19:30 The look on your face said it all. I actually spat my tea out! Hilarious. One of the golden moments from Chadwick. Then get another absolute gem, just two minutes later. Unboxings....! Another masterpiece Charlie, informative and down to earth, please keep it up. My best to you. Nige
Excellent film again. I use kitchen towel, moisten with alcohol cleaner, place on track and allow the loco wheels to spin and watch the dirt come off. Not the best method but it does work for me!
Charlie, you have the patience of a saint. Lol. And, your unboxing was an epic moment in film history. Thanks for all the great information. Keep it coming.
Hi Charlie. I bought some secondhand point motors and the nice seller GAVE me a Woodlands Scenic Track Cleaner. What a nice man. I tried it and achieved the same as you - Zilch. It has gone to the Happy Hunting Yard. :-) Keith
There's nothing like settling down to an evening of cleaning the wheels on your locos and rolling stock. -Any sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality
I have a woodland scenics wheel cleaner. Whilst I have had very limited success by adding cleaning fluid to pads it definitely is not worth it. Good to be reminded about wagon and carriage wheel cleaning, cleaned wheels on a troublesome coach and now it runs much better. Thanks Charlie.
I don't have a layout, but this was still really interesting and informative. Product reviews like these are vital if you are operating on a budget, so it's 100% worth watching!
Great video Charlie. I have the Woodland Scenic one and was pretty disappointed with it. After experimenting with soaking the felts with IPA it does end up doing quite a good job but useless for rolling stock. In the end as the Loco’s need the backs of the wheels and pickups cleaned as well it’s just as easy to use cotton buds and do it all by hand. Can’t wait to see those baseboard get done and the second helix go in! Then it will be time for some running session videos 😃
Hi Charlie, watched the video a few days ago and came back to it today to say how much I enjoyed it. I then thought I'd have a look at the comments as well. Amazing stuff 468 comments and you have replied to everyone. There is some very sage advice and good tips as well. You have me wondering how they are tackling this, or are going to tackle this, at McKinley. For my part came back from the UK with Sir Nigel Gresley, not him though!! a blue Hornby Dublo 3 rail model that my Dad bought me many years ago. No hangover from the wedding, just great memories!! You have built a great community around your channel. Well done and good luck from Spain!!
What a heartwarming comment David, you’re too kind. Down at McKinley they do use the Lux Modellbau cleaner along with many other gadgets and gizmos. Stay safe mate, regards Charlie
Charlie I actually bought a tidy track: absolutely rubbish and I binned it within 3 days. My stock isn't that dirty so meantime I will stick with the IPA and cotton buds. Stay safe Robert
I'm impressed by the automated cleaner. It seems to be optimized for keeping your fleet clean by regularly removing a small amount of grime rather than a complete overhaul on a few passes. Weighting your wagons would increase their pressure against the pads so you might see better results. Saturating the pads with IPA could give the benefit of combining loosening with scrubbing. I appreciate your diligence running the try out to its full conclusion. May you have many clean wheels in your future.
Wow, the Unboxing Master! Great info here Charlie. I've got just 8' x 2' so I don't get a lot of wheel crud; however at a former club, we had a bench grinder set up on one of the repair benches and we'd just pull the wheel sets out of the trucks and turn them on a polishing wheel we installed. Worked wonders. For the locos, everybody just used the Kadee brass brush device. It was all very simple, and worked wonders. Thanks for the lesson!
Another very informative video Charlie. You are a man after my own heart when it comes to unboxings - ITS IN A BOX! 🤣 and to be honest it proves you get what you pay for....
For cleaning rolling stock wheels, I have some forceps that clamp, because they are small, you can move them around very easily and quickly. Great video.
Fantastic video. I've got the same problem with the woodland scenics version. Thought I was going mad as it doesn't seem to do anything. You wouldn't think so with some of the reviews I'd read on it . So grateful for your honesty. All the best.
Hi Charlie, I'm a Kiwi modeler very new to model railway. I rushed out and bought a Woodland Scenics wheel cleaner for NZD$65.62 a couple of months back. After a couple of months use, I've only just started noticing a little grim left on the white pads. I noticed right away that the contact rail the wheels need to sit on to turn obviously make more contact with the wheels than the cleaning pads. So a little side to side motion helps a little along with the back and forth motion. My conclusion is it's okay for a little dust off particularly for my smaller 0-6-0 loco's but a waste of time for rolling stock, tender, or any wheels that are not powered. So I've gone back to the ipa and cotton bud methed for a proper clean. Still it's not the biggest amount I've wasted on the wrong product with my precious model railway money. Really enjoying the channel Charlie learning lots. Not in the same league thought. And I too have a Hogwarts Castle loco. Confession is good for the sole.
Thanks again Charlie..another great informative video. I have to say you have the best model railway channel currently on UA-cam. What we going to do when the day comes when your layout is finished..I always eagerly await your next video. Keep up the great work 👍
Hi Charlie, another great video with some of the best moments ever. Yep the unboxing review of the woodland scenic was the best followed by the facial expressions you gave. Cotton buds and IPA for me, had thought about a Dremel or equivalent. Not yet though, sometimes go with a track runner or even the fibreglass pen. Am trying to move rolling stock from plastic to metal wheels, easier to see when they are getting dirty but also like the sound they make on the track more. Thankyou for this weeks video, looking forward to two weeks time and seeing what the topic of conversation will be. All very best, Marc
Nice one Charlie, another part of our hobby covered comprehensively. I bought a WS " Tidy Track" in N many years ago and gave up with it pretty quickly, it was a piece of junk!
Charlie, Thank you again for another wonderfully educational video. You have certainly packed in plenty to think about this time. Great reviews on the products available. Keep up the great videos, and stay safe, Cheers, Michael
Excellent and informative video. For my needs, I'm good with a cotton bud and IPA. Occasionally, I will use a toothpick to remove heavy dirt, as was the case with the unpowered trailer on a Farish Class 108 purchased second hand for a good price recently. It was coming off in chunks. After that, I just applied the usual cotton bud/IPA method.
Hi Charlie, Great video, lots of information. When you were cleaning the brass wheels it made me think of Ferric Chloride, clock repairers use that on brass components and they come up like new. Keep up the great work
An interesting option pool. Actually I’ve been in contact with a clock repairer and have another plan! Video to follow in a couple of weeks. Regards Charlie
Hi Charlie, once again great video. I learnt a valuable lesson on my layout. I didn't but dropers on all my track thinking that most adjacent tracks will be fine relaying o the fish plates. how wrong was I. all was great until I balest and the glue got in to the fish plates and became an isolation problem. Worth mentioning to your fans. keep yp the good work.
No, cleaning fluid needed them on the felt pads? I would have thought that would have helped. You cannot beat a great bit of unboxing. Martin. (Thailand)
Hi Martin, I didn’t want to use the cleaning fluid as it wasn’t mentioned in the instructions, and I wanted to do it in accordance with the manufacturers guidance. Regards Charlie
Hi Charlie always enjoy your video thank you . this was very informative and especially no holds bared and say it how it is . The expressions on your face when something is bad says so much . a Friend in the US has one of the Lux cleaners , i wasn't sure how well they work but Here in Australia they are expensive . now i have been able to see your informative testing i can see that the lux is worth while I have been watching your channel for a few years now but dont always comment . but always watch your Video thank you . take care Regards Greg
Another option Charlie which I find very effective on my N gauge rolling stock is a length of track fixed to a piece of wood about 18” Lay a piece of cloth over the track and spray with surgical spirit then run a truck across by hand a few times with a little downwards pressure. I can usually clean the part of 10 wagons before I move the cloth slightly and re spray.
Charlie, for locos I lay a piece of kitchen roll on the track with either meths or ipa applied to it above each railhead. Hold the loco to provide resistance and away you go.
Interesting as always. I have the Tidy Track, bought very recently and I found it worked ok. Mine was a larger set including track cleaning bits and pieces as well. I certainly got some dirt off some 50 year old locos that had never been properly cleaned. In fact it did such a good job, I wondered quite frankly how often I would need to use it. What I can't figure out however, like you, is how it will clean wagons just by rolling them across. Something else worth mentioning is plastic wheels - muck magnets that must be swapped for metal ones if possible.
