Subject:
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Re: First Third Party product for the LEGO(r) Trains market?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Wed, 30 Apr 2003 17:49:10 GMT
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Viewed:
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2573 times
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I don't think our club has any problem with oxidized track. But some of our club
track is pretty grimy. I mean actually, visibly grimy. Probably, it's 10 years
worth of electrical carbon and finger oil and dust, combined to make a quite
non- conductive layer of goo. Sometimes it even has a bit of a green tinge.
Bleh.
And it takes significant elbow grease to get it off. So much so that we usually
just switch out the worst offenders until we get track that works. But that
means that over time, we have more and more bad track.
You're right that with light usage, LEGO track stays pretty clean, and you may
not have experienced the kind of difficulties that a track cleaner can remedy.
But even though the main point of contact is the top inside corner of the rails,
long-term usage can gunk up LEGO track pretty badly. And simply running the
trains around on it doesn't seem to improve the conductivity. Not for us,
anyway.
For more info on Centerline's research into the effectiveness of this product,
and pictures of where it actually affects the track, see Zonker's latest post
(and my reply) at:
http://news.lugnet.com/trains/?n=19956
Me, I'm convinced.
Rick Clark
Afterthought: Come to think of it, this product might well be a "must have" for
anyone still running 12v. I ran 12v trains for 3 years and this product would
almost certainly eliminate all track cleaning issues. You might want to modify
the roller with scissors or something, so that it only contacts the center,
metal rails, and not the outer, plastic ones.
In lugnet.trains, Brian Williams writes:
> I've used a Centerline track cleaner for years with my N-Gauge trains.
> Their products are well designed and well made. And the people that own the
> company are a delight to deal with and always ready to strike a conversation
> at shows. But I have to agree with Ondrew that I don't see how this device,
> as applied to Lego 9volt, will improve electrical connectivity or traction.
> The Lego 9v system is self-cleaning by design. Even badly oxidized track
> quickly comes back after a train motor makes a couple rounds on a loop. And
> the dirt, oxidation, etc. on the rail head doesn't materially affect
> traction with the rubber road wheels.
>
> Where this track cleaner might excel is with the old 12v system.
>
> - BMW
>
> In lugnet.trains, Ondrew Hartigan writes:
> > I hate to get on someone’s bad side right away but isn’t this track cleaner
> > cleaning the wrong part of the track? Unlike all other scales of trains Lego
> > trains get the power from the inside part of the rail. So basically this
> > track cleaner isn’t going to do much except make the track shinny.
> > OnDrew
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