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Stop Ruining Your Track! The 2-Step Track Cleaning Method That Actually Works

Old Guy Having Fun with Trains

9,656 views

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📄 Video Description

Special Thanks to Centerline Products for sponsoring this video. Their website and the track cleaning fluid links are here:

Centerline NMRA HO Scale Track Cleaning Car Available at their website as well as other style and scale track cleaning cars - https://www.centerline-products.com/

Track Cleaning Fluid I used - DeoxIT D100L-25C Contact Cleaner available on Amazon - https://amzn.to/4bowmOS

Keeping your model railroad track clean is one of the biggest challenges in the hobby. Dirty rails cause stalling locomotives, flickering lights, and unreliable operation. In this video, I test what may be the easiest and safest 2-step method to clean HO scale track.

I take a deep dive review of the Centerline NMRA HO Scale Track Cleaning Car, including:

✔ Unboxing and first impressions
✔ A close look at the car’s construction and design
✔ How the Centerline roller cleaning system works
✔ The ONLY solvent recommended for this car – DeoxIT D100L-25C Contact Cleaner
✔ Running the car on my HO scale model railroad layout
✔ Before and after results from my track cleaning test

Unlike abrasive track cleaners that can damage rails over time, the Centerline cleaning car combined with DeoxIT offers a safe, effective, and easy way to maintain reliable electrical pickup on your layout.

If you’re tired of locomotives stalling or losing power, this 2-step track cleaning method might be the solution you’ve been looking for.

🚂 Featured in this video

Centerline NMRA HO Scale Track Cleaning Car Available at their website as well as other style and scale track cleaning cars - https://www.centerline-products.com/

Track Cleaning Fluid I used - DeoxIT D100L-25C Contact Cleaner available on Amazon - https://amzn.to/4bowmOS

As an Amazon Affiliate Member, I receive a small commission when you use the above mentioned link.

Also, check out this video that I did modifying an HO body to fit this car here - I Made the BEST Track Cleaning Car BETTER!...

This video is part of my Old Guy Having Fun With Trains series where I share tips, reviews, and real-world testing to help model railroaders get the most out of their layouts.

👍 If you enjoy model train reviews, track maintenance tips, and train show coverage, be sure to subscribe!

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The ONLY 2-Step Method to Easily & Safely Clean HO Scale Track | Centerline Cleaning Car Review

Alternative CTR Titles (optional tests):

The ONLY Safe Way to Clean Model Railroad Track (Centerline Car + DeoxIT Test)

Stop Scrubbing Your Track! The 2-Step Method That Actually Works

Centerline Track Cleaning Car Review – The BEST Way to Clean HO Track?

Dirty Track? Try This 2-Step Cleaning Method (Centerline + DeoxIT Results)

20 Comments

@OldGuyHavingFunwithTrains Creator 6 months ago Pinned

One of the ways you can help support my channel is by getting my book on Amazon "A Life Spent Chasing Trains: A Photographic Collection of Trains Across America. Available on Amazon here:https://amzn.to/48wJm4u

@derekalexander4030 6 months ago

Nice cleaning car. It did a nice job.

@mikedurhan9941 2 months ago

Thanks for the hot tip, Pops.

@Crazytrainzz 6 months ago

That car and fluid is great

@azmike1 6 months ago

One's fingertip wrapped in a wet cloth works well.

@Crazytrainzz 6 months ago

Really nice layout I love the bridge

@peteengard9966 6 months ago

My former club had 2 of them. One with the cleaner. Then a locomotive followed by the other with just a cloth and another car behind it with a masonite pad between the trucks. Worked great.

@SilvioZemp 6 months ago

I own two of these cars. I am using it within a longer H0 train. A weted one directly behind the two locomotives. A dry one at the end of the train. The wheels of the cars in between seems to help cleaning the tracks by wobbling a bit. I also pull off one round of the cleaning towel after each round. That way I can observe the state of the cleaning process 😉

@josephschuster1494 6 months ago

Excellent information! 🎉 🚂 🇺🇸

@njrailfan1 6 months ago

Great video. I agree with your comment on having the instructions printed on the box.

@alannewman85 6 months ago

I love the rock faces on your layout, would love to know how you did that

@randydobson1863 6 months ago

Hello Ken & it's is Randy and i like you video is Cool & Thanks Ken & Friends & Randy

@markmanypenny4787 6 months ago

Mineral spirits have been proven to be the superior solution for cleaning the rails, followed with an application of anti oxidant coating. I put that method to the test 4 years ago on my club's traveling show layout which gets heavily used, and my personal layout and I haven't needed to clean the track at all during that time, plus my locomotives haven't stalled ever as well. You can take my word for it or better yet try it for yourself and see what result you end up with.As far as the use of "flammable" mineral spirits goes, it evaporates quickly and your putting so little amount on the rails only that there's virtually zero chance that the rails will ignite somehow.

@RichardStewart-t3k 1 month ago

Nice to see others using this track cleaner. I have been using one like it for over 20 years now and it does as you say, and cleans very well. Some observations: My unit didnt come with fancy rubber bands ,you had to tie thread around the spool to keep it from unraveling. Also, i see your brass roller is smooth, early ones were gnurled and grabbed the cloth nicely. Finally, running it in one direction is nice when you have a long loop, but for us that use poiint to point, using the thread, or in the newer ones, rubber bands is very necessary. I noticed the strips of cloth in the box. It looks like the handi-wipes we use as well. Centerline didnt supply any with our units but the cloth is very low cost and one package seems to last forever. Anyway, thanks for the video and I look forward to seeing your modified version.

@ElizabethLinesRailway 6 months ago

Nice🎉🎉🎉

@danielfantino1714 6 months ago (edited)

Nice little car well done, not a cheap one that ya can be modified and would look good and perform well. So simple, will last forever.
I suppose they sell spare "bands" or are they washable ?
Your shed, despite it´s quite new layout, doesn´t look dusty at all, or you vaccum it often.
Thanks for that smart car that won´t scratch rails like some other products, making situation worsen with times. Also some liquid cleaner makes the track sticky or oily, hence attracting dirt more easily.
On my future layout i plan to try to have a few "flooded pieces of tracks on one side at a time only, disguised with slightly higher ballast, like new one not yet spreaded serving as dam to avoid shorts, filled with alcool to clean locos and car wheels also, then wipe clean the wetted piece of track. Train should obviously pass at very slow speed to avoid splashing and shorts but Hé, it´s flooded zone😅😅😅😅

@GodNJesusFirst 6 months ago (edited)

I find a rubber block of pencil eraser works well to go over the top of the rails and on the inside of the rails. No scratches, pits or chemicals.

P.s. now that i seen the size of his layout i can see how this is a better method.

@williambutler9609 6 months ago

Nice layout. Thanks for posting this. This is a product that I was not aware of prior to this. At our club we usually run the track cleaner cars in front of the locomotive to help keep the locomotive from picking up dirt. I have been using deoxit to clean the rails followed by a very thin coat (almost non-existent) of No-Ox-Id to reduce further oxidation.

@Randell-pb2xr 6 months ago

Great tip and video, I looked up Centerline Products and also the cleaner. I have N scale and was pleased to see that I can get this car for just a little over a 100.00. For anyone running other scales you can get this car. Thanks, Randy