We clearly differ in our opinions on this one Clive. I can’t see how it can work if the wheels are on the rails and not on the pads. Mine will be going back, regards Charlie
Hi Charlie I also brought a tidy track and found a better result when using cleaning fluid on the pads but still found it really a non starter, I have reverted back to using a 3mm bar held in my mini drill with a small section of plastic tubing pushed over it and the other end of tubing pushed against the wheel (end) axle to slowly turn the wheel/axle and hold a fine wet and dry paper against the face of the wheel, when done clean with cleaning fluid job done. Its always a delight to watch your videos and admire your sense of humour (hope you can follow my example). Please keep them coming and looking forward to the day when you are able to fully run loco's on your layout all the way round, take care and please remember to stay safe..
Another interesting video, Charlie. I’m thinking that the Rolls Royce solution is a bit too pricey as I don’t have a huge amount of rolling stock. Maybe using a Dremel to rotate rolling stock wheels while using a fibre glass pen to clean them is something I might try. Take care and keep the videos coming. Regards, David
I purchased a Tidy track about 2 weeks ago, total waste of time, wish you had made the video earlier, might have saved me some money. Well presented video, I can see you put a lot of effort into presenting this.
Thanks once again Charlie for a great video on an important subject. I have a couple of the Tidy Track devices and have always used them with the felt pads but with fluid. I have removed enough dirt that way to need to turn the pads around and also buy replacements. That said the Automatic wheel cleaner is ideal for when using something like train controller. I have a common crossover section in my fiddle yard so an ideal spot for it. I would develop special cleaning schedules that directed any of the whole trains to pass over it perhaps more than once such that it could give it a quick clean or a deep clean! Again pressing an option whereby the layout cleans itself and its rolling stock really appeals to me - Could be a good challenge for you further down the line (pun intended)
I have a piece of track. I lay a paper towel over it. The track is clipped to wire from controller. I dampen towel with alcohol and set loco on the track and power it up, forward and reverse. Cleans the wheels well. Still looking for easier way to clean rolling stock. My method is very inexpensive. I must add that the paper towel only sets under one set of trucks.
Hi Charlie, another great video. For a moment, when you were putting that rubber glove on, I thought that you were going to give that dogfish the ‘Rubber glove treatment’ 😂Have a good weekend. Best, Jason.
The control of the Luxmodelbau "can" be powered by DCC... but could also be controlled by an off/on switch with variable speed power source, if I understand correctly. "Gage between the rails", "scale by the size" is how I remember the difference. Great video, Charlie. John
Just a small point. Best not to dip the dirty cotton buds in the IPA as it will contaminate the remainder of the contents. I use a small squeezy bottle or one with a spout and put the IPA directly onto the bud. A great talk and very informative, thanks.
Well done again Charlie I thought the felt pads would be useless without cleaning fluid of some sort ? Like using a dry cotton bud? Thanks again Look forward to each episode. Stay safe Howard
I was going to write the eggzactklee the same comment , but my only thought of that is could a spark of either staic or current spark ignite it and catch the cleaner on fire. ? It would more so the fumes as in the same as petrol fumes could catch it on fire. Give it a crack charlie but make sure you have adequate fire extinguisher handy , just in case of a flare up. Cheers from John in Australia
Hi Charlie , Wow ,, I am in love with the last 1 you showed and like you said (an awesome bit of kit) (i am australian but i know what that means , haha). Ive found that yes the brass wheel's are a magnet for dust oil and and crud on your wheels ie: on loco or rolling stock and more so than the steel wheels. I have found the plastic wheels are also a bit of a magnet too. This got me thinking and I wonder if Static Electricity from the plastic wheels and surrounding bits of the motor may play a part in the static atraction of the dust fluff to the wheels (just like if you charge a piece of plastic by rubbing it and dust and non ferrous fibres will lift and and attract and stick to the plastic) well may be as the plastic surrounding the motor the bogies gears cogs etc and sometimes the axles are a combo of brass and plastic as well. Brass is also a more conductive metal than what steel is and it well could be that this is the reason for the dirt dust oil and crud attracts to brass and plastic more the the steel wheels do. Just a thought. As you know there is always 2 ways to think about any situation and here is my thinking. Brace yaselves haha My thinking is if it has picked up the dirt grease oil and crud from the tracks and transfers to the wheels ,, well the dirt dust oil and crud is on the wheels & not on the track any more but more so in the wheels. So I think with that said the loco and rolling stock cleaner the Lux Modelbau is a fantastic idea and the way to go for the 1 in all in all in 1 best way to fix a problem with drive on drive off cleaning of model wheel cleaning fixit. The price ofmit well ok thats dear but worth it in my oppinion , haha (ive litterally bought cheaper cars here in oz haha) oh well looks like i have to save up for this 1 hey , haha , and just have to resort to using the old fashion method of doin it the hard way and by hand. 😐 Yet another outstanding video there Charlie and thankyou for the educational side of all things ho/oo scale trains as you always do. Cheers from John in Australia.
A really interesting video on wheel cleaning. You have probably saved a lot of people a lot of money there Charlie! I will stick with the IPA and cotton buds. Thanks for sharing. Roy.
Another great video - I do love your style! It was good to see this subject slipped into progress on the fiddle yard! Can't wait to see a train run a full circuit! ;)
Another well made video Charlie - thanks. With regard to cordless Dremels their Model 8220 is currently £68.99 on Amazon - got one because I lost the charger for my original one (put it somewhere safe as usual). Was going to get a new charger and a spare battery when I discovered that the two of them bought as separate items cost more than buying a whole new kit! So, I now have two 8220s with 2 batteries and 1 charger:). C'est la vie.
Great video Charlie thank you. I use the tidy track unit, but as others have said I use some ipa on the pads… I think it works well, so much so I need to replace the pads. It’s fiddly, but would still can’t beat the good old fashioned Peco scraper! That deluxe thing - wow so noisy!
A good and fair review. Rare I need to clean wheels as lots of running and CMX wagon+IPA to keep the track clean does the job very well. I used the Tidy Track once some years back- awful. Until last week I used the fibre glass pencil method but got fed up speding hours after with tweezers taking splinters out of my fingers. It also risks fibres falling into motors and gears. I like the idea of that big built in one but the buzzing noise would annoy me. IPA and cotton bud on wheels will at the time being will be continued if a wheel clean is required.
I also use the lux and have done exactly as you described, I used the DC version and it’s triggered by a relay. This has two benefits saving dcc track power and a manual option of operation aswell as Traincontroller. There is a wagon cleaner I use the Bachrus Electric Wheel Cleaner,I don’t think it’s available anymore, as for abrasives on a wheel I wouldn’t recommend it as that could remove any coating applied by the manufacturer which has happened to me. The best method I have really found is using a felt type cleaning cloth with an appropriate cleaning liquid, placed across the rails, doing each bogie at a time. The other bogie is on a rolling road.
Great video Charlie, what about when you remove the wheels soaking them for a few minutes and then cleaning them. An example is removing stickers from glass, if you sit a sponge soaked with water on the sticker for 20 minutes it will usually peel off without the need for any chemicals or abrasives.
You make an excellent point, I was thinking about soaking the wheels in IPA for a couple of hours. I shall give it a try and see how it goes. Regards Charlie
Thank you Charlie for another very informative and entertaining video. You have the knack for combining the two. I guess I will invest in the Modellbau kit. Although a lot of money, it'll probably be cheaper in the long run, as it can be automated and therefore used regularly to keep all wheels clean. Please keep up your good work - you are a gem.
Super stuff….”it comes in a box”!!! You forgot the five minutes talking about the box though 😃😃😃😃😅😅. Ultrasonic cleaners are super for all sorts of cleaning jobs - especially airbrush bits, wheels, small tools you name it. They really work. Obviously loco wheels are not going to get in there easily. We even have a big one at the golf course for cleaning clubs! But it can be so effective that I do wonder what it might do to a weathered wheel or one with manufacturer paint on it.
@@ChadwickModelRailway Be interesting to see how they cope with harder deposits like carbon etc. I thought my airbrush was clean until I popped it into the wife’s ultrasonic jewellery cleaner! She was NOT happy.
@@ChadwickModelRailway Don’t get caught?!! I picked one up for modelling after watching this: ua-cam.com/video/4-I82DZJK50/v-deo.html and use it for many household items as well. But not tried loco wheels in it yet.
hey Charlie I have one of the woodlands scenics track cleaners and what I have found are the white colored strips are mainly for buffing and polishing your wheels and there is a black set of strips that are abrasive and that's for doing the cleaning didn't see if you had both such a strips in the video but that's what I have found but it was a very good and informative video
Gosh, that Lux thing makes a racket! It'd be like a pneumatic drill going in the background. I tend to find the fibreglass pen the way to go for wheel cleaning.
