I have been using this "eazy street" setup for 10 years with no issues. A couple days ago I discovered the trolley would not run on the track and found the track portion badly rusted. I cleaned the track with a "bright boy" yesterday and planned to wipe it down with a track cleaner today. When I looked at the track today you can see in the pictures the return of the rust. There has been no source of moisture around the train area. Any thoughts or recommendations? Do I remove this track and replace it with new? Thanks.
Replies sorted oldest to newest
ant pets living on the floor above?
I just pulled all the track and no evidence of any moisture. No pets in the house.
Must be in a high humidity room. Go-to home depot and get some "must for rust" cleaner and it should get rid of the rust. However I am not too sure about conductivity.
You live in PA and in the winter a basement is usually dryer than the summer because of the furnace.
Washer/dryer/sink/sewerage line near by? Leaks?
Venting the dryer heat outside and not in the basement (bad exhaust hose?).
Steam heat and if so there usually is a whole line steam valve at the end of the steam pipe check to see if is stuck open.
If you have a dehumidifier turn it on.
look for the obvious.
Keep us posted.
The rust came back in one day?
Some of my Superstreets track is 10 years old and I haven't had any problems with rust. My track is in an air conditioned room in Florida.
Bill
I cleaned it yesterday afternoon and what you see in the pictures is what was there this morning. To answer the above, no none source of moisture.
is it one section, or the whole layout? mice?
Steamer posted:is it one section, or the whole layout? mice?
Good thought, look for droppings
I have pulled the track and I have cleaned one section and it is laying on my work bench in the opposite end of the basement. I will let you know what I find tomorrow. The track is all k-line so how old would that be? I will replace it with new Bachmann.
One of the reasons that the best track cleaner is WD-40 (on a rag). Around machinery, oil is almost always a good thing.
Looks like you may need to replace most of the old K-Line track. Also noticed you don't have any curve to straight track sections that need to be used with a curve to straight in Super Streets or E Z Streets. Without the curve to straight tracks you may end up with constant derailments at the curves.
I have used rubbing alcohol with a Q-tip to clean my Super Streets tracks in the grooves. A metal wire wheel on a dremel tool will clean most of your Super Streets track but some looks too far gone.
Lee Fritz
TURTLE 2 posted:..... The track is all k-line so how old would that be? I will replace it with new Bachmann.
Your K-Line Superstreets Track can be anywhere from 8 to 12 years old as K-Line introduced Superstreets in their 2005 “First Edition” Catalog and after K-Line’s demise Lionel continued selling it until 2009. The fact that yours “re-rusted” overnight says that something other than age must be causing it to discolor. Are you sure it’s rust? Is anything else rusting in that same space?
Chances are it could happen to the replacement Bachmann E-Z track, too.
Bill
Any chlorine stored near the track? It causes accelerated corrosion.
RonH posted:You live in PA and in the winter a basement is usually dryer than the summer because of the furnace.
Washer/dryer/sink/sewerage line near by? Leaks?
Venting the dryer heat outside and not in the basement (bad exhaust hose?).
Steam heat and if so there usually is a whole line steam valve at the end of the steam pipe check to see if is stuck open.
If you have a dehumidifier turn it on.
look for the obvious.Keep us posted.
Yes, there has obviously been a drastic change in humidity -
-humidifier malfunctioning?
-water table changes affecting french drains?
-broken/malfunctioning gutters?
-watershed changes from animals(beaver, etc.), nearby construction, creek or river diversion?
There is a lot to look at here... a real sleuthing job ahead.
Buy a cheap digital humidity meter, I got a nice one from the big river site for $7 or so. I keep it in the train room.
Mine rusted years ago. They are tin and crap. No real fix. Sorry to tell you this but just throw them out and go from there.
Thank you guys. I have checked the ceiling above for water several times and the layout didn't show anything. This morning I had water laying on the roof of the Dept 56 buildings there. It is the shower drain above it. The plumper is on his way!
What you can do after the plumber leaves is to install some plastic above the layout where the pipes are so it can keep the water off your layout.
I had a milk leak many years ago when I lived in Stratford CT, my mom spilled a half gallon of milk in the kitchen and it came through the ceiling and got some freight cars. I still can't get the stuff off the freight cars, so they have what looks like water damage on them.
Lee Fritz
Glad you found the cause, your lucky that a engine was not sitting under the leak.