A couple of unusual track cleaning cars

Cleaning Cars

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Keeping tracks clean is essential to smoother operation. While the constant operation and the running of many trains is, always has been, and always will be the best way to keep tracks clean, track cleaning cars can be of help when this is not possible.

There have been many designs to perform this task ranging from dripping a solution on a pad that rubs along the tracks to motorized brushes and abrasive blocks dragged under a car. Here are two track cleaning cars based on parts from Centerline track cleaning products.

		Centerline provide track cleaning cars for several scales. While some units differ from the HO one shown here They all operate on the same principle A heavy brass roller “scrubs” the railhead as it is pulled along. This roller wrapped with towling saturated with cleaning agent Loosens dirt and absorbs debree Can be replaced to provide new clean surface Rollers are available separately so user can keep one or more in reserve This base be covered with the plastic shell of a car.
	Wrapping the roller is easy Centerline recommends using Handi-Wipe paper towling Towels are cut into strips Wrapped around roller Held in place by thread or vinyl bands
Centerline reccoments an alcohol based solvent called Goo-gone. This will dissolve grease and will keep roller “wet” as well as leaving a protective film on the railhead.			There are several other products that can be used. A plain solution of kerosene and soap will do a better job of washing the dirt from tracks while a contact cleaner will leave a conductive film on the rails

This is an example of a box car shell shortened to fit the Centerline frame

And paint scheme was typical for the LaSalle and Bureau County Railroad,

A small 22 mile bridge line in the Chicago area

That did much of its work at night.

The LaSalle and Bureau County Railroad Company - Theft

Besides having a purple Baldwin switcher, the LS&BC was also famous

for being involved in a boxcar theft scandal from the Penn Central Railroad

in the early 1970s. Apparently, the LS&BC purchased some boxcars

from the Penn Central to refurbish and put into service to earn "per diem" charges. The PC delivered the boxcars, but more and more boxcars kept showing up until the LS&BC was literally plugged with them.

The PC accused the LS&BC of stealing them, but the LS&BC wondered

how they could steal things that were given to them. A series of articles

in THE NEW YORK TIMES from March 19, March 20, and June 17, 1971, state that the boxcars were purchased by an outside company and the LS&BC was contracted to repair the boxcars.

The LaSalle and Bureau County Railroad Company - Theft?

Besides having a purple Baldwin switcher, the LS&BC was also famous

for being involved in a boxcar theft scandal from the Penn Central Railroad

in the early 1970s. Apparently, the LS&BC purchased some boxcars

from the Penn Central to refurbish and put into service to earn "per diem" charges.

The PC delivered the boxcars, but more and more boxcars kept showing up

until the LS&BC was literally plugged with them. The PC accused the LS&BC of stealing them, but the LS&BC wondered how they could steal things that were given to them. A series of articles in THE NEW YORK TIMES from March 19, March 20, and June 17, 1971, state that the boxcars were purchased by an outside company and the LS&BC was contracted to repair the boxcars.

A somewhat different explanation is told in The Wreck of the Penn Central by Joseph Daughen. The book indicates that the PC had such bad records and control of its own equipment that they (Penn Central) had no idea where their rolling stock was at.

Another insight into what happens is the fact that is is common for one railroad, as a curtisy to perform a minor repair for another. Broken air hoses or damaged wheels are often replaced. It seems the LS&BC might simply have been over ambitious in its repairs and simply extended it repairs to completely re-paining of cars. A car with a broken hose my be seen entering the shops one day, and a few days later emerge with a brand new LS&BC paint job and be assigned on a perdium rate for a western railway.

More information is available at: http://www.trainweb.org/lsbc/

This cleaning car is a scratch-built version of an actual box/tank car circa 1870. This was back before the time of steel tank cars and oil was shipped in wooden barrels and was a first attempt to ship oil products more efficiently. A steel tank was mounted under the floor between the trucks. This nicely hides the cleaning rollers.

This underside view shows the twin roller wells of the car. Note the brass buffers used to contain the rollers under the body. These provide a smooth surface to reduce the surprisingly heavy drag of the rollers

The “drop-out” openings allow easy access to the rollers to add cleaning solution. I have several spares and use one pair for “heavy” cleaning and another for simple maintenance.