Great video as always Charlie! My locos and rolling stock are filthy with dirt so I am definitely going to give them a clean with some of these methods. Can't wait to see what's coming up for the next video! Stay safe!
Hi Charlie - As always informative and entertaining . For me with a smallish layout then the Gaugemaster version X 2 for me would work and for those with traction tyres then IPA an a glass pen. I think if you used the Gaugemaster to get the wheels clean then regular cleaning with IPA would be the way for me. Cheers Kev
Thank You Charlie, for yet another entertaining and educational video. Basically all of these methods of wheel cleaning utilise some degree of abrasion or another. When ot comes to cleaning tracks and wheels, my advice is to always opt for the least aggressive option. Thus any use of rotating steel / brass wires, sandpaper, etc should be avoided if possible. As you mentioned in a couple of your replies to comments from @Leigh's Trains and @Gerry Clough, these methods leaves tiny grooves, scratches and markings on the (wheel or rail) surface. So why is that perhaps not a good idea? Such scratches may be perfect spots to collect new dirt, and they are harder to keep clean. Thus the problems with keeping wheels and tracks in a good and clean condition may start to escalate. Frequent and very gentle cleaning is probably preferred over this, as it's basically polishing the surfaces smooth, which in turn probably makes them easier to clean. What is easier to sweep absolute clean of sand? A parking lot made with asphalt or a parking lot made with concrete? If your fingers get really dirty - what is easier to clean? The smooth nails or the grooves in your "fingerprints"? I plan on buying the Lux Modellbau wheel cleaner myself.
Thanks Trotters, I’m so pleased that you agree, and appreciate the difficulties with this dreadful task. Fundamentally it’s down to the manufacturer to choose better products. It would make our lives so much easier. Regards Charlie
Charlie if you have removed the wheels maybe put the Dremel thing into a vice and then you can simply offer up your wheels to the spinning brush and precisely scrub your wheels. It is normally easier to rotate the wheel in your fingers and get a uniform amount of cleaning. Hold on to em though! I think this also works better if trying to retain the dark finish on the wheel discs.
Nice video Charlie. Seems the last one takes up a lot space, makes a lot of noise, costs as much as a good DCC loco, but it appears to work. I have another much cheaper solution that works well with my steam locomotives. My wife buys the Clorox cleaning wipes for use in wiping down her counter tops. I will grab one or two wipes, lay that across my desktop programming/test track, run the loco drivers up on the wipe while holding the loco so it doesn't run off the wipe. The tender, with power pickup, remains on the bare rails. The running action of the drivers on the wipe leaves black tracks on the wipe. You can adjust the wipe to continue cleaning the drivers. When done with all your cleaning, toss the wipe in the dust bin. I do have a small ultrasonic jewelry cleaner that I can use on wagon axles. Remove the axles from the wagons, drop in the ultrasonic cleaner, turn it on to clean the wheels. Just never put your fingers in the solution because the ultrasonic device can drive the particles in the solution into your skin.
Reading the instructions is always a bonus, your supposed to put slight pressure on the loco to get the wheels to rub on the pads, the result is in the reading. Set controller to half speed then slight downward pressure and move loco back and forth for approx 15 seconds. 🚂🚂🚂🚂
Great unboxing part, you really outdid yourself. ;) That Lux cleaner seems like a really sound investment to have on a special yard track if you have a lot of rolling stock. Having the felt pads will probably work just fine if you increase the cleaning frequency compared to the rougher pads, after those 12 back and forwards it seemed that those rougher pads already ground through to the material below unless they weren't on properly but that's a bit hard to see.
Another great interesting video Charlie, I’ve never been to keen on using any kind of abrasive material on my locomotive wheels instead using cotton buds and mentholated spirits or isopropyl but that inline lux-Modellbau wheel cleaner look very interesting for my rolling stock - thank you 👍
I have managed with one Gaugemaster(Noch) for years for all my locos without never needed a second - just clean a bogie at a time. Granted models with pickups on alternate bogies dont work - but they tend to have traction tyres (ie older Lima/Hornby) and have long since got rid of that generation of model. I have also used the tidy track, and have had success using cleaning liquids. I plan on retrying it for stock as its potentially quicker than cleaning one wheel at a time.
Got a heiljan class 47 and have exactly the same problem as your dogfish wagons it's absolute nightmare every few weeks I have to whip the wheels out and give them a good polish with a ultra fine sanding stick
I have a Tidy Track . took it out the box tried to clean some of my locos and gave up after trying everything i can think of , watched videos and everything , eventually threw it in the reject box and gave up , money well spent !!! NOT :( .. I now clean everything by hand as im a pensioner and am finding this hobby is getting so expensive i may have to take up Yoga as it seems less pricey and less frustrating , The Rolls Royce of cleaners looks fantastic but I feel well out of most peoples price range which is a shame as its a piece of art especially if it works which watching your video it does . well, still looking forward to you building that station above the Helix but i know .. stay tuned :) . anyway Charlie another very informative video , stay safe ..
That rolls Royce track cleaner could also be utilised in a depot. Bit like a wheel lathe or a mock of a wash plant but who am I to doubt your use of it. Always funny as usual and very informative to your fellow modellers, I on the other hand just watch to see what gadgets you modellers use for tasks that are essential but mundane and time consuming. As for the it's not confusing at all comment. Just mentioning the word, wiring has me lost. Thanks for sharing Charlie. Look forward to the next chapter.
With you all the way on the Tidy Track wheel cleaner. Had one when they 1st came out a few years ago. importing it from the USA. It NEVER cleaned a wheel on any locomotive OR rolling stock. You might as well blow on the wheels you will get the same result.
I think the reason why brass wheels seem to get dirtier then steel is due to the metal compounds (copper and zinc) making contact with the oxygen around it, it tends to turn dark rather than green (which happens to pure copper) which seems to be the case here with your dogfish wheels. When it oxidizes it seems to collect dirt a lot more better over time. Im not sure if this is 100% correct but is the most logical conclusion I can think of (chemistry is finally helping me out here).
Hello Charlie. I watch your video's all the time. I use A type of tidy track. The one I use has conducting cleaning strips, so the loco is on the strip rather than on the rails. Still not very effective as it doesn't go well with traction tyres. Thanks for a very informative video and keep up the good work.
Regarding the woodland scenics tidy track wheel cleaner. You need to adjust the height of the contact strips using the screws underneath to get the wheels to touch the pads. Also I've found a couple of drops of iOS or similar dripped onto the pads helps a great deal.
Very informative, I was very disappointed with the tidy track machine. I ended selling mine on as I thought it was awful and a complete waste of money. I use lighter fluid on a cotton bud which gives good results or the little red fibre glass pens you use if the muck is more stubborn.
Brass, or rather its constituents, will oxidise, the more surface area the more they oxidise. This becomes a real issue with locos as the oxides can impede current uptake to the wheel. Leave your wagons unrun for a while and these oxides build up, run them and it just compacts this crap into the fine scoring on the wheel surface created by abrasive cleaning that creates more surface for oxidation in a vicious cycle. Any that isn't mushed into the fine scoring on the wheel is left on the track, so then a loco comes along picks it up, or grinds it into the rail. These oxides can easily become work hardened just like the metals they are oxides of and then they grind the rail head up, which lets dirt hand around, which again effects current transfer. Best rule. Never use abrassives, they just make things worse. If you can be bothered/can afford it replace all the wagon wheels with stainless tyred alternatives. Use materials with low oxide build ups.
@@ChadwickModelRailway if you're cleaning phosphor bronze or steel rail with abrasives as well you're in for double trouble. Just provides purchase points for stuff to stick as well as extra surface area. We really need a wheel polisher and track polisher to come along and clear all these issues up created by abrasive, the smooother the surface the better.
I think to get the best results from those felt strips is to soak a touch of isopropol alcohol on them before running the locos and rolling stock. It's very much like cleaning the heads on VCRs and and video tapes.
Hi Charlie, Thanks for all your instructive videos. The thing thsat intrigues me every time is teh sigth of the buildings on the shelf, a most interesting village i think. Can we pplease have acloser look at the collectioon sometime soon. Cheers charleie john stanley, Lancashire.
