Fighting dirty rails with graphite

Thank you for this excellent article. A 2B graphic stick has been added to my shopping list. The only thing I did not see mentioned in the article, does the graphic tend to build up on the tread of rolling stock causing derailment issues?

Not a problem

Rich, Trevor can weigh in here on your question...I have been similarly using graphite on my rails for more than a year with no negative results. I have not noticed any residue on my rolling stock, I run On30 equipment with all metal wheels on Code 83 track, most are Kadee wheels with polished tires. It has greatly helped cut dropouts in my short-wheelbase DCC locos, I consider it a great benefit.

Keep in mind that Trevor recommends only a microscopic layer of graphite...so there is very little material left on the track, roadbed, or train wheels. Like most things in life, problems come if you overdo it - if you apply too much, or use the wrong kind. Stick to what Trevor recommends and you'll see great results, too.

Less is more in this case

Harder is better then?

So if less is more in this case, it sounds like the harder 2B stick would be better than the softer 4B, which might leave more graphite on the rails for the same effort. 

Maybe, to a degree

Maybe, as long as you stay in the "B" hardness. To make the graphite sticks harder into the "H" series (2H, 4H, 6H), they add clay. You want graphite on your tracks, not a mix of clay and graphite.

Stay with the B hardnesses, with 2B probably being ideal.

Where to buy

We've been getting emails this morning from modelers wanting to know where you buy these graphite sticks.

We recommend the 2B hardness, available from Dick Blick's on the internet for 60 cents. You can also buy at any arts-and-craft store like Michaels.

Be careful you get graphite sticks and NOT charcoal sticks. Charcoal is just what it says - burnt wood. You want graphite, not burnt wood!

Oxides by any other name

I believe you meant to say nickel oxide and zinc oxide. Same end result however - oxides on track bad.

Yes, nickel-silver track is not nickel and silver

Alan, yes, nickel-silver track is not nickel and silver, I get that. I meant that it's nickel-silver track oxide, whatever the actual alloys are.

From Google ...

..

We found nickel and zinc oxides on the track tested a couple years back is only reason I point it out. The oxides were thicker than one would expect from room temperature oxidation and they were not a uniform layer. Instead they appeared as micro dots leading to the conclusion the additional oxidation was being caused by arcing from wheel to rail. So the reduction in oxide layer is a secondary effect of using graphite and not directly due to the graphite protecting the rail from oxidation. Graphite reduces arching which in turn reduces oxide formation.

Graphite stick

Brass Track VS Graphite

Dear Steve,

Short answer, Yes.

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

Baked Wood

Charcoal is actually the byproduct of baking wood under high heat, but in the total absence of oxygen so the products you are distilling (wood alcohol, wood tar) do NOT burn.  Because those components have been driven of rather than burned the carbon matrix remains undisturbed, resulting in a handy stick that can be used to draw with.  Burnt wood is called ash.  The black chunks you might find in the ash of a doused fire are incompletely burned wood with just an outer coating of loose charcoal.

Hobby Lobby

I got mine at Hobby Lobby. 6 sticks in various hardness for $1.86. I had 2 brand new Genesis GP 9's that were terrible runners out of the box. Tried No Ox with very limited results. Cleaned the track for 6' in both directions, then lightly scrubbed about 6 inches of track with the 4B stick, rubbed it with my finger, then turned the Athearn diesels loose.  Wow. Instantaneous results. Within two laps of the layout, never a stall and they ran great.

HOWEVER, I have noticed that I now have issues on my 3% grades, under extreme conditions. I use a 4 car setup for cleaning rails: Masonite car first, clear flatcar with Woodland Scenics dust monkeys soaked with alcohol, abrasive boxcar, and finally another boxcar with another set of usually dry dust monkeys on board. Loco's with no traction tires will slip, but not stop on grades. Only one of the Steamers has an issue, the rest do fine. The Spectrum 3 truck Shay is the worse. I even added weight to it and it still struggles to get up the grade.....the last loco I expected it from ! Normal trains, from 6 to 10 cars correctly weighted, and metal wheels, have no issues.

