
Just as a sugestion...don't you think that "Mineral Turpentine" or "Parafin"will be a safer option...Laquer Thinners is very flamable and any spark could set it alight, also turpentine has a oily residue that might help with corosion in the future...
I don't know how you doing it I have to dash 9s bnsf with weights in them and a F7 weighted still struggling to push it!doing a dry run does it have to be wet?
I was reading MRH.. Nov 2017, catching up on many back issues. Came across this..., Have you seen it? Polar solvents (less ideal for cleaning electronic contacts): Isopropyl alcohol Ethyl alcohol MEK Acetone Ammonia Water Semi-polar solvent (better than polar solvents) Ethyl acetate Non-polar solvents (best for cleaning electronic contacts) Kerosene Turpentine Mineral spirits Toluene I had heard from the La Mesa club folks that they have stopped using ISO alcohol to clean track because the track gets dirty faster. Apparently, the polar solvents leave a residue that encourages micro-arching, which is what creates the metal oxides on the track and wheels we call "black gunk". It appears non-polar solvents inhibit micro-arcing. I find it interesting that the clipper oil discussion that started a few decades ago as a way to inhibit black gunk buildup is a NON-POLAR substance. Mineral spirits, for example, is similar to clipper oil and is non-polar. Mineral spirits makes a great track and wheel cleaner. (By the way, Neverstall is non-polar as well.) Wow, you learn something every day. I knew anecdotally that some substances worked better than others for track cleaning -- now I have a true scientific explanation as to why! Joe Fugate Publisher, Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine
I use it on my n scale La Grande Sub N Scale on UA-cam and it's the best since sliced bread. I use acetone as well, for that works better than ANYTHING else!!! Nice review
have you looked at those atlas ones I like to build one that dose a little of every thing from buffing and clean and vacuming the track been workong on some plans for it I will soon have one built and I will put it up on my channel for others to build the atlas one is like 100 bucks and it dose some of the stuff but I want a good cleaning car. they are hard to find.
The car doesn't need to be heavy unless the pad is sprung, in which case a heavier spring to get more buffing from the pad will possibly, not necessarily, require adding weight to the tank...maybe some steel ball-bearings or lead shot? If the pad is not sprung, only the weight of the pad, scrubber material, and any solvents will be put to use...which isn't much. I'd almost rather use 600 grit paper, and I can buy 20 years worth of that for about $50. No solvents needed, either.
Darn, just thought of something else while watching the initial part of the running demo...two a dry scrubber car behind the locomotive to take up what softens on the loco's tires and what is otherwise softened and left after the CMX passes over the rails ahead of everything. The towed pads will get dirty!
Lacquer thinner and plastic do not play well together. It's why you don't use model dope on plastic, dope is just a lacquer. I use just a small wood block and 420 grit wet or dry paper.
I decided to test lacquer thinner out on a spare piece of Kato Unitrack prior to running it all over the layout...and I’m mighty thankful I did, I also plan on running compatibility tests with alcohol an Goo Gone too.
For anyone thinking of buying one of these, go for it, you wont buy better. Ive had one for close to 2 years now and its invaluable for cleaning my hidden trackage. Dont bother with the atlas cleaning car (I have one also), its nowhere near as good as the CMX.
Sorry but there is no need for a cleaning car to weigh as much as a CMX car, the only weight that matters is the weight that pushes down on the cleaning pad, the weight of the actual car is irrelevant. Using any kind of cleaning fluid only causes the need for more cleaning. The residue left behind always attacks more dirt. A simple masonite cleaning pad weighted properly at a cost of around 15 bucks works just as good without any kind of cleaning fluid. One or two passes and you are good to go without the $100+ price tag!
dmaxsba Pretty much none of what you said makes sense. The weight of the actual car, is the weight that pushes down on the pad, therefore, it matters how much the car weighs .