Excellent video, Charlie. The Gaugemaster thing is a bit like a development of the old Triang wheel cleaner, but downgraded so that you can't use it for anything with traction tyres. Though the Triang thing didn't half scratch wheels: only to be used on something that was really filthy. I was a bit worried when you were going at the wheels with the Dremelalike and the sandpaper, that you might have been introducing flatspots on the wheels, given the wheels weren't turning. With the drill, I think you'd need to make sure you had a very high quality wire brush wheel for it, as you wouldn't want bristles snapping off and going into the loco mechanism, or indeed across the room, only to be found when it embeds itself into your hand when you're on the floor looking for a screw you've dropped. Obviously soaking the pads of the Woodland Scenics thing might help, but it's never going to be an improvement on a cotton bud. I was surprised when you said the price of the Lux cleaner, as I was expecting it to be much more expensive than that! It looks a serious bit of kit, and extremely well made. I think they were going to build them into McKinley at some point, weren't they? It'll be interesting to see a long term review after a year of two of throbbing away.
Bonjour Charlie, Thanks for this nice test video. Just for your archives, Proses offers a solution rather similar to the Gaugemaster you have introduced but not so abrasive and eventually not so user-friendly I admit. Ref is Proses PRR-HO-04 (Rollers and Drive Wheel Cleaners) and it is usuable only for locomotives, not for coaches/wagons. Moreover, it can not clean all wheels at once as it needs to power the loco to turn the wheels. So, not the ideal solution, something in beetween manual cleaning and gm60. I am using this Proses kit and I am quite happy with it, despite its downsides. Proses also offers a Rolling Road Stand (PRR-HO-01) but twice the price of the PRR-HO-04. Their stand is working similarly to the Track Tidy but I believe in a much more efficient way 😉 Cheers, Claude
Tidy track, is what I refer to in this, and my last thread. I thought the problem with mine was that the brass track for the power connection was not dropping when the loco was placed on it and so it prevented the wheels from coming into contact with the felts, I would have suggested lighter springs be used under the brass power connectors.
hi charlie yes i have 2 off the gaugemaster cleaning blocks i made a jig with a pice off track i then put a block at each end off the track i then glued the blocks apart from each other that works fine only problem is getting the brisltles clean ok derek
@@ChadwickModelRailway hi charlie regarding the gaugemaster cleaning blocks if you turn them over you can push up the brass cleaners with a screw driver that will release the blocks so that you can clean them then just push them back in ok hope this helps derek
Very interesting Charlie. I shall stick to the tried and tested manual labour method of cotton buds and cleaning fluid though I do have a set of the Peco wheel cleaning brush and scraper that you just clip to the track for power and use for for stubborn dirt on loco wheels. That last cleaner of kit you have integrated into your layout does look a great bit of kit but is a bit pricey, I can see its usefulness to people with large collections and layouts.
Charlie; great video, thanks. Either side of the super-dooper cleaner, it would seem useful to fit two re-railer tracks (R620) so that even if the (vibrating) gap derails a bogie, the re-railer puts them back on the track. Yes, not prototypical, but neither is a vibrating rail! (You could make a guard rail setup, etc, but as an RTR option, the R620 is easiest. Just remove the uncoupler!) Not keen on the special tracks which put wires into the moving area; and, given the need to maintain the cleaner, these need to be easily removable, so screw fit and plenty of slack (or nearby connection) in the wiring seems a good idea.
Hi, Charlie. Have you thought about laying some kind of cushion strip between the LUX flanges and the baseboard to cut down on the amplified vibration noise from direct contact between them? Perhaps more importantly, when the fiddle yard is in and is filled with strings of cars, unless the yard is dead level this would reduce the chances of them moving along a road towards a switch point enough to foul adjacent sidings. Keep 'em coming!
19:30 The look on your face said it all. I actually spat my tea out! Hilarious. One of the golden moments from Chadwick. Then get another absolute gem, just two minutes later. Unboxings....! Another masterpiece Charlie, informative and down to earth, please keep it up. My best to you. Nige
It’s great that you found it as humorous as I did when I doing the edit. Stay safe Nige, regards Charlie
Not going to make a seperate comment as I wanted to say the EXACT same thing! Two classic Charlie Bishop rewind moments! lol
Is it possible the Tidy Track needs to be soaked a bit with a solution?
I shall carry out another trial soaking one felt pad with IPA and the other with Inox, and see how it goes. Regards Charlie
@@ChadwickModelRailway Don’t waste your time! I bought one at the London Festival and it’s a load of S***e!…
Excellent film again. I use kitchen towel, moisten with alcohol cleaner, place on track and allow the loco wheels to spin and watch the dirt come off. Not the best method but it does work for me!
If it works, EM, that’s the main thing. Regards, Charlie.
Charlie, you have the patience of a saint. Lol. And, your unboxing was an epic moment in film history. Thanks for all the great information. Keep it coming.
I’m so pleased that you found it amusing Jeff. Regards Charlie
I’m feeling a little relieved because I’ve never been able to get my tidy track cleaner to work, and I thought I was the only one 😂
Mine has just gone back for a refund, the wretched thing.
i have one of the tidy tracks too! absolute waste! ive reverted to cotton buds and isopropyl alcohol
Hi Charlie. I bought some secondhand point motors and the nice seller GAVE me a Woodlands Scenic Track Cleaner. What a nice man. I tried it and achieved the same as you - Zilch. It has gone to the Happy Hunting Yard. :-) Keith
We seem to agree that it’s just a piece of junk. Regards Charlie
Thanks for the clear presentation Charlie. The unboxing reached new heights of succinctness today. Class.
I even smiled at the unboxing myself! Regards Charlie
Great vid Charlie. I loved the woodland scenic contraction. I could see your cogs whirring and trying to be polite.
I think I made the point Clive. Regards Charlie
There's nothing like settling down to an evening of cleaning the wheels on your locos and rolling stock.
-Any sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality
I’m pleased that you find the videos entertaining. Regards Charlie
I have a woodland scenics wheel cleaner. Whilst I have had very limited success by adding cleaning fluid to pads it definitely is not worth it. Good to be reminded about wagon and carriage wheel cleaning, cleaned wheels on a troublesome coach and now it runs much better. Thanks Charlie.
I’m so pleased that you found the video interesting Greg. Regards Charlie
I don't have a layout, but this was still really interesting and informative. Product reviews like these are vital if you are operating on a budget, so it's 100% worth watching!
Thanks Dave, I’m so pleased that you enjoyed it.
Regards Charlie
Great video Charlie. I have the Woodland Scenic one and was pretty disappointed with it. After experimenting with soaking the felts with IPA it does end up doing quite a good job but useless for rolling stock. In the end as the Loco’s need the backs of the wheels and pickups cleaned as well it’s just as easy to use cotton buds and do it all by hand. Can’t wait to see those baseboard get done and the second helix go in! Then it will be time for some running session videos 😃
I’m glad you found interest in Michael but sadly you found the same result as me. Regards Charlie
Hi Charlie, watched the video a few days ago and came back to it today to say how much I enjoyed it. I then thought I'd have a look at the comments as well. Amazing stuff 468 comments and you have replied to everyone. There is some very sage advice and good tips as well. You have me wondering how they are tackling this, or are going to tackle this, at McKinley.
For my part came back from the UK with Sir Nigel Gresley, not him though!! a blue Hornby Dublo 3 rail model that my Dad bought me many years ago. No hangover from the wedding, just great memories!!
You have built a great community around your channel. Well done and good luck from Spain!!
What a heartwarming comment David, you’re too kind. Down at McKinley they do use the Lux Modellbau cleaner along with many other gadgets and gizmos. Stay safe mate, regards Charlie
Charlie I actually bought a tidy track: absolutely rubbish and I binned it within 3 days. My stock isn't that dirty so meantime I will stick with the IPA and cotton buds. Stay safe Robert
A satisfactory but time consuming conclusion Robert, but it works!
Regards Charlie
Thanks Charlie another informative and entertaining video. I am a great admirer of your unboxing style, puts many others to shame really. Cheers,
Kim
It made me smile too Kim, regards Charlie
I'm impressed by the automated cleaner. It seems to be optimized for keeping your fleet clean by regularly removing a small amount of grime rather than a complete overhaul on a few passes. Weighting your wagons would increase their pressure against the pads so you might see better results. Saturating the pads with IPA could give the benefit of combining loosening with scrubbing. I appreciate your diligence running the try out to its full conclusion. May you have many clean wheels in your future.
Thanks William, I’m so pleased that you found the video interesting. Regards, Charlie.
Wow, the Unboxing Master! Great info here Charlie. I've got just 8' x 2' so I don't get a lot of wheel crud; however at a former club, we had a bench grinder set up on one of the repair benches and we'd just pull the wheel sets out of the trucks and turn them on a polishing wheel we installed. Worked wonders. For the locos, everybody just used the Kadee brass brush device. It was all very simple, and worked wonders. Thanks for the lesson!
