Micro-Mark Exclusive!

Our Wheel Cleaner Assures Exceptional Performance from Your HO Gauge Locomotives

If you want smooth, stall-free performance from your model trains (and who doesn't?), your locomotive wheels must be kept clean in order to make good electrical contact with the rails. Our locomotive wheel cleaner safely removes accumulated crud from locomotive drivers without creating dirt-collecting scratches the way wire-brush cleaners do. To clean your engine's drive wheels, simply attach the cleaning track's hook-up wires to a track power, turn up the speed, and hold each spinning driver over the cleaning pad. Dirt is gently, but thoroughly removed, leaving clean, scratch-free wheels. When a pad gets dirty, simply peel it off and replace it with a velcro-backed new one.

Loco Wheel Cleaning Station includes: 10 cleaning pads, our plastic-compatible wheel cleaning solution, hook-up wires, 36 inches of track to accommodate even the longest locomotive, and instructions.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR #81630:

HO GAUGE LOCOMOTIVE WHEEL CLEANING STATION

To operate smoothly, electrically-powered trains must have clean wheels. Our locomotive wheel cleaner is designed to remove the gummy deposits (a mixture of dirt and oil) from the driving wheels of your locomotive without scratching the wheel treads. Tests have shown that abrasive (wire brush) type wheel cleaners leave minute scratches on wheels which tend to accumulate dirt. Since our wheel cleaner does not scratch, wheels will stay clean for longer periods of time. As a result, your trains will operate smoothly and more reliably.  To set up your wheel cleaning station, an area about 3-feet long is required. Just follow the steps below: 

Carefully unpack contents and connect the track sections together.  Be sure to place the rail joiner-less ends at the extreme left and right.  The remaining joints will each have two rail joiners.  Be sure that the rail joiners mate properly.  The plastic tabs on the molded ballast will then automatically mate as you push the track sections together.

Slip the rail joiners with the connection wires onto both rails at either end of the track. Connect the two wires to the variable DC output terminals of a power pack.

• Place the hook side of one white cleaning pad onto the black velcro strip (the longer dimension goes across the track). 

• Use brush to apply a small amount of cleaning solution to the cleaning pad. Too much will make a mess and not clean any better.

 • Put your locomotive on the track.  Hold the locomotive and turn up the power so that the wheels spin.  Move the locomotive onto the cleaning pad, one axle at a time, to clean the wheels.  You may want to hold diesel truck sideframes with your fingers to steer them.

 Caution: Do not overload your locomotive’s drive system; doing so could cause damage to gear boxes, motors and/or electronics.

 Notes:

1.  Extra cleaning pads are available from Micro-Mark.  Replace the cleaning pads often to maintain cleaning efficiency. 
2.  If you find that the track shifts under the force of the spinning wheels, drill a small hole in each end of the track and use small screws to secure it to your workbench or to a board