Good Morning to you all!
Sometimes we read stuff in order to be able to understand things and know what to do when needed.Marklin loco manuals say that we should oil the locomotives after each 40 hours service.I did it with a few of them and know i regret it and i kow that they manage very well without that. Due to this oiling procedures nowadays i've got locomotives that keep my track a bit dirty. I clean my track using a cotton cloth and a bit of WD40, than i use another clean cloth to a final cleaning. It works!
My quastion is: what kind of device can i use to clean the locomotives wheels? I know that Trix offer a device for this purpose but that doesn't work with Marklin, so what can i use?

Hi FMS.

New to the forum - welcome to a world of information.

You might look at this link:
http://www.mrsonline.net/html/lux.html
It includes a short video of how a wheel cleaner works.

Dear FMS

I have found one of the ways to clean the wheels on a Marklin train is to use some isopropyl alcohol ( The used to clean cassette tape heads or video recorder heads ) and a cotton wool bud. A little care is needed to make sure that you don't leave it on traction tyres too long but appart from that it is OK.

One problem I have had from using WD 40 ( as you mentioned ) around Marklin trains is that it shows an allrming tendanct to collect on the carbon brushes or the motor and sofen the brushes so they leave a sticky deposit on the rotor, so personally I would avoid the use of that around my trains.

I got the following wheel cleaner from the same German firm that put a motor into my Z scale Ludwig II Hofzug. Don't know if he does other sizes though.

http://www.z-hightech.de...g=4&sprache=englisch

All the best,
Chris.

Hi and welcome to the forum, FMS.

Hi, welcome to the forum FMS.
I use a screwdriver for cleaning the wheels for over 45 years, if any muck gets too thick. It's my experience even with Digital/Systems operation, that a regularly used layout does not need special attention for track cleaning or wheel cleaning. Maybe on certain spots of the layout, but not in general. I'm speaking of a mixed M- and C-track layout with 2 main trails of about 10 m. each, run by a CS I. Mfx loco's get 'lost' sometimes but that happens also in clean C-track-sections.
Tracks which are not regularly used however, do need a clean every now and then. I'm trying to figure out if running certain loco's up and down, does the same trick.
If I ever need to clean a track, I use conrads's smoking/cleaning fluid. But it's no general solution to a loco not running well on a certain spot.

And I am certain that most loco's need lubrication after some time, whether 40 hours or more or less. Once I bought a very well-maintained loco but within one hour one of the axles got stuck because of lack of lubricationd. And I mean really stuck: I could move the wheels around the (stuck) axle, so hot and stuck it had become. The train finally ran stuck within 1 m. of track! After cooling down and lubrication, it is still running well and happily ever since.
Best Regards, Henk.

Hi Again!
Henk this is kind of funny and makes me remind that joke: Americans spent millions of dollars developing a pen that was able to be used in zero gravity, to be used in space missions...russians took a pencil!
Maybe sometimes we should keep things simple and the screwdriver method it's a good example.
I also have the Peco cleaner, but i don't feel confortable turning the locos upside down, even using a cradle, there are so many sensitive parts...i'm looking for a device similar to the one that lux and Trix have, it's simple and pratical.

Nice joke! Now you mention it, I remember it!
What I also meant was not to overdo cleaning wheels or tracks. Even if they don't run well, the problem is likelier in the track or other components than in the loco-wheels. Are the center puko's at the right hight (M-track)? Is the slider in good position?

Indeed loco's are different than 45 years ago as concerning details. This a certain problem concerning maintenance. But if you want to run them, you must give them maintenance now and then, not by the hour but depending on how it sounds. If it's squealing, it needs lubrication.
Best regards, Henk.