Seriously? The car can weigh a 100 pounds and it still would not matter. The weight is transferred to the trucks not the cleaning pad. To be truly effective the weight needs to be on the pad itself not the trucks. CMX weight is on the trucks NOT the pad. The springs used to put force on the pad are so weak they are irrelevant! That is why it needs chemicals to get the job done. For real cleaning without any chemicals the pad must have all the extra weight, not the car itself. A properly weighted, free floating Masonite pad will do job without any chemicals and last for YEARS without needing replaced. Does that make sense to you? Open your eyes and stop falling for over priced, unnecessary things. But if you really think you need a CMX car head to the hardware store and go to the pluming area. Everything you need (except the trucks) will be there for you. You can build a CMX car for under 10 bucks!
dmaxsba Do you actually even own a CMX ? I am going to assume from this catalogue of ill informed conments you dont. What you are saying about weight distribution makes absoloutely no sense. Furthrrmore, the use of abresive pads such as those you are using will damage rail heads and cause the collection of further dirt. The reason you pay a premium for it , is because its a quality product.
+carefreecfc I agree with you. The only people that say bad comments about this cleaning car don't own one!!! I had one for my HO layout and now I own one for my N scale layout. The both worked great! As far as I am concerned the cmx is best cleaning car made to date.
PanekPL no need for these in real life. Only electrical current on real track is to trip the grade crossings and signals. Diesel engines inside the locomotive spin a generator which powers traction motors on each axel. No track power.
To think before they invented these contraptions we still didn't need them. These "Cleaning" cars are all wrong and used for all the wrong reasons. The buffer type cars with no liquids are fine and do a pretty good quick clean, a coarser pad without fluids is the best option. These are just vanity items at best and only impress the ignorant.
This review was great for many reasons, it was in HD, you showed what you used to clean it with and the drops per minute, you showed it running with a nice loco and you showed it running with other cars too! All of that ontop of a impressive layout...amazing thanks for the video
Excellent review with a nice quality video. Thank you for taking the time demonstrating how this track cleaning car works.
Great video.
very nice demonstration and video
IPA everytime for me. Sent you a MSG. Thanks for these good vids!
Thanks for this demo it was very helpful
I see a lot of comments by people who don't have one, or never used someone else's. I've had one for years and it's the go-to device for cleaning rails. The main reason it's so heavy is that it's totally metal. Got nothing to do with cleaning power. Metal will resist anything any of us are likely to pour into it for cleaning the track. The pressure on the cleaning pad is generated by the spring underneath. The pad mount is metal, so is already heavier than my standard Masonite pad. The pressure on the track is the total of the pad mount plus spring pressure. This helps the unit to ride over edges of rails that stick up, if there are any. Plus the various guard rails at turnouts. Those of you who use abrasives, like the people who enjoy using sandpaper, I am assuming you are still running in the DC world, which is fine. For those of you running in the DCC environment, scratches on the track, no matter how small, spell death to clean track. I agree about following the CMX car with one or two cars that have some kind of "mop" underneath to wipe up the gunk once it's softened. Masonite will do that. Or cover a masonite pad with the cloth strips from the CMX car. This cloth is just a type of "binding tape" you can find at sewing stores. Get any color you want. I've tried a lot of other methods on track. Keeping it smooth by burnishing with a shiny metal item, like the shank of an old drill bit, polishing with a metal cleaner such as "Flitz" or any polish for sliverware, will get the top of the rails into awesome condition. Then cleaning with a liquid maintains the rails in great condition. I find laquer thinner to be the best for cleaning, but won't use it any more due to dangerous fumes. Alcohol seems nice but is a poor cleaner for burned-on organics. What seems to work for now is Mineral Spirits. I get odorless mineral spirits. It dissolves everything, cleans everything off the track, and doesn't give me a headache from the fumes. But like everything except alcohol, it leave a residue on the track. Maybe the best cleaning train is one with a CMX car at the front, followed by one or two locos, then two or three "mop" cars behind.
Just my 1.1 cents. (That's 2 cents, after taxes......)
If you are using acetone or lacquer thinner and using a steam locomotive, PULL the tank car, or you will be replacing the rubber tires on the driver wheels of steam locomotives. This involves removing the driver rods to get access to the wheel grooves. The alternative is Bullfrog Snot, but it is better to avoid the problem in the first place. PULL, don't push!
