Keeping the tracks clean on a model railroad is important for good performance. Dirt and grimy build-up on the rails can play havoc with electrical conductivity. Clean rails are a must for smooth operations, and on an outdoor garden railway where dirt is blown or splashed across the tracks daily, it is doubly important to keep the rails clean.

Centerline Products, which has produced a well received line of rail cleaners in smaller scales, has introduced a large scale rail cleaner for G (No. 1) gauge track. Weighing in at almost 2½ pounds, this hefty unit does a fine job of track cleaning. The car features a cast 4" x 8" brass frame suspended between two sprung trucks with metal wheels. In the center of the frame is a 2½" x 3½" opening. Inside this opening rides a washable and re-useable roller. Metal caps fit on the ends of the roller and weight can be put inside the roller to increase the drag. As the car moves, the roller is pushed along the track. While the roller revolves as it travels down the track, the pushing action causes some friction which helps to clean the dirt off the rails. Four rollers come with the car and additional rollers (a package of five and a set of end caps) can be ordered from Centerline, or short-nap paint rollers from the hardware store can be cut down to fit the car.

To work properly, the roller needs to be soaked with a cleaning fluid. Centerline recommends GOO GONE, which is available in most hardware stores or direct from Centerline.

Following Centerline’s advice, I tried the rail cleaner with GOO GONE. For a test I made an oval from some old LGB track that had been stored in the cellar for some time, and before that, had been used outside. The engine balked at running on the dirty track, but once the rail cleaning car was placed in front of it, it started to go. After a half dozen trips around the track, the roller was filthy, but the train was running fine.

As the roller goes along the track it leaves some of the cleaner on the rails, which is then transferred to the wheels and helps to clean them, also. Too much cleaning fluid on the roller can leave the tracks overly wet, however, and cause the engine wheels to slip, so use the cleaner sparingly.

The track cleaning car comes equipped with hook and loop style couplers, but knuckle couplers are also provided with the car.