I’m so pleased that you enjoyed my epic unboxing Pat. So stay safe mate kind regards Charlie
Another very informative video Charlie. You are a man after my own heart when it comes to unboxings - ITS IN A BOX! 🤣 and to be honest it proves you get what you pay for....
Thanks Mike, I’m pleased that you found it interesting. Unboxing videos drive me mad! Hence my “it comes in a box!” Stay safe mate, regards Charlie.
For cleaning rolling stock wheels, I have some forceps that clamp, because they are small, you can move them around very easily and quickly. Great video.
A useful suggestion Aaron, many thanks.
Timely, as I'm finally about to dig some bits out of storage. Thank you for this.
I’m so pleased that you found it useful mate. Regards Charlie
Fantastic video. I've got the same problem with the woodland scenics version. Thought I was going mad as it doesn't seem to do anything. You wouldn't think so with some of the reviews I'd read on it . So grateful for your honesty. All the best.
I’m so pleased that you enjoyed it mate.
Criticisms, there’s not enough of them about!
Hi Charlie, I'm a Kiwi modeler very new to model railway. I rushed out and bought a Woodland Scenics wheel cleaner for NZD$65.62 a couple of months back. After a couple of months use, I've only just started noticing a little grim left on the white pads. I noticed right away that the contact rail the wheels need to sit on to turn obviously make more contact with the wheels than the cleaning pads. So a little side to side motion helps a little along with the back and forth motion. My conclusion is it's okay for a little dust off particularly for my smaller 0-6-0 loco's but a waste of time for rolling stock, tender, or any wheels that are not powered. So I've gone back to the ipa and cotton bud methed for a proper clean. Still it's not the biggest amount I've wasted on the wrong product with my precious model railway money.
Really enjoying the channel Charlie learning lots. Not in the same league thought. And I too have a Hogwarts Castle loco. Confession is good for the sole.
An interesting comment Brent. You too have found that it’s a poor product. Regards Charlie
Thanks again Charlie..another great informative video. I have to say you have the best model railway channel currently on UA-cam. What we going to do when the day comes when your layout is finished..I always eagerly await your next video. Keep up the great work 👍
What a heartwarming comment Graham, you’re too kind mate. Regards Charlie
Hi Charlie, another great video with some of the best moments ever. Yep the unboxing review of the woodland scenic was the best followed by the facial expressions you gave. Cotton buds and IPA for me, had thought about a Dremel or equivalent. Not yet though, sometimes go with a track runner or even the fibreglass pen. Am trying to move rolling stock from plastic to metal wheels, easier to see when they are getting dirty but also like the sound they make on the track more. Thankyou for this weeks video, looking forward to two weeks time and seeing what the topic of conversation will be. All very best, Marc
I’m so pleased that you enjoyed it Marc Regards Charlie
Nice one Charlie, another part of our hobby covered comprehensively. I bought a WS " Tidy Track" in N many years ago and gave up with it pretty quickly, it was a piece of junk!
I know the feeling Nick, I’m aiming for a refund on mine. Regards Charlie
Charlie, Thank you again for another wonderfully educational video.
You have certainly packed in plenty to think about this time.
Great reviews on the products available.
Keep up the great videos, and stay safe, Cheers, Michael
Thanks Michael, that’s very kind of you to say so. Regards Charlie
Excellent and informative video. For my needs, I'm good with a cotton bud and IPA. Occasionally, I will use a toothpick to remove heavy dirt, as was the case with the unpowered trailer on a Farish Class 108 purchased second hand for a good price recently. It was coming off in chunks. After that, I just applied the usual cotton bud/IPA method.
A good strategy Ian, and thanks for sharing. Regards, Charlie
Hi Charlie,
Great video, lots of information. When you were cleaning the brass wheels it made me think of Ferric Chloride, clock repairers use that on brass components and they come up like new.
Keep up the great work
An interesting option pool. Actually I’ve been in contact with a clock repairer and have another plan! Video to follow in a couple of weeks. Regards Charlie
Hi Charlie, once again great video.
I learnt a valuable lesson on my layout. I didn't but dropers on all my track thinking that most adjacent tracks will be fine relaying o the fish plates. how wrong was I. all was great until I balest and the glue got in to the fish plates and became an isolation problem.
Worth mentioning to your fans.
keep yp the good work.
Yes an excellent point mate.I always recommend droppers on each piece of track. Regards Charlie
No, cleaning fluid needed them on the felt pads? I would have thought that would have helped. You cannot beat a great bit of unboxing. Martin. (Thailand)
Hi Martin, I didn’t want to use the cleaning fluid as it wasn’t mentioned in the instructions, and I wanted to do it in accordance with the manufacturers guidance. Regards Charlie
Hi Charlie always enjoy your video thank you . this was very informative and especially no holds bared and say it how it is . The expressions on your face when something is bad says so much . a Friend in the US has one of the Lux cleaners , i wasn't sure how well they work but Here in Australia they are expensive . now i have been able to see your informative testing i can see that the lux is worth while I have been watching your channel for a few years now but dont always comment . but always watch your Video thank you . take care Regards Greg
Thanks Greg, that’s very kind of you to say so. It’s great to have you on board mate, regards Charlie
Another option Charlie which I find very effective on my N gauge rolling stock is a length of track fixed to a piece of wood about 18” Lay a piece of cloth over the track and spray with surgical spirit then run a truck across by hand a few times with a little downwards pressure. I can usually clean the part of 10 wagons before I move the cloth slightly and re spray.
An excellent point Brian, and one which I’ll use in a future video. Regards Charlie
Charlie, for locos I lay a piece of kitchen roll on the track with either meths or ipa applied to it above each railhead. Hold the loco to provide resistance and away you go.
An interesting proposal, thanks regards Charlie
Interesting as always. I have the Tidy Track, bought very recently and I found it worked ok. Mine was a larger set including track cleaning bits and pieces as well. I certainly got some dirt off some 50 year old locos that had never been properly cleaned. In fact it did such a good job, I wondered quite frankly how often I would need to use it. What I can't figure out however, like you, is how it will clean wagons just by rolling them across. Something else worth mentioning is plastic wheels - muck magnets that must be swapped for metal ones if possible.
We clearly differ in our opinions on this one Clive. I can’t see how it can work if the wheels are on the rails and not on the pads. Mine will be going back, regards Charlie
Hi Charlie I also brought a tidy track and found a better result when using cleaning fluid on the pads but still found it really a non starter, I have reverted back to using a 3mm bar held in my mini drill with a small section of plastic tubing pushed over it and the other end of tubing pushed against the wheel (end) axle to slowly turn the wheel/axle and hold a fine wet and dry paper against the face of the wheel, when done clean with cleaning fluid job done. Its always a delight to watch your videos and admire your sense of humour (hope you can follow my example). Please keep them coming and looking forward to the day when you are able to fully run loco's on your layout all the way round, take care and please remember to stay safe..
What a heartwarming comment Barry, you’re too kind. Regards Charlie
Another interesting video, Charlie. I’m thinking that the Rolls Royce solution is a bit too pricey as I don’t have a huge amount of rolling stock. Maybe using a Dremel to rotate rolling stock wheels while using a fibre glass pen to clean them is something I might try. Take care and keep the videos coming. Regards, David
An interesting comment David. There is probably no ideal solution and techniques will vary depending on the item. Regards Charlie
I use the old fashioned rubber method which for me works. It’s good to see the various other methods, sone good some not so. Thanks for sharing
You’re most welcome ER.
Regards Charlie
I purchased a Tidy track about 2 weeks ago, total waste of time, wish you had made the video earlier, might have saved me some money.
Well presented video, I can see you put a lot of effort into presenting this.
Try some cleaning fluid on it.
I’m going to send my back as it’s unfit for purpose, and claim a refund, I suggest you do the same. Regards Charlie
Thanks once again Charlie for a great video on an important subject. I have a couple of the Tidy Track devices and have always used them with the felt pads but with fluid. I have removed enough dirt that way to need to turn the pads around and also buy replacements.
That said the Automatic wheel cleaner is ideal for when using something like train controller. I have a common crossover section in my fiddle yard so an ideal spot for it. I would develop special cleaning schedules that directed any of the whole trains to pass over it perhaps more than once such that it could give it a quick clean or a deep clean! Again pressing an option whereby the layout cleans itself and its rolling stock really appeals to me - Could be a good challenge for you further down the line (pun intended)
Hi Paul, I totally agree. Using Flag
Men to turn it on/off must also be an option. I’ll keep you posted on my progress. Regards Charlie
I have a piece of track. I lay a paper towel over it. The track is clipped to wire from controller. I dampen towel with alcohol and set loco on the track and power it up, forward and reverse. Cleans the wheels well. Still looking for easier way to clean rolling stock.