Pictures are worth a thousand words. BTW, how many turns did it take to get 10-12 drops per minute? Per MRH Magazine and The San Diego Museum, odorless mineral spirits are recommended for best results.
Looks pretty good! Did the cloth catch on any rail joins other than the switches?
Great review! One question though, do you think that the thinner will eventually break down the paint on your ties and rails causing it to flake or wear away?
@flymanjg I just watched the CMX video, been using mine for about 8yrs. now, went to metal wheels about 3yrs. ago. I have always used alcohol in mine. No sticky switches works great.
I have found that lacquer thinner and acetone will evenly atack plastic ties and rail will change gauge and rial will come off the ties plastic spikes.
What cleaning fluid have you used in your CMX car and which one have you found gets the job done best???
No, Just be sure to cut down the throw rod from the Tortoise or any other switch machine at the center of the Throw bar of the turnout. It need's to be below rail height or else it will catch the Cordoroy cleaning cloth. I think the sticking of the switches is due to the laquer thinner. Once it dries and you manually move the switch points they move freely again.
i got one of these..works great just with alcohol
I have one & I love it. I use 90% Alcahol in mine, this works much better than laquer thinner. It dosent stink as bad either.
Richard J k
I have one and i use acetone
Hey, great buy! How much did you get yours for?
Just as a sugestion...don't you think that "Mineral Turpentine" or "Parafin"will be a safer option...Laquer Thinners is very flamable and any spark could set it alight, also turpentine has a oily residue that might help with corosion in the future...
I don't know how you doing it I have to dash 9s bnsf with weights in them and a F7 weighted still struggling to push it!doing a dry run does it have to be wet?
Is it CSX's S.O.P. to run long hood forward during MOW operations?..........................Just Kidding!!! Sweet Video as always.
I was reading MRH.. Nov 2017, catching up on many back issues. Came across this..., Have you seen it?
Polar solvents (less ideal for cleaning electronic contacts):
Isopropyl alcohol
Ethyl alcohol
MEK
Acetone
Ammonia
Water
Semi-polar solvent (better than polar solvents)
Ethyl acetate
Non-polar solvents (best for cleaning electronic contacts)
Kerosene
Turpentine
Mineral spirits
Toluene
I had heard from the La Mesa club folks that they have stopped using ISO alcohol to clean track because the track gets dirty faster. Apparently, the polar solvents leave a residue that encourages micro-arching, which is what creates the metal oxides on the track and wheels we call "black gunk".
It appears non-polar solvents inhibit micro-arcing. I find it interesting that the clipper oil discussion that started a few decades ago as a way to inhibit black gunk buildup is a NON-POLAR substance. Mineral spirits, for example, is similar to clipper oil and is non-polar. Mineral spirits makes a great track and wheel cleaner. (By the way, Neverstall is non-polar as well.)
Wow, you learn something every day. I knew anecdotally that some substances worked better than others for track cleaning -- now I have a true scientific explanation as to why!
Joe Fugate
Publisher, Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine
@choochoomusic Thank You. Just trying to help.
I have one and i use it with acetone
@colliecandle Thanks
your locomotive and freight cars what brand is it
I use it on my n scale La Grande Sub N Scale on UA-cam and it's the best since sliced bread. I use acetone as well, for that works better than ANYTHING else!!!
Nice review
have you looked at those atlas ones
I like to build one that dose a little of every thing from buffing and clean and vacuming the track been workong on some plans for it I will soon have one built and I will put it up on my channel for others to build the atlas one is like 100 bucks and it dose some of the stuff but I want a good cleaning car. they are hard to find.
where u get it from
The car doesn't need to be heavy unless the pad is sprung, in which case a heavier spring to get more buffing from the pad will possibly, not necessarily, require adding weight to the tank...maybe some steel ball-bearings or lead shot? If the pad is not sprung, only the weight of the pad, scrubber material, and any solvents will be put to use...which isn't much. I'd almost rather use 600 grit paper, and I can buy 20 years worth of that for about $50. No solvents needed, either.
