Oscar the Track Cleaner

[AMH1955]

I've been wanting an AJ's Oscar the Track Cleaner since I was a kid, finally got around to getting one. It popped up on ebay Friday morning, looked okay and was buy-it-now and priced right so I swooped in and grabbed it. It was about 15 miles up the road from my house, I never even looked where it was before I got it. Oscar arrived in the mail on Saturday morning. I love it when a plan comes together. It needed a little cleaning up but looks hardly used other than some decal color loss on back from the cleaning fluid getting on it. It has a whetstone type deal in the front that rides on the rails to remove oxidation and a felt wiper pad n the back you dampen with T-N-T track and tire cleaner through the hole in the top of the back tank I made the felt pad with some of my extra green felt track table surface, made new little flags that were missing in the back with some light conducting plastic filament and red electrical tape. It has a broken guide pin so I can't run it yet, I have a couple of new ones on order, otherwise all cleaned and lubricated and ready to go. Runs great on the bench, tires look new and are soft with mold flashing still on them, correct bonded to the wheel type, new or original I don't know. The motor is the same type box Mabuchi as US-1 with the side contacts on it, brass worm and axle gears, made them that way so it could do low speeds efficiently for cleaning I guess. The worm gear looks real familiar, a long shaft motor too, hmmm? They do run smooooth.

-Allan

 

[biddle]

To make it work on the Tyco track, you need this, correct?

Replacement Tyco Pro pick-up shoe holder plate flag - AJ's Oscar track cleaner | eBay

Tyco Pro shoe holder. Two (2) Guide flag plates including Tyco Pro shoe / wiper holder as pictured.

www.ebay.com

 

[AMH1955]

To make it work on the Tyco track, you need this, correct?

Replacement Tyco Pro pick-up shoe holder plate flag - AJ's Oscar track cleaner | eBay

Tyco Pro shoe holder. Two (2) Guide flag plates including Tyco Pro shoe / wiper holder as pictured.

www.ebay.com

That's exactly what I need and I ordered a couple, Thanks! I like the fact that those have the blade instead of the pin guide. It should work a lot better across the turnouts and tend not to break off so easily like the pin guide on mine did at some point. I also ordered another stone for a spare and a bottle of cleaner fluid. The fluid is probably just alcohol and some food coloring but it's official, you have to look like you know what you're doing anyway.

 

[AMH1955]

I got the guide blade today, what a pain, but it's in and all working. Now I know why the guy sent me 6 extras, I have one left that the mounting pin isn't broken off on and I was very careful.
Oscar runs good, you can hear the stone rubbing on the track, less noise as it cleans it, the felt really picks up the dirt, a lot is probably dust from the stone rubbing the track. I tested the track afterwards and the trucks ran fine everywhere. I'll have to set it in every turnout and the garages and drive it out to clean them, easier and faster to do them by hand really. The track too but Oscar is way more fun.

 

[biddle]

Can you shoot a video of it running around the track?

 

[AMH1955]

I changed it to public , third try's a charm they say, tell that to the guy out with three strikes.
If anybody ever sees this cinematic accomplishment and I become a Youtubes viral video US-1 influencer star I promise to remember all you little people. Don't thank me, just shower me with Shell Wreckers.
That would hurt...but it would be a good hurt.

Here it is again, "Gone with the Wind" took less time to make.

I'm running it at the 12 volt setting on an AFX Tripower power pack, not at full speed, it can run at 8 fine but it seems happier at 12.

 

[biddle]

I changed it to public , third try's a charm they say, tell that to the guy out with three strikes.
If anybody ever sees this cinematic accomplishment and I become a Youtubes viral video US-1 influencer star I promise to remember all you little people. Don't thank me, just shower me with Shell Wreckers.
That would hurt...but it would be a good hurt.

Here it is again, "Gone with the Wind" took less time to make.

I'm running it at the 12 volt setting on an AFX Tripower power pack, not at full speed, it can run at 8 fine but it seems happier at 12.

Looks good; now, what is your opinion on the job it does?

 

[suprb6970]

I want to make one out of a TCR Jam car chassis.

 

[AMH1955]

I see those TCR chassis with guide pins installed for slot racing are real popular now. Carrera recentky cane out with a 1/32 scale track cleaner truck, drags a cleaning pad behind it and dusts off the track. It was the tow truck and they stuck a paint job on it and a pad on the tow cradle, just like McDonalds, take the ingredients on hand and make a whole new same old thing. I use the cleaner you push with the slot car , just has two pins to hold it in the slot. Yiou attach cut sections out of Swiffer pads to it, has velcro to hold it and they give you a tempalte for the pads. you can dampen them a little with alcohol to to clean the track too. You could an make one of those in a minute, just need some weight on it or it will tend to ride out of the slot.

Looks good; now, what is your opinion on the job it does?

Oscar does his job very wel I haven't done an in-depth scientific analysis but after lettiing it run for a 10-15 minutes in each lane the rails are shiny and the trucks don't hesitate or stop on the first test run like usual. I've found the slower you go the better you can hear the stone so maybe that's the way to go. I dampened the felt wiper pad with the TNT solution and it really picked up a ton of stuff. I made the pad a little wider in back so it would drag in the track of the truck tires, set up more for 60's slot cars with a smaller track width. This bare steel rail track really oxidizes fast if you don't use it a lot and the low speed and voltage makes the trucks even more sensitive to it, not much rail width to work with either.

I love Oscar, I don't think I could live without him.
I have a really weird feeling after saying that, need to go hang some drywall.

 

[suprb6970]

Those TCR jam car chassis run rather well on US1 track. They are low geared like US1. Very easy to put pins in them, front and rear. I buy new ones when I can. They come around pretty cheap. I don't buy one's already done. Most people cut the back off of them, leaving no place to put a rear pin.

 

[biddle]

I want to make one out of a TCR Jam car chassis.

Is it possible to convert these to a guide pin chassis instead of the black blade? What all is needed?

On a side note, it would be cool if someone 3-D printed something like this for US1 Trucking!

Slot car track cleaner - roller by TGURBY

Using Tinkercad, I designed the track cleaner to use a 3/8" dowel rod to hold the lint roller and the track cleaner is pulled by a slot car. It is attached to the body post of a Ninco BMW. The only mod the BMW was I has to cut out the rear bumper. I can run the car without the body screws which...

www.thingiverse.com