My method is very inexpensive. I must add that the paper towel only sets under one set of trucks.
A useful tip, SL. Regards, Charlie
Hi Charlie, another great video. For a moment, when you were putting that rubber glove on, I thought that you were going to give that dogfish the ‘Rubber glove treatment’ 😂Have a good weekend. Best, Jason.
I’m so pleased that you enjoyed it Jason. Regards Charlie
The control of the Luxmodelbau "can" be powered by DCC... but could also be controlled by an off/on switch with variable speed power source, if I understand correctly.
"Gage between the rails", "scale by the size" is how I remember the difference.
Great video, Charlie. John
That’s exactly right John. Regards Charlie
Just a small point. Best not to dip the dirty cotton buds in the IPA as it will contaminate the remainder of the contents. I use a small squeezy bottle or one with a spout and put the IPA directly onto the bud. A great talk and very informative, thanks.
That’s a good point, Peter, and much appreciated. Regards, Charlie
I've never seen anything like this. Thanks for sharing.
I’m so pleased that you found interesting Robert. Regards Charlie
Well done again Charlie
I thought the felt pads would be useless without cleaning fluid of some sort ?
Like using a dry cotton bud?
Thanks again
Look forward to each episode.
Stay safe
Howard
I take your point Howard. I will do a trial soaking one pad in IPA and the other in Inox and see how it goes. Regards Charlie
I was going to write the eggzactklee the same comment , but my only thought of that is could a spark of either staic or current spark ignite it and catch the cleaner on fire. ?
It would more so the fumes as in the same as petrol fumes could catch it on fire.
Give it a crack charlie but make sure you have adequate fire extinguisher handy , just in case of a flare up.
Cheers from John in Australia
Hi Charlie , Wow ,, I am in love with the last 1 you showed and like you said (an awesome bit of kit) (i am australian but i know what that means , haha).
Ive found that yes the brass wheel's are a magnet for dust oil and and crud on your wheels ie: on loco or rolling stock and more so than the steel wheels.
I have found the plastic wheels are also a bit of a magnet too.
This got me thinking and I wonder if Static Electricity from the plastic wheels and surrounding bits of the motor may play a part in the static atraction of the dust fluff to the wheels (just like if you charge a piece of plastic by rubbing it and dust and non ferrous fibres will lift and and attract and stick to the plastic) well may be as the plastic surrounding the motor the bogies gears cogs etc and sometimes the axles are a combo of brass and plastic as well.
Brass is also a more conductive metal than what steel is and it well could be that this is the reason for the dirt dust oil and crud attracts to brass and plastic more the the steel wheels do. Just a thought.
As you know there is always 2 ways to think about any situation and here is my thinking.
Brace yaselves haha
My thinking is if it has picked up the dirt grease oil and crud from the tracks and transfers to the wheels ,, well the dirt dust oil and crud is on the wheels & not on the track any more but more so in the wheels.
So I think with that said the loco and rolling stock cleaner the Lux Modelbau is a fantastic idea and the way to go for the 1 in all in all in 1 best way to fix a problem with drive on drive off cleaning of model wheel cleaning fixit.
The price ofmit well ok thats dear but worth it in my oppinion , haha (ive litterally bought cheaper cars here in oz haha) oh well looks like i have to save up for this 1 hey , haha , and just have to resort to using the old fashion method of doin it the hard way and by hand. 😐
Yet another outstanding video there Charlie and thankyou for the educational side of all things ho/oo scale trains as you always do.
Cheers from John in Australia.
What an absolutely brilliant comment John.
Very much appreciated and good luck with your rolling stock wheels. Regards Charlie
A really interesting video on wheel cleaning. You have probably saved a lot of people a lot of money there Charlie! I will stick with the IPA and cotton buds. Thanks for sharing. Roy.
I’m so pleased you found it interesting Roy. Regards Charlie
Another great video - I do love your style! It was good to see this subject slipped into progress on the fiddle yard! Can't wait to see a train run a full circuit! ;)
I’m so pleased that you found interest in Gavin. Regards Charlie
Another well made video Charlie - thanks. With regard to cordless Dremels their Model 8220 is currently £68.99 on Amazon - got one because I lost the charger for my original one (put it somewhere safe as usual). Was going to get a new charger and a spare battery when I discovered that the two of them bought as separate items cost more than buying a whole new kit! So, I now have two 8220s with 2 batteries and 1 charger:). C'est la vie.
A good quality purchase all the same Peter. Regards Charlie
Great video Charlie thank you. I use the tidy track unit, but as others have said I use some ipa on the pads… I think it works well, so much so I need to replace the pads. It’s fiddly, but would still can’t beat the good old fashioned Peco scraper! That deluxe thing - wow so noisy!
Thanks Neal, you have had better luck withe the Tidy Track than I. Regards Charlie
Cool! That was a marathon Charlie. Such a good vid thanks w
Thanks for sticking with it Will. Regards Charlie
A good and fair review. Rare I need to clean wheels as lots of running and CMX wagon+IPA to keep the track clean does the job very well. I used the Tidy Track once some years back- awful. Until last week I used the fibre glass pencil method but got fed up speding hours after with tweezers taking splinters out of my fingers. It also risks fibres falling into motors and gears. I like the idea of that big built in one but the buzzing noise would annoy me. IPA and cotton bud on wheels will at the time being will be continued if a wheel clean is required.
I’m pleased that you have a reliable method that isn’t a Tidy Track!
Regards Charlie
I also use the lux and have done exactly as you described, I used the DC version and it’s triggered by a relay. This has two benefits saving dcc track power and a manual option of operation aswell as Traincontroller.
There is a wagon cleaner I use the Bachrus Electric Wheel Cleaner,I don’t think it’s available anymore, as for abrasives on a wheel I wouldn’t recommend it as that could remove any coating applied by the manufacturer which has happened to me.
The best method I have really found is using a felt type cleaning cloth with an appropriate cleaning liquid, placed across the rails, doing each bogie at a time. The other bogie is on a rolling road.
An excellent comment, I hope my wheel cleaner serves me just as well. Regards Charlie
Great video Charlie, what about when you remove the wheels soaking them for a few minutes and then cleaning them. An example is removing stickers from glass, if you sit a sponge soaked with water on the sticker for 20 minutes it will usually peel off without the need for any chemicals or abrasives.
You make an excellent point, I was thinking about soaking the wheels in IPA for a couple of hours. I shall give it a try and see how it goes. Regards Charlie
Thank you Charlie for another very informative and entertaining video. You have the knack for combining the two. I guess I will invest in the Modellbau kit. Although a lot of money, it'll probably be cheaper in the long run, as it can be automated and therefore used regularly to keep all wheels clean. Please keep up your good work - you are a gem.
That’s very kind of you to say so Anders. Regards Charlie
Fabulous video Charlie, I've also tried Anti bacterial wipes on wheels and tracks and thay seem to work wonders.
Great tip Brian, I need to have a go.
Regards Charlie
Hi Charlie I have the tidy tracks and I just put wheel cleaner on mine ☺️☺️ but I must admit all mine needs cleaning every loco 😉 cheers Paul
Yes it’s hardly ideal Paul, regards Charlie
Super stuff….”it comes in a box”!!! You forgot the five minutes talking about the box though 😃😃😃😃😅😅.
Ultrasonic cleaners are super for all sorts of cleaning jobs - especially airbrush bits, wheels, small tools you name it. They really work. Obviously loco wheels are not going to get in there easily. We even have a big one at the golf course for cleaning clubs! But it can be so effective that I do wonder what it might do to a weathered wheel or one with manufacturer paint on it.
Mine is on its way from Amazon, it has to be the best way. Regards Charlie
@@ChadwickModelRailway Be interesting to see how they cope with harder deposits like carbon etc. I thought my airbrush was clean until I popped it into the wife’s ultrasonic jewellery cleaner! She was NOT happy.
Any tips for me ?
@@ChadwickModelRailway Don’t get caught?!! I picked one up for modelling after watching this: ua-cam.com/video/4-I82DZJK50/v-deo.html and use it for many household items as well. But not tried loco wheels in it yet.
