The San Diego 3-Railers use denatured alcohol applied to a strip of man-made chamois. We use two engines to pull two track cleaning cars each with its own pad and it works quite well. The denatured alcohol removes the grease and oil. I would not use an abrasive pad such as a Scotch Brite. The pads will wear down the tin plate on the rails and the next thing you will have to deal with is rust.
