The idea is that I place one or two (one for each track) micro-motors in a large N Scale boxcar, cut a hole (or two) in the floor for the shaft, and put a small piece of masonite or other material on the end. One idea is to use micromotors for pagers/cellphones and take the weight off the shaft that creates the "buzzing" or vibrating. Another is to use electric toothbrush motors!
Currently, I have had two previous track cleaning cars, the first of which I made myself out of masonite and two nails, and it worked alright. But it didn't scrub. Same with my current car, with is a Roco track cleaning car (70300) that has a softer, more absorbant surface. It works well too.
But I want to try a motorized track cleaning car to do better than simply scrape the track once on each pass. My track gets really dirty. It always has, and I don't know why. When I was younger, I chalked it up to all the smokers in my family (everyone but me). Since moving-out on my own though, I no longer have that to worry about, and things have improved (both for my trains and for my health), but I still have trouble with dirty buildup. That may have everything to do with how often I actually run trains: very infrequently. Daily? No. Weekly? No. Monthly? Still no. Yea, sad. But I have other hobbies, some of which include areas of model railroading that don't include actual operation.
Back to the plan: the reason I say TC Train is because I plan to tie the battery operated cleaning car with a battery operated locomotive with trailing boxcar for another battery and electrical switch. This would give me a three-unit, self-propelled, motorized cleaning train that could handle the toughest dirt and corrosion.
Ideally, I still like the idea of all model trains being self-propelled, with throttles controlled via radio signal. Imagine running your trains from your iPad for instance. Ultimately, I don't "like" DCC, as the research I've done into it seems complicated and expensive, and doesn't eliminate issues of electrical conductivity.
My intended victims:
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