mac1960 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 Any recommendations for mechanical wheel cleaners for locomotives and stock. Cheers Mac Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caley Jim Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 For loco driving wheels I have a Minitrix wheel cleaner. You sit it on the track with the two brass strips on the base in contact with the running rail, apply power, then hold the loco stationary on the two strips of brass wire 'brushes' on the top. Power passes from the strips to the brushes and drives the loco wheels. There's one listed on the Bay of fleas, but it's marked as out of stock at the moment. For carrying and tender wheels I use a brass wire wheel in a minidrill, applied to the rim of the wheel which makes it rotate and cleans it in the process. Jim 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Nick Mitchell Posted February 6 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 6 I use one of these for locos: https://www.plazajapan.com/4957265125220/ No idea about current shipping costs from Japan. You can buy the identical item in the UK with a Gaugemaster sticker on it for 4 times the price: https://www.gaugemasterretail.com/gaugemaster-gm47.html Gaugemaster also do a version of the Minitrix brush @Caley Jim mentioned: https://www.gaugemasterretail.com/gaugemaster-gm59.html I also use an unpowered version of the Japanese cleaner for stock: https://www.plazajapan.com/4957265125237/ I don't suppose it would be too difficult to make something similar to this. Nick. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Lilley Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Cheapest shipping £7.67 according to website(just purchased one) Ian Lilley Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac1960 Posted February 7 Author Share Posted February 7 Nick I am in Japan in a month so will follow up on your recommendation. Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 2mmMark Posted February 14 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 14 I have a couple of these Japanese wheel cleaners I use for my narrow gauge locos. One has failed because the conductive foam that the wheels press on to has ceased to conduct. There's no obvious break in the material but tests with a meter show a lack of continuity. The second one still works as designed. However I think the Minitrix style cleaners work better. I've modified one to have a terminal block on the end to which wires from a power supply can be directly wired. This makes it easier to use. I also have a Kadee wheel cleaning brush which has a small enough seperation between the brass bristles to work down to Z scale. https://www.dckits-devideos.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1259 That also works well. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpgibbons Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 Some believe that abrasive cleaning of metal wheels leads to scratches, micro-arcing and accelerated formation of gunk. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now