Track cleaning in Z

ModelWarships Apr 12, 2013

  1. ModelWarships

    ModelWarships TrainBoard Member

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    Does anyone make a track cleaning car/loco in Z scale?
     
  2. JoeS

    JoeS TrainBoard Member

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    I do not know of any comercial track cleaning car, but Chris on our board I beleive made his own.
     
  3. jhn_plsn

    jhn_plsn TrainBoard Supporter

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    I cut out the floor of a boxcar and insert a block of wood. The wood block just floats between the trucks and is mostly concealed by the body of the car. Its more of a dust buster though unless you add weight to the block. I don't. By the way this is N scale, and was suggested by another modeler who uses them on his home layout.

    Oh, I don't know of a z scale track cleaning car. You might see if Aztec is interested in building one or two.
     
  4. shamoo737

    shamoo737 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Aztec makes one in z, and it works ok. It will keep you from cleaning too often, but you still have to clean the track manually. Z scale is very unforgiving when it comes to dirty track. Probably the biggest reason I gave up on the Aztec track was it didn't have one for the modern era. The one I ran was a wooden boxcar, so it didn't look right with the rest of my CSX fleet.
     
  5. jhn_plsn

    jhn_plsn TrainBoard Supporter

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    Have you done anything to the track? Gleam? No-ox? They won't reduce track cleaning chores to zero, but both do help. My wooden block in the boxcar is very light so that is why I call it my dust buster.
     
  6. FrenchieZ

    FrenchieZ Permanently dispatched

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    Marklin has a gondola, #86501. I don't have one, so I don't know how it works.
     
  7. jim29t

    jim29t TrainBoard Member

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    track cleaning

    The Marklin gondola works like the previous suggestion a block of wood under the car but in Marklin's case it is like a bright boy. The Aztek car can be placed on any 40 foot shell. It works as a roller scraping the track; the roller is slightly off center. Then of course there is the powered Marklin track cleaning engine. I hope this helps. Jim
     
  8. ModelWarships

    ModelWarships TrainBoard Member

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    I haven't had much time to get the track too dirty. But since the layout will be in the drawer, it will be a pain to clean. So I would rather run a track cleaning car. The Aztek one looks like it will do the job. Gleam and No-Ox? No experience with them. In HO, I used a track cleaner car and the old eraser method.
     
  9. silentargus

    silentargus TrainBoard Member

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    I improvised a track cleaner by poking a plastic rod through a bit of foam and sticking it in the headlight of one of my F7s... it works like a push broom and sweeps off dust and cat hair and the like before it can get wound up in axles and gears. No good for getting caked-on crud off of really dirty track, but definitely helps keep more crud from building up. I didn't have to modify any locos or rolling stock (it pops right off when I don't need it) and it didn't cost anything since it's made from scraps... sometimes dead simple is the way to go.
    Picture A 024.jpg
     
  10. Loren

    Loren TrainBoard Supporter

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    I gotta admit, that is a unique way to rid the track of some debris and cat hair, etc While that may push the unwanted stuff away from the track it does nothing to pick the crud up does it? If so then fine, but I believe a small vacuum actually does a better job of removing the junk that clogs our axles and gears.

    I've had a couple of small vacuums over the years, but have not found the ideal vacuum that I once saw advertised. With my luck, the vacuum was no longer manufactured. Always a day and dollar late it seems.
     
  11. GN-Z-phile

    GN-Z-phile TrainBoard Member

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    I have a talent for that, Loren. If I develop a preference for a particular product or service, it seems to be a guarantee that it will be discontinued next week, if it hasn't been pulled from the market already.
     
  12. ddechamp71

    ddechamp71 TrainBoard Member

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    As far as I know Aztec produces 2 Z scale cleaning car brands. The sample you describe, and a standard steel 40' boxcar with roller bearing trucks, with Cotton Belt markings. Mine is the latest type, and one of the changes I plan on it is filing the roofwalk, thus giving it a true modern look.

    Dom
     
  13. shamoo737

    shamoo737 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Dom, I done the filling off the walkway, and car reassure you is not a easy task. What I would do is switch it with another 40' steel boxcar without walkways without moving doors. The moveable door prevent it from fitting the Aztec mechanism. When I order my Aztec, they didn't have the steel boxcar, and I was running European trains, so it didn't matter what I got. It was suppose to be use only for cleaning. Little did I know it was going to be the beginning to a switch to NA trains.
     
  14. bill pearce

    bill pearce TrainBoard Member

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    I had a very small shop-vac, only a gallon or two. They made a set of tiny tools that attach to the normal hose includint a brush tool that is absolutely perfect for N and oculd be good for z if used sideways. I got them at a local Ace hardware store. Cheap and effective.
     
  15. ddechamp71

    ddechamp71 TrainBoard Member

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    John, of course I am thinking about changing with another car shell. But does MTL release a 40' boxcar without roofwalk? Not sure of that...;)

    dom
     
  16. FrenchieZ

    FrenchieZ Permanently dispatched

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    Dom... yes the do. The #503 00 000 PS-1 Single Door.
     
  17. ddechamp71

    ddechamp71 TrainBoard Member

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    OK... Many thanks for the info, gonna check on MT's website.;)

    Dom
     
  18. mdvholland

    mdvholland TrainBoard Member

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    It was made by Joerger, Marklin adopted it so I figure it is pretty effective. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1I3xUt9R7k

    Joerger has his own shop, but currently only sells beercars with cleaners. He has a small handheld cleaner too and replacement filt for both cleaners.
    See here: http://www.system-joerger.de/shop/
    The website is in German, but Manfred Joerger ships abroad and does read english. Please note his website says in German he doesn't take orders between may 15 and august 15. I have his decoupler and his deluxe regler and was very pleased with products & service.

    Matt
     

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