So the performance improvement ( which I was looking for for my GP 9's ) was excellent. However, it did cause lack of traction for a few locomotives. Right now I am thinking fair enough trade off. However, we will see how it goes 6 months from now.

Michael

Graphite on rails

Joe I have a fairly long mainline about 1400'. Any idea how far apart graphite treatments should be for sufficient coverage ? I'll try it in my steel mill complex first but interested to see how it improves operation. --- Ken McCorry

Treatments

We have been applying graphite selectively on our club layout at widely separated locations until our contact problems fade away. Think we started swiping it on maybe six inches of rail at 50 foot intervals, then reapplied in a couple of problem spots.  The idea is sort of to apply 99.9% of what you need.

We have noticed that trains on a compensated 2% climb need to be reduced by a car or two when the graphited track is performing well.

Rails or engines

(Joeb) your not the first to indicate this kind of result.  To me, this small treatment percentage with immediate improvement implies that the treatment is actually to the engines.  The rails are the means to the end.  

Do the trouble spots show up early or after a period of running?  Are the engines that experience the issues recent additions relative to the graphite application?  

There must be a finite microscopic amount required to achieve the benefit.

Treatment

The "problems" are just incidents of intermittent contact -- flickering lights or momentary stalling.  Transferring some graphite to the engine wheels undoubtedly helps, and takes place, but various engines may show the symptoms at the same place.

We recently checked and cleaned wheels on about 400 freight cars, after some concrete work in our space. Some cars were pretty dirty, but about 80% were clean already.

At the moment, we are vacuuming the track once a month, before scheduled operating sessions, but the need for this is going down as we wrap up construction work in a couple areas. The layout space is 30 by 60 feet.

It's a work in progress. I'm offering our experiences, not a guaranteed 100% solution to contact issues.

I've been chastised for saying this before...

....about graphite but I still can't get past two things I know about it which make me reluctant to put it on my track. 

#1, Graphite can be used to make resistors.  I know, I've used it mixed with paint to make resistive wheel sets.  It seems counter intuitive to me to apply it to track to improve contact.

#2, Graphite is a lubricant. Seems to me that wheel slip would be an issue just like it is for some folks with other methods. My little 2-6-0 Mogul already struggles with more than about two cars on the 4% switchback on my layout. I've got so many things going on that I've yet to see what some Bullfrog Snot might do on one of the drivers to help that situation. No sense adding another variable till then.

Michael

Graphite can be used to make resistors

So can wire. In both cases it depends on how thin and how long the material is. But you're  correct in assuming graphite won't help your mogul any.

pqe

The wheel sets ain't just resistive.

Noah,

If you apply paint without graphite mixed into it, will the wheel sets do the job you want from them? Don't you need the graphite to make the paint more conductive?

Same thinking here: I think I know that Bullfrog Snot doesn't conduct electricity. If you apply it to one driver of your 2-6-0 don't you risk losing contact when that now shorter wheelbase goes over dead spots? It's another variable, but you could consider mixing some graphite with the Bullfrog Snot to make a resistive/conductive traction tire. 

Cheers,

DrJolS

Graphite on track and its graphene-like properties

"but I still can't get past

My two are a bit different. first is as long as the track is reasonably clean and locos have good wheels they run fine with nothing on the track. Second is that model railroaders experimenting with rubbing pencils on their tracks is not cutting edge technology, I'm sure it's been studied somewhere more scientifically already , so if this is a good idea why hasn't it been standard for electrical applications for years? .....DaveB

Graphite wear factor

In the 60's & 70's while in the military, we used graphite in locks in lieu of oil only to discover that the graphite caused the locks to wear out prematurely.  Has anyone, including track manufactures, done an increased wear study on tracks and wheels where graphite is used?

Effect on detection?

Can anyone comment on experience with using graphite on a layout where all the cars and blocks are equipped for detection?  Rail gaps bridged?  Wheel resistance changed?  Etc.?

Don M.