Hmmm!

First of all: I like this guy. He's entertaining, fun to watch, but. I do not grasp his final thought from this video, I get that all we have to do is run trains in a sealed room. ?? The junk in the air does not cease to happen just because you are running trains. And even a sealed room gets "funk from the air". Lot's less that unsealed. But my approach is to watch for "when to clean" and it may be every 6 months. It may be 5 years. Depends on the individual situation And for those that haven't tried it. I like my mineral spirits followed by graphite just find. It's now well over 6 months and I see no problems. Final thought. What's with all these "track cleaning cars". I remember putting a Masonite wipe on a box car. A lot cheaper. And even that isn't necessary. That might be fine at a club where they operate only once a week and need to run a car over the layout to start operation. I realize this is mostly IMHO, but that's that.

Reinventing the wheel

hard graphite block

 That is what I use and it has been working like this for years,  Any time I stray of this path I have problems.  Basically I do not clean my track unless the layout sits for months and months and months,  I normally just run the hard graphite block over a bad spot and everything is back to normal.

I have been using the same block of hard graphite for 10 plus years,  does not take much.  

Casting Graphite Ingot Mold Crucible - https://amzn.to/3tcNYGT

Graphite Fan

I now only use graphite for locations on my layout that prove troublesome. Works a treat 

Graphite Block

That's interesting. I think i am going to buy one of those.

BTW, do you use such an item to do some of the application,...in addition to the 'hard spots' ??
Or do you have a recommendation for application 'tool' ?

Graphite

Interesting. I never knew about graphite blocks. Thank you AzBaja, for the link.

I had read several articles Joe wrote about different cleaners and the polar/non polar solvents. I saved a long article he wrote for later reference. I have a question. I received a sale from Midwest Model Railroad shop. It has this cleaner/deoxidizer listed as a quality track and electric cleaner and oxidation prevention. Is anyone familiar with this?

Sanchem 10222 – NO-OX-ID A-Special
https://midwestmodelrr.com/product/san10222/?prl_track=9_195052_d62bc29_315020

Sorry, I can’t seem to make the link active. You will have copy and paste.

As Previously discussed... (No-Ox for RicharH)

Dear RicharH,

Yes, "No-Ox" is a well-known and thoroughly-discussed track-treatment option hereabouts.
Might I respectfully suggest a quick spin with the Search Box at Top Right of this page,
you'll quickly find

https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/7169
(literally titled "The No-Ox Thread")

and compare with

https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/17181
(effectively "The Graphite Thread")

and

https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/magazine/mrh-2015-05-may/fight-dirty-rails-with-graphite

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

The Prof is the MAN

We've all been tossing this around for years. I fail to see where a graphite block is good. When i apply graphite, I do NOT wipe the rail for very far. I simply dab a bit here and there. Dab an inch or less every 6". When I get 3' done, run a car/or two.. The cars spread the graphite just fine. And this leaves a VERY THIN layer. If you get too much graphite - you get slippery. That's where people have trouble with graphite on grades. As for the graphite I use. I simply use an old pencil that has very soft lead. And the amount of clay or such don't make any difference to me. And using a pencil is as easy as using a Q tip. Plus, when I dab the rail, it's specifically on the inside edge. The beauty of all this is that you only need to do this very seldom. 6 months or more. I am bad in that I will stop and clean at that point and reapply graphite, etc. It's because I have a shelf layout 24' long and that's relatively easy to clean. But I suspect, like most of you with larger layouts, you need track cleaning cars, etc. So the graphite application will be more tedious and take a bit longer. And in that case, you don't want to bother with full cleaning after that first one. The final answer to all this is what I think the Swede was referring to. "Run trains as often as possible". i.e. Try and run daily. That alone, will help keep rails conductive. Further, I suspect cleaning wheels might be done more often. I don't know. I don't clean them after the first time. And I've been operating for over 6 months now - without touching rails or wheels. But when I do, it's a complete clean wheels, rails and graphite. Small layouts are easier. As far as the cleaning fluid, mineral spirits work, but No-Ox does too. Your choice. All this is IMHO of course. Y'all do what y'all want to. < small grin>

Thank you

I appreciate the information. I’m sure everyone’s mileage will vary depending upon their track, wheels and operations, but I feel I have a general consensus that graphite is good sparingly used, mineral oil or No-Ox will help and cleaning wheels and track are a plus. Got it.

I also read several places over the years that some type of dust cover helps. Shelf layouts with a shelf over head for lights, curtains and even plastic sheeting keeps dust off the layout, and especially the track, which improves contact and operation.

My Experience

First of all, let me say that I've followed Joe's recommendations for track cleaning ever since that article came out, I already had a can of CRC Contact Cleaner & Preservative in garage, so I started using that (in place of my former go-to cleaner:  denatured alcohol).  The difference is night and day.  I spray a little on a rag (a LOT less than Martin did in his video, which may be part of his problem), wrap it around my finger, and wipe it quickly over the rails.  Works like a charm, and no issues with wheel slip, either.

I think we need to distinguish between regular maintenance and post construction cleaning, though.  While the above method may remove paint and dried adhesives from track, I still use a hard rubber block (without impregnated grit) first, then follow up with the routine track cleaning.

Prof Klyzir

Thanks for the links. Interesting reading for sure. I like proven testing. Great information.

Track Cleaning in the Future

"The path to constantly problem free tracks goes through a wise selection of track material, wise placement of the layout, an individually based set of prevention methods and regular operation of the Model Railroad."

Or moving on to a Dead Rail system for power....

Rubbing...

When absolutely necessary to use some sort of rubbing, such as Bright Boy, Peco block, wood, masonite, etc. I've found that a cork from a white wine bottle does a nice job. No grit, no abrasion. But even using a cork is a very seldom necessity. A last resort? But then you have to reapply graphite.

analysis of dirt

I'll have to go back and listen again, but I thought martin did mention arcing crud as a constituent in his friend's scientific analysis of dirt, but only as a 3rd place item. 

Maybe the take-away is that before drawing 'ultimate' conclusions, crud from a number of different layouts needs to be analyzed, not just one or two layouts, since dirt is likely to vary from location to location based on conditions. 

Maybe Martin's layout is not as subject to micro-arcing for some reason, or maybe he's just inundated with lint from the sweaters he always wears, or maybe it's because he's in a garage vs a basement. One should really do a broad range of tests across many layouts to quantify and qualify the variations before tossing around hypothesis to explain the difference between two data points.

People seem to not get what

People seem to not get what the hard graphite is,  It is hard graphite, not a powder or soft like a No2 pencil or artist graphite etc...  It is a hard block of graphite.

Make sure the layout is off before using it etc. but just lay it across the two rail and slide it along the main.  You are not leaving some powder coated layer on the track etc.   Not sure if it fills scratches and groves.  leaves a micro layer or what.. etc. but it just works.

It is NOT a bright boy or scrubbed into the track etc. just slide it over the rails on the main.

Granted I use the casting molds,  I did find a solid block of the stuff.  It is not like it wears down etc.  I have had the 2 blocks I use for some ten years now and all I have is scratch marks on the back. 

2 Packs Graphite Ingot Block 99.9% High Purity EDM Graphite Plate Graphite Blank Milling Surface Melting Casting Mould (50mm x 50mm x 20mm) - https://amzn.to/3BKPq6h

Whoa.

I've not seen graphite blocks that large. I get ones that are maybe 3/8ths of an inch square in cross section, and 2-3 inches long. Amazon if I remember correctly.

I've not seen graphite blocks

Used for casting, gold, silver or what ever metal you are work with in small size ingots.  Besides conducting electricity very well... They conduct heat just as well and as fast.