My recent message about LPS-1 resulted in many off list messages asking where to find it as well as other questions. Rather than answer all those messages individually, I thought a group message might be a more efficient use of my time as well as providing some information for others. Thus.....
Track cleaning can be done in a number of ways: dry, wet, abrasive, non-abrasive, etc. My preferred method (which works for me) is to apply wet LPS-1, let it soak for 15 minutes on the railhead, then wipe it off. LPS-1 is designed and made as a greaseless lubricant and relay contact cleaner. It is intended to clean electronic surfaces and deposits a thin film on both wheels and track which is an excellent conductor when dry. It is harmless to plastics, comes in a spray can, also comes in a plastic bottle, lasts a l-o-n-g time since so little is used, has a slight odor, and remarkably improves electrical contact between tiny wheels and track. So much for the summary.... LPS-1 is made by: LPS Laboratories, Tucker, GA, 1-800-241-8334. Yep, they have a web site: http://www.lpslabs.com/Products/Lubricants/LPS1.asp Locally, I purchase it in Orchard Supply Hardware stores which is a subsidiary of Sears Roebuck & Co. I'd expect Home Depot or any other major hardware store would carry it. Or perhaps an electrical/electronics place of some sort. Calling the 800 number will certainly lead you to a retailer eventually. Now the details: It can be applied with a wet roller-type of track cleaning car. Just wet the rolling cloth with LPS-1 (I use a large eyedropper) and let it roll around the layout spreading the liquid all over the rails. As an alternative, you could use the tip of your finger and a rag to apply it only in certain easy-to-reach places and then let the trains themselves roll/spread it all over the layout. Might take a bit longer, but it will work just fine. Once the entire layout has this stuff generously spread over the rails, let it sit and "soak" for 10-15 minutes. It actually does dissolve caked/hardened gunk/crud. Once the gunk is soft and mushy, then use a clean dry rolling cloth to wipe/soak it up off the track. Or, if you have an excess of elbow grease and a clean dry rag, that works as well. But running the track cleaning car around is easier. I have found that 15 minutes of running the wet car around applying the stuff, 15 minutes of soaking, and another 15 minutes of running the dry car around wiping up the stuff works very well. While the track cleaning car is working away, it is easy to do other tasks and so it is not necessary to just watch the cleaning car do it's thing. Go get a beer....or a brownie. A couple of cautions: 1. This stuff is partially a lubricant and so you will experience slippery rails for about 3-4 days before things return to normal. If you have a flat layout, no big problem. With grades, you might find that running shorter trains for a few days is needed -- depending, of course, on how long those trains were in the first place. But eventually, it all evaporates and adhesion is back to normal. 2. This stuff will also clean your dirty wheels which can be a disaster in certain circumstances. One incident I will not forget easily is when a RR buddy wanted to bring over his long freight train to run on my layout. "Fine!" I says and he brings it over. Before long the layout was almost non-operational. Upon investigation, it turns out the guest's rolling stock had filthy wheels with humongous amounts of crud solidified on every wheel. He ran his stuff in a dirty garage and the wheels had never been cleaned. So the LPS-1 residue on my track had eventually dissolved his wheel crud and spread it all over the layout. Bad scene -- never to be repeated. So I would suggest that cleaning the track is something that, once done, should never be followed with dirty wheels rolling upon it. Clean those wheels BEFORE putting the car on the track. Or else plan on a lot of extra time to clean the track again after the gunk has transferred from the wheels to the track. Gunk will transfer from his cruddy wheels to my pristine wheels and to my clean track all in a matter of a half hour of running or less. Not much fun. Visitor's equipment is now carefully inspected before it is allowed to operate here and that problem has never come back. Whew!! It was a mess. 3. The LPS-1 residue (thin film deposit) will leave a black streak on your clean white rag. Thus, you might think the track is dirty when it really is clean. If the crud has all been wiped up and the trains are running smoothly, then the track/wheels are probably clean. But even under those conditions, wiping the rails with a clean rag will result in a black streak on the rag. Don't worry about it. Let it be. Won't hurt a thing and it is perfectly normal. Aside from LPS-1, the only other advice I can give regarding clean track is to provide a clean environment for the layout. If in a dirty/dusty basement or attic, consider stapling clear plastic sheets to the ceiling/roof to keep the dust/dirt/rust/etc. off the layout. Maybe an air filter would help. Whatever it takes to keep the layout room free of airborne particles will very helpful. In my case, I clean track about twice per year and everything works just fine. But my garage has been sheetrocked and the cement floor has been sealed. Clean evironment helps greatly. Brass rail should be avoided if possible in favor of nickel-silver for better conductivity. For steam locos, adding wipers to every tender wheel makes a big difference also. Steamers can run smoothly and reliably with lots and lots of contact with the track. The more pickup wheels, the better. I also electically MU diesel units together. So my F-3 A-B-B-A has 32-wheel pickup. Works great! Anyway, hope all this helps. Have fun with it. Cheers...Ed L. 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