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How to Clean a HO Train Track

More than simply guiding a model train along a predetermined path, HO scale rails also conduct the electrical current that makes a locomotive's wheels turn. Because those wheels also pick up the current and feed it to the motor, it's clear that dirty track can lead to erratic performance, including balky engines with herky-jerky stops and starts or flat-out refusals to run. Keeping your track clean, especially when it's newly laid or recently painted, is an important way to avoid these frustrations.

Things You'll Need

Abrasive cleaning block
Clean cloth
Liquid cleaners (optional)
Track-cleaning car (optional)

Instructions

- 1
  Add an abrasive cleaning block to your roster of important track-maintenance products. These blocks are sold at hobby shops and train shows. Looking like an oversize eraser, the block is wide enough to span both rails of an HO track.
- 2
  Scrub the rails, using more or less elbow grease as the condition of the track demands. The block can ride the rails flat on its broad side or stand on end. Be careful in cleaning turnouts not to damage delicate elements like the points or to dislodge switchstands.
- 3
  Wipe down the rails with a clean cloth, picking up the remains of any matter left behind after the abrasive scrub. Only the very tops of the rails, where the wheels make contact, need to be cleaned. Indeed, the block should not touch the painted and ballasted areas of your trackwork.
- 4
  Apply commercially available cleaners or liquids formulated specifically for track. Use these as a finishing touch as well as a way to maintain clean rails between heavy-duty abrasive scrubs. Liquids can be brushed on and removed with a cloth or you can leave it to your HO-scale train crew. Just hook a track-cleaning car, available from several manufacturers, behind a locomotive and send it on a tour of your track.

Model Railroads