Yet another cracking video Charlie, I was thinking of getting one of the brass brush cleaners
I’m so pleased that you found it useful Alan. Regards Charlie
good vid on how you clean your wheels on you roll stock and trains like your layout thanks lee
Thanks Lee, you’re most kind. Regards Charlie
hey Charlie I have one of the woodlands scenics track cleaners and what I have found are the white colored strips are mainly for buffing and polishing your wheels and there is a black set of strips that are abrasive and that's for doing the cleaning didn't see if you had both such a strips in the video but that's what I have found but it was a very good and informative video
I understand your point Terry, however it doesn’t work in accordance with its instructions so we’ll be going back for a refund. Regards Charlie
Gosh, that Lux thing makes a racket! It'd be like a pneumatic drill going in the background. I tend to find the fibreglass pen the way to go for wheel cleaning.
If you’re after a cheaper option James, it’s a good option as any. Regards
Very informative and well put together video Charlie 👍
Thanks Jeff, I’m so pleased that you found it interesting mate. Regards Charlie
Great video as always Charlie! My locos and rolling stock are filthy with dirt so I am definitely going to give them a clean with some of these methods. Can't wait to see what's coming up for the next video! Stay safe!
Thanks Kingsbrook, it’s great to have you on board mate. Regards Charlie
Aldi and Lidl often have Dremel like power tools and accessories. More than good enough for hobby tasks.
A great tip Andrew, thanks Charlie
Hi Charlie - As always informative and entertaining . For me with a smallish layout then the Gaugemaster version X 2 for me would work and for those with traction tyres then IPA an a glass pen. I think if you used the Gaugemaster to get the wheels clean then regular cleaning with IPA would be the way for me.
Cheers Kev
Thanks Kev, a very useful comment. Regards Charlie
This week, Lidl have well priced locking pliers with snipe nose, so you could hold the axles with that. FYI.
Thanks Tom, very useful, regards Charlie
Great review Charlie!!! Thanks for sharing this video. Cheers Onno.
You’re most welcome Onno. Regards Charlie
Thank You Charlie, for yet another entertaining and educational video.
Basically all of these methods of wheel cleaning utilise some degree of abrasion or another.
When ot comes to cleaning tracks and wheels, my advice is to always opt for the least aggressive option. Thus any use of rotating steel / brass wires, sandpaper, etc should be avoided if possible. As you mentioned in a couple of your replies to comments from @Leigh's Trains and @Gerry Clough, these methods leaves tiny grooves, scratches and markings on the (wheel or rail) surface.
So why is that perhaps not a good idea? Such scratches may be perfect spots to collect new dirt, and they are harder to keep clean. Thus the problems with keeping wheels and tracks in a good and clean condition may start to escalate.
Frequent and very gentle cleaning is probably preferred over this, as it's basically polishing the surfaces smooth, which in turn probably makes them easier to clean.
What is easier to sweep absolute clean of sand? A parking lot made with asphalt or a parking lot made with concrete?
If your fingers get really dirty - what is easier to clean? The smooth nails or the grooves in your "fingerprints"?
I plan on buying the Lux Modellbau wheel cleaner myself.
Thanks Trotters,
I’m so pleased that you agree, and appreciate the difficulties with this dreadful task.
Fundamentally it’s down to the manufacturer to choose better products. It would make our lives so much easier. Regards Charlie
Charlie if you have removed the wheels maybe put the Dremel thing into a vice and then you can simply offer up your wheels to the spinning brush and precisely scrub your wheels. It is normally easier to rotate the wheel in your fingers and get a uniform amount of cleaning. Hold on to em though! I think this also works better if trying to retain the dark finish on the wheel discs.
An interesting point, Mr crazy, I think scrubbing the wheels so aggressively is never a good idea. Regards, Charlie
Nice video Charlie. Seems the last one takes up a lot space, makes a lot of noise, costs as much as a good DCC loco, but it appears to work. I have another much cheaper solution that works well with my steam locomotives. My wife buys the Clorox cleaning wipes for use in wiping down her counter tops. I will grab one or two wipes, lay that across my desktop programming/test track, run the loco drivers up on the wipe while holding the loco so it doesn't run off the wipe. The tender, with power pickup, remains on the bare rails. The running action of the drivers on the wipe leaves black tracks on the wipe. You can adjust the wipe to continue cleaning the drivers. When done with all your cleaning, toss the wipe in the dust bin. I do have a small ultrasonic jewelry cleaner that I can use on wagon axles. Remove the axles from the wagons, drop in the ultrasonic cleaner, turn it on to clean the wheels. Just never put your fingers in the solution because the ultrasonic device can drive the particles in the solution into your skin.
Thanks DKA, I shall certainly look into the ultrasonic cleaner. Regards Charlie
Reading the instructions is always a bonus, your supposed to put slight pressure on the loco to get the wheels to rub on the pads, the result is in the reading. Set controller to half speed then slight downward pressure and move loco back and forth for approx 15 seconds. 🚂🚂🚂🚂
I couldn’t agree more John. Regards, Charlie.
Great unboxing part, you really outdid yourself. ;)
That Lux cleaner seems like a really sound investment to have on a special yard track if you have a lot of rolling stock.
Having the felt pads will probably work just fine if you increase the cleaning frequency compared to the rougher pads, after those 12 back and forwards it seemed that those rougher pads already ground through to the material below unless they weren't on properly but that's a bit hard to see.
No sorry, the dark strips was the muck coming off.
Another great interesting video Charlie, I’ve never been to keen on using any kind of abrasive material on my locomotive wheels instead using cotton buds and mentholated spirits or isopropyl but that inline lux-Modellbau wheel cleaner look very interesting for my rolling stock - thank you 👍
I’m so pleased that you found it interesting Andy. Regards Charlie
@@ChadwickModelRailway we certainly did, thank you Charlie 👍
I have managed with one Gaugemaster(Noch) for years for all my locos without never needed a second - just clean a bogie at a time. Granted models with pickups on alternate bogies dont work - but they tend to have traction tyres (ie older Lima/Hornby) and have long since got rid of that generation of model. I have also used the tidy track, and have had success using cleaning liquids. I plan on retrying it for stock as its potentially quicker than cleaning one wheel at a time.
Good luck Stephen, as you’re aware I found it completely useless. Regards Charlie
Got a heiljan class 47 and have exactly the same problem as your dogfish wagons it's absolute nightmare every few weeks I have to whip the wheels out and give them a good polish with a ultra fine sanding stick
Yes we share the same complication of buying brass wheels rolling stock. Why oh why did they manufacture it? Regards Charlie
I have a Tidy Track . took it out the box tried to clean some of my locos and gave up after trying everything i can think of , watched videos and everything , eventually threw it in the reject box and gave up , money well spent !!! NOT :( .. I now clean everything by hand as im a pensioner and am finding this hobby is getting so expensive i may have to take up Yoga as it seems less pricey and less frustrating , The Rolls Royce of cleaners looks fantastic but I feel well out of most peoples price range which is a shame as its a piece of art especially if it works which watching your video it does . well, still looking forward to you building that station above the Helix but i know .. stay tuned :) . anyway Charlie another very informative video , stay safe ..
A great comment Kevin.
Mine will certainly be going back for a refund, and I wish everyone else had done the same whilst they could. Regards Charlie
That rolls Royce track cleaner could also be utilised in a depot. Bit like a wheel lathe or a mock of a wash plant but who am I to doubt your use of it. Always funny as usual and very informative to your fellow modellers, I on the other hand just watch to see what gadgets you modellers use for tasks that are essential but mundane and time consuming. As for the it's not confusing at all comment. Just mentioning the word, wiring has me lost. Thanks for sharing Charlie. Look forward to the next chapter.
Great comment Mickey, I’m so pleased that you enjoyed it mate. Regards Charlie
With you all the way on the Tidy Track wheel cleaner.
Had one when they 1st came out a few years ago.
importing it from the USA.
It NEVER cleaned a wheel on any locomotive OR rolling stock.
You might as well blow on the wheels you will get the same result.
Yes you’re dead right mate, mine is going back for a refund. Regards Charlie
I think the reason why brass wheels seem to get dirtier then steel is due to the metal compounds (copper and zinc) making contact with the oxygen around it, it tends to turn dark rather than green (which happens to pure copper) which seems to be the case here with your dogfish wheels. When it oxidizes it seems to collect dirt a lot more better over time. Im not sure if this is 100% correct but is the most logical conclusion I can think of (chemistry is finally helping me out here).
