Help required

[SteveBenn]

Hi

I recently purchased this Lima class 33 and it has what I think is a track cleaner fitted and I haven’t seen anything like this before. Can anyone shed any light? It weighs a ton!! It has a motor inside and seems to cause the cleaning stone to vibrate?

Would appreciate any assistance 

Many thanks 

Steve 

[John Isherwood]

40 minutes ago, SteveBenn said:

Hi

I recently purchased this Lima class 33 and it has what I think is a track cleaner fitted and I haven’t seen anything like this before. Can anyone shed any light? It weighs a ton!! It has a motor inside and seems to cause the cleaning stone to vibrate?

Would appreciate any assistance 

Many thanks 

Steve 

 

Looks like a home made job to me.

 

A vibrating cleaning stone sounds a bit hard on the rails - I find a splash of isopropyl alcohol on a piece of kitchen paper quite adequate!

 

CJI.

[kevinlms]

3 hours ago, cctransuk said:

 

Looks like a home made job to me.

 

A vibrating cleaning stone sounds a bit hard on the rails - I find a splash of isopropyl alcohol on a piece of kitchen paper quite adequate!

 

CJI.

No, someone made such a conversion. The cleaning stone, is basically a track cleaner, similar to the Peco one.

[John Isherwood]

1 hour ago, kevinlms said:

No, someone made such a conversion. The cleaning stone, is basically a track cleaner, similar to the Peco one.

 

I am a firm believer in dust exclusion for avoiding the need for track cleaning.

 

I am fortunate to have a dedicated railway room with no dust sources but, in the absence of such a facility, I would cover the tracks when not in use with lightweight garden 'fleece'.

 

I cover my computer printers with 'fleece', and it is very good at excluding dust.

 

After some six months of operating in a dust-free environment, I have not found the need for track cleaning.

 

CJI.

[The Johnster]

I contend that the need for track cleaning can be much reduced by a) careful initial laying, which will reduce carbon build-up from sparking at points where the rigid chassis of RTR locos momentarily leave the rails, b) frequent use.  My layout is operated most days and very rarely needs track cleaning. c) would be keeping it clean in the first place, including replacement of any plastic wheels by metal (this gives you better stock running as well) and the elimination of Satan’s expectorant, traction tyres!

Edited August 24, 2022 by The Johnster

[Robin Verth]

About 30+ years ago there were adverts in the model railway magazines for a track cleaner built into a Lima class 33, One of the women who worked with my wife told me it was her son and his friend were behind the project, from memory the adverts ran for about two years I don't know how well they sold but I have never seen one.

[kevinlms]

18 hours ago, The Johnster said:

I contend that the need for track cleaning can be much reduced by a) careful initial laying, which will reduce carbon build-up from sparking at points where the rigid chassis of RTR locos momentarily leave the rails, b) frequent use.  My layout is operated most days and very rarely needs track cleaning. c) would be keeping it clean in the first place, including replacement of any plastic wheels by metal (this gives you better stock running as well) and the elimination of Satan’s expectorant, traction tyres!

A key factor that you haven't mentioned, is that modern models have far more pick ups fitted, with often all wheels picking up. If you have continuity, you can't have arcing. Simple really!

[DCB]

Wow! I want one!  Think I'll make it myself.  It'd not unlike my track cleaner except mine doesn't have a vibrator motor, I wonder if vibrators are available on eBay?  Otherwise I will have to grind a chunk off a flywheel and stick it on an X04.  I did a few tests on DC 12 volt 12 VA and 12 volt 24 VA on really filthy track its the weight per pick up wheel which is the most important factor. I find Cast metal bodies on 4 wheel pick up chassis plough on where all wheel pickup plus tender stutter to a halt.  Many of us are short of time for operating and time for track cleaning doesn't really exist, or for covering tracks or layout.     I avoid sunlight, I would keep the whole room dark 24/7 if I could but I find sunlight through glass makes tracks dirty while exposure to the elements doesn't have such a serious effect.     Track Power DCC is a different world,  My tests with 24VA DC (but how else do you run 6 loco DC lash ups?)  damaged fishplates and point blade contacts, that is 12Volt nominal 2 amp and  lots of DCC controls are double this,  

 

On 24/08/2022 at 10:04, SteveBenn said:

Hi

I recently purchased this Lima class 33 and it has what I think is a track cleaner fitted and I haven’t seen anything like this before. Can anyone shed any light? It weighs a ton!! It has a motor inside and seems to cause the cleaning stone to vibrate?

Would appreciate any assistance 

Many thanks 

Steve 

 

 

Many thanks for sharing, I will take a hacksaw to an unsuspecting diesel this very evening, maybe a GWR Railcar

Edited August 25, 2022 by DCB

[ravenforth]

I think this 33 looks like the same product my dad bought inside a Network Southeast Lima 47 around 1989. It was known as an "Orbit Products Track Cleaning Unit" - if you do a google search for that along with "Lima" , it comes up with a few references. They came as complete retro-fitted locomotives with the original Lima cardboard/polystyrene box carved out a little bit to accommodate the track rubber on the base. They had a gold or yellow coloured Orbit label stuck on the end of the Lima box, to indicate they weren't a standard Lima loco. 

 

It's always nice to see products trying to fix common problems, but tbh it wasn't a brilliant success on my dad's layout. The rubbing pads had no real margin for track height differences, so sometimes the loco would beach itself on the rubbing pads and sometimes it wouldn't touch the tracks at all. The pads also clipped the "nobbly bits" on Peco point switches in some scenarios.

 

Unfortunately it's buried in storage boxes at the moment, so I can't take any photos of it. One day I plan to remove the Orbit gubbins and convert the 47 to CD motor/DCC/Stay Alive operation, along with the other Lima locos I inherited.