Cleaning Engine Wheels

A really good article about cleaning engine wheels is at the Do It Yourself in Z-Scale web site. (If that link gets broken, click here for a cached page.) You need to scroll almost all the way to the bottom of the page.

The above article talks mostly about the Minitrix Wheel Cleaner (part # 66623). Unfortunately, this wheel cleaner is designed for N scale. Fortunately, the author tell you how to easily modify the wheel cleaner to work with Z scale locomotives.

I purchased one of the

Minitrix Wheel Cleaners and modified it for use. The Cleaner is designed to be set on top of a powered N scale track to pick up power. The engine drive wheels are pressed against the brushes at the top of the Wheel Cleaner where they pick up power, turn, and are cleaned by the brushes. I modified the Wheel Cleaner to fit Z scale tracks as described in the above article, but didn't like the requirement that I had to work at a track layout.