LGB Track cleaning loco; how good actually are they!?

Hi all,
 
I was wondering how good these locos really should be in practice?
 
I've got one and it's having a few issues at the moment....
 
...it's great at cleaning heavily tarnished rails, like second hand ones I've bought; or give it a quick whizz round the inside layout.
 
......but....put it outside at the moment and it's rubbish!! 
 
Unless I wipe the track first it hardly moves....and that kind of defeats the object.
 
The slightest hint of grease/damp and it fails miserably.
 
Is it worth changing the grinding wheels, they don't actually look that used.
 
Thanks all
 
Phil

Thats a good question Phil , i have always wondered how good they are as you do see alot for sale on E bay 

check the insides off the cleaning wheel flanges.. remove any rap around the axles..
try new wheels.. the loco arent much use in the wet..

I've had one for about 7 years.   I've never been convinced of its efficacy.   It bounces erratically along the track.   You can see that it only cleans in patches - it's as though it keeps riding up off the track and then drops back, cleans some more, then rides up again - and so on.   Often wondered whether the instructions that came with it are correct!
 
Knowing what I know now I wouldn't buy another.
 
 
Terry
 

I've changed the leads to the grinding motor so it pulls with the direction of the loco, as others have done here too. This is very easy to do and cures some of the bouncing, but they all do this anyway. Don't put it near wet or damp track, it makes a lovely brown paste that gunges the grinding wheels and cakes the drive wheels and skates.

I never tried one. I just use P600 wet & dry wrapped round a piece of wood. With this I can zip round 180 foot of track in 10 minutes. Works a treat and is a lot cheaper! Provided of course that you are young and fit enough (like me :laugh to bend down to track level. And of course that al of your track can be reached.
 
There is a theory that any sort of abrasive on the track, and I assume this includes the LGB discs, will create lots of microscopic grooves in the track which will then attract dirt more quickly. Is this just theory or is it best to clean the track with a cloth and some sort of cleaner fluid?

Thanks for all your comments guys.
 
Think I'll be stripping it down, cleaning, rewiring and replacing the wheels then.
 
...then most probably selling it i think; I've really gone off it's design, and it doesn't fit in at all with the image I'm now trying to portray on my line.
 
Anybody want to swap one for a medium size tank loco; Spreewald/Courpet or similair?

Another tip is to put some smoke fluid on the cleaning wheels, three or four good drops on each stops the bouncing and helps clean the rails...

i have a different experience
they are great

if the cleaning wheels don't look worn -then use them-they have a very long life-
they can get out of round-in which case they can be trimmed to round

the plastic flange is the thing to monitor for excessive wear as mentioned above 

the loco does need a clean section to start upon-if track is that dirty run it slowly and first pass it should have no issues with electrical contact-still far better than doing the entire run imho 

to eliminate the bouncing
i too discovered that by reversing the motor leads in the cowel-(totally reversible btw)-the thing is much better-like a front wheel drive car-it pulls its way-through points-up grades and this especially makes an improvement with wet or sap covered track-track cleaning fuild or lgb smoke also seems to help  

as they come from the factory the grinding wheels rotate opposite direction of travel-which is fine so long as they have traction in the loco portion

i have had mine stall on grades when track is slippery-the abrasive wheels have more purchase than the metal drives wheels and traction tire in such conditions

by reversing the grinder -there is less grind-only slightly-but much better overall tracking and performance, for certain conditions, imho

i think the cleaning loco is the best thing since sliced bread

the loco grinds and creates fine brass oxide dust-it should be regularly blown clean outside and with care not to get a snoot full of the dust

they are sensitive to voltage spikes-so avoid these

and monitoring and finding the optimum speed is also recommended
i never leave mine unattended in cleaning mode 

Chris M


I never tried one. I just use P600 wet & dry wrapped round a piece of wood. With this I can zip round 180 foot of track in 10 minutes. Works a treat and is a lot cheaper! Provided of course that you are young and fit enough (like me :laugh to bend down to track level. And of course that al of your track can be reached.
 
There is a theory that any sort of abrasive on the track, and I assume this includes the LGB discs, will create lots of microscopic grooves in the track which will then attract dirt more quickly. Is this just theory or is it best to clean the track with a cloth and some sort of cleaner fluid?

Dont know about the grooves theory but I do the same as you - only I drag my bit of wet 'n' dry behind an old playmobil battery loco - works fine for me.

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I reckon it was the best thing I ever bought - and wrote an article published in Garden Rail confirming this. But I would never run it on damp rail - it simply isn't intended for use in these conditions and will not work (in fact, the friction drag will probably cause damage to the cleaner motor).  It will remove dried oil film and grease (such as from a steam loco) effectively, but the pores of the cleaning wheel will clog up - meths is good for cleaning these (use on a cloth and then dispose of carefully) but again, you have to wait until the meths has fully dried off unless you wish to burn your cleaner motor out.

I agree with Bredebahn, best thing I have ever bought. I also use smoke fluid on the grinding wheels and run it as slow as possible. I have several inclines on my layout so, I tend to use a GE4 in consist mode to ensure it maintains some speed. Additionally, I only use it on dry rails.

the lgb cleaning wheels and pads/rubbers are made to clean the track, not damage the track, the cleaning matreial is softer than the track..

The cleaning wheels have very little abrasive effect but enough to do the job. They leave the track polished.
Used in the wet they just leave a fine gunge which when it dries needs to be cleaned of again!!
Indispensible for my railway. If it ever packs in irretrievably I will buy another.

3M fine grade drywall sanding sponge....$5 from the local hardware.  Less abrasive than the LGB pads and does the job fine.  Next modification is to put it on a Swiffer handle...for remote (no bending over) service!

philbiddulph


Hi all,
 
I was wondering how good these locos really should be in practice?
 
I've got one and it's having a few issues at the moment....
 
...it's great at cleaning heavily tarnished rails, like second hand ones I've bought; or give it a quick whizz round the inside layout.
 
......but....put it outside at the moment and it's rubbish!! 
 
Unless I wipe the track first it hardly moves....and that kind of defeats the object.
 
The slightest hint of grease/damp and it fails miserably.
 
Is it worth changing the grinding wheels, they don't actually look that used.
 
Thanks all
 
Phil

ONE WORD GREAT

No, it's a great tool! Just avoid the damp and clean earlier/later!

BTW, you will have the same smudge effect with conventional sand paper.

Could understand using a battery powered version, followed along by a track powered one to see if its worked, in the wet or very damp would be a waste of time, unless you used wet or dry abrasive, but would still need a clean off,
I never clean the track just brush off the debris, always works unless under water, but I dont use brass rail either,

Cheeky Monkey


If it works inside but not outside sounds like not enough track power outside

Wouldn't be without mine brilliant

Spot on, it was power all along!

Tried the trusty old 4 amp today and not a problem at all.

(runs off to hide in a corner for ever doubting LGB!!)