BTW, lacquer thinner already has some acetone in it, so you don't really need to use acetone if you don't have any handy to do the initial rinse.
Darn, just thought of something else while watching the initial part of the running demo...two a dry scrubber car behind the locomotive to take up what softens on the loco's tires and what is otherwise softened and left after the CMX passes over the rails ahead of everything. The towed pads will get dirty!
I suspect that if you used $50 worth of 600 grit, or even 1,000 grit, in just 20 years, the rails would be down to Code 15. Not Code 83.
So... um.... how much did you pay for it?
Interessante
can it be used on HO e-z track?
yes it can
whats it run for price
Lacquer thinner and plastic do not play well together. It's why you don't use model dope on plastic, dope is just a lacquer. I use just a small wood block and 420 grit wet or dry paper.
I decided to test lacquer thinner out on a spare piece of Kato Unitrack prior to running it all over the layout...and I’m mighty thankful I did, I also plan on running compatibility tests with alcohol an Goo Gone too.
For anyone thinking of buying one of these, go for it, you wont buy better. Ive had one for close to 2 years now and its invaluable for cleaning my hidden trackage. Dont bother with the atlas cleaning car (I have one also), its nowhere near as good as the CMX.
Where I can buy a train from???
Terrell Cousar can buy a train from any good hobby shop or online. Try Amazon or eBay. Also try overland hobbies and Mike's trains.
These aren't toys
What ever tony's trains sell's it for minus 5 bucks.
Sorry but there is no need for a cleaning car to weigh as much as a CMX car, the only weight that matters is the weight that pushes down on the cleaning pad, the weight of the actual car is irrelevant. Using any kind of cleaning fluid only causes the need for more cleaning. The residue left behind always attacks more dirt. A simple masonite cleaning pad weighted properly at a cost of around 15 bucks works just as good without any kind of cleaning fluid. One or two passes and you are good to go without the $100+ price tag!
dmaxsba Pretty much none of what you said makes sense. The weight of the actual car, is the weight that pushes down on the pad, therefore, it matters how much the car weighs .
Seriously? The car can weigh a 100 pounds and it still would not matter. The weight is transferred to the trucks not the cleaning pad. To be truly effective the weight needs to be on the pad itself not the trucks. CMX weight is on the trucks NOT the pad. The springs used to put force on the pad are so weak they are irrelevant! That is why it needs chemicals to get the job done. For real cleaning without any chemicals the pad must have all the extra weight, not the car itself. A properly weighted, free floating Masonite pad will do job without any chemicals and last for YEARS without needing replaced. Does that make sense to you? Open your eyes and stop falling for over priced, unnecessary things. But if you really think you need a CMX car head to the hardware store and go to the pluming area. Everything you need (except the trucks) will be there for you. You can build a CMX car for under 10 bucks!
dmaxsba Do you actually even own a CMX ? I am going to assume from this catalogue of ill informed conments you dont. What you are saying about weight distribution makes absoloutely no sense. Furthrrmore, the use of abresive pads such as those you are using will damage rail heads and cause the collection of further dirt. The reason you pay a premium for it , is because its a quality product.
+carefreecfc I agree with you. The only people that say bad comments about this cleaning car don't own one!!! I had one for my HO layout and now I own one for my N scale layout. The both worked great! As far as I am concerned the cmx is best cleaning car made to date.
+MWRR he probably can't afford one. I'm looking to get this car have seen it in person and it works great
Do railroads have these cars in real life?
PanekPL no need for these in real life. Only electrical current on real track is to trip the grade crossings and signals. Diesel engines inside the locomotive spin a generator which powers traction motors on each axel. No track power.
I was a freight conductor on Bay Coast Railroad for 4.5 years.
To think before they invented these contraptions we still didn't need them. These "Cleaning" cars are all wrong and used for all the wrong reasons. The buffer type cars with no liquids are fine and do a pretty good quick clean, a coarser pad without fluids is the best option. These are just vanity items at best and only impress the ignorant.