I think your suggestion is certainly in the right area. Regards Charlie
Charlie I use locking forceps, great for gripping and cheap
Great tip Gaz. It’s on the list, regards Charlie.
Hello Charlie. I watch your video's all the time.
I use A type of tidy track. The one I use has conducting cleaning strips, so the loco is on the strip rather than on the rails. Still not very effective as it doesn't go well with traction tyres. Thanks for a very informative video and keep up the good work.
Thanks Ron, I’m so pleased that you found it interesting mate. Regards
Proxxon Micromot 28 294 is a product to polish jewelry. Also good for modeltrainwheels. I've been using these for several years now.
Thanks Jo, I shall check it out. Regards Charlie
Regarding the woodland scenics tidy track wheel cleaner.
You need to adjust the height of the contact strips using the screws underneath to get the wheels to touch the pads.
Also I've found a couple of drops of iOS or similar dripped onto the pads helps a great deal.
But would you still buy it knowing its limitations?
Regards Charlie
@@ChadwickModelRailway I bought mine 6 months ago and absolutely love it.
Excellent video Charlie. You can get needle nose mole grips.
Thanks Gordon, I shall seek some out. Regards Charlie
Very informative, I was very disappointed with the tidy track machine. I ended selling mine on as I thought it was awful and a complete waste of money. I use lighter fluid on a cotton bud which gives good results or the little red fibre glass pens you use if the muck is more stubborn.
Do you have a good system DJ. Regards Charlie
Brass, or rather its constituents, will oxidise, the more surface area the more they oxidise. This becomes a real issue with locos as the oxides can impede current uptake to the wheel. Leave your wagons unrun for a while and these oxides build up, run them and it just compacts this crap into the fine scoring on the wheel surface created by abrasive cleaning that creates more surface for oxidation in a vicious cycle. Any that isn't mushed into the fine scoring on the wheel is left on the track, so then a loco comes along picks it up, or grinds it into the rail. These oxides can easily become work hardened just like the metals they are oxides of and then they grind the rail head up, which lets dirt hand around, which again effects current transfer.
Best rule. Never use abrassives, they just make things worse.
If you can be bothered/can afford it replace all the wagon wheels with stainless tyred alternatives. Use materials with low oxide build ups.
An excellent comment JJ. Many thanks, Charlie
@@ChadwickModelRailway if you're cleaning phosphor bronze or steel rail with abrasives as well you're in for double trouble. Just provides purchase points for stuff to stick as well as extra surface area.
We really need a wheel polisher and track polisher to come along and clear all these issues up created by abrasive, the smooother the surface the better.
I think to get the best results from those felt strips is to soak a touch of isopropol alcohol on them before running the locos and rolling stock. It's very much like cleaning the heads on VCRs and and video tapes.
The trouble was Glen, there was simply no abrasion whatsoever. Regards Charlie
Hi Charlie
Your correct about the Woodland Scenic wheel cleaners - I have both N and OO gauge version - both useless!
But still bought another!!!
Hi Charlie,
Thanks for all your instructive videos.
The thing thsat intrigues me every time is teh sigth of the buildings on the shelf, a most interesting village i think. Can we pplease have acloser look at the collectioon sometime soon.
Cheers
charleie
john stanley, Lancashire.
Hi John, it’s not a village as such, just my collection of buildings to incorporate into the layout at a later date. Regards Charlie
Excellent video, Charlie. The Gaugemaster thing is a bit like a development of the old Triang wheel cleaner, but downgraded so that you can't use it for anything with traction tyres. Though the Triang thing didn't half scratch wheels: only to be used on something that was really filthy.
I was a bit worried when you were going at the wheels with the Dremelalike and the sandpaper, that you might have been introducing flatspots on the wheels, given the wheels weren't turning. With the drill, I think you'd need to make sure you had a very high quality wire brush wheel for it, as you wouldn't want bristles snapping off and going into the loco mechanism, or indeed across the room, only to be found when it embeds itself into your hand when you're on the floor looking for a screw you've dropped.
Obviously soaking the pads of the Woodland Scenics thing might help, but it's never going to be an improvement on a cotton bud.
I was surprised when you said the price of the Lux cleaner, as I was expecting it to be much more expensive than that! It looks a serious bit of kit, and extremely well made. I think they were going to build them into McKinley at some point, weren't they? It'll be interesting to see a long term review after a year of two of throbbing away.
Yes McKinley have built the Lux Modellbau cleaner into their layout. They have nothing but praise for it. Regards Charlie
@@ChadwickModelRailway The Lux vacuum cleaner is excellent too, and really useful. I think Dapol also make/made one, but it's the Lux one I've used.
Bonjour Charlie,
Thanks for this nice test video.
Just for your archives, Proses offers a solution rather similar to the Gaugemaster you have introduced but not so abrasive and eventually not so user-friendly I admit.
Ref is Proses PRR-HO-04 (Rollers and Drive Wheel Cleaners) and it is usuable only for locomotives, not for coaches/wagons. Moreover, it can not clean all wheels at once as it needs to power the loco to turn the wheels. So, not the ideal solution, something in beetween manual cleaning and gm60. I am using this Proses kit and I am quite happy with it, despite its downsides.
Proses also offers a Rolling Road Stand (PRR-HO-01) but twice the price of the PRR-HO-04. Their stand is working similarly to the Track Tidy but I believe in a much more efficient way 😉
Cheers,
Claude
Thanks Claude, that’s some interesting information. Regards Charlie
Tidy track, is what I refer to in this, and my last thread. I thought the problem with mine was that the brass track for the power connection was not dropping when the loco was placed on it and so it prevented the wheels from coming into contact with the felts, I would have suggested lighter springs be used under the brass power connectors.
Sam, it’s just a poor design really. Regards Charlie
hi charlie yes i have 2 off the gaugemaster cleaning blocks i made a jig with a pice off track i then put a block at each end off the track i then glued the blocks apart from each other that works fine only problem is getting the brisltles clean ok derek
That’s interesting Derek, I’ve never thought about cleaning the bristles.
@@ChadwickModelRailway hi charlie regarding the gaugemaster cleaning blocks if you turn them over you can push up the brass cleaners with a screw driver that will release the blocks so that you can clean them then just push them back in ok hope this helps derek
Very interesting Charlie. I shall stick to the tried and tested manual labour method of cotton buds and cleaning fluid though I do have a set of the Peco wheel cleaning brush and scraper that you just clip to the track for power and use for for stubborn dirt on loco wheels. That last cleaner of kit you have integrated into your layout does look a great bit of kit but is a bit pricey, I can see its usefulness to people with large collections and layouts.
I’m so pleased that you found it interesting Robyn, regards
Love the vid Charlie keep up the good work
Thank you buddy
Thanks Mark, regards Charlie
Charlie; great video, thanks.
Either side of the super-dooper cleaner, it would seem useful to fit two re-railer tracks (R620) so that even if the (vibrating) gap derails a bogie, the re-railer puts them back on the track. Yes, not prototypical, but neither is a vibrating rail! (You could make a guard rail setup, etc, but as an RTR option, the R620 is easiest. Just remove the uncoupler!)
Not keen on the special tracks which put wires into the moving area; and, given the need to maintain the cleaner, these need to be easily removable, so screw fit and plenty of slack (or nearby connection) in the wiring seems a good idea.
Thanks for your comment Tom. I shall look into the re-railer and check out its ability. It’s an interesting proposition. Regards Charlie.
Charlie, can you let me know where you got the LUX modeallbau from as I can’t find one in stock anywhere. Thank you
Hi David,
Try DCC TrainAutomation or Hattons.
Regards Charlie
Great video (again). Have you considered clamping the dremel in a vice and then moving the wheelset around the brush… it would free up a hand.
Actually Mike, the rotating brass brush left grooves in the brass wheels!
Hi, Charlie. Have you thought about laying some kind of cushion strip between the LUX flanges and the baseboard to cut down on the amplified vibration noise from direct contact between them? Perhaps more importantly, when the fiddle yard is in and is filled with strings of cars, unless the yard is dead level this would reduce the chances of them moving along a road towards a switch point enough to foul adjacent sidings.
Keep 'em coming!
I’m interesting comment regarding the noise reduction Ray, thanks. Regards Charlie
Cheapest option Charlie, Poundland 1x pack cotton buds, 1xcan lighter fluid total cost £2, used this for years does the trick. cleans loads of wheels.
An excellent comment mate, and much appreciated. Regards Charlie
@@ChadwickModelRailway Thanks Charlie, just subscribed to your channel, although I'm strictly a DC man, DCC does not interest